Hammes Company Spearheads CAH Expansion

Healthcare consulting firm serving as owner’s rep and project manager for development of three high-tech, sustainable, critical access hospitals for Virginia-based Valley Health

NORTHERN VIRGINIA, NORTHEASTERN WEST VIRGINIA and BROOKFIELD, Wis. — Providing quality healthcare in technologically advanced, energy-efficient, patient-friendly surroundings is often a challenge. But that challenge is compounded in today’s uncertain times – especially in the small, rural communities of the geographically remote, 18-county region of northern Virginia and northeastern West Virginia known as the Northern Shenandoah Valley.

But thanks to the recent collaboration between Valley Health and its project management partner, Brookfield, Wis.-based Hammes Company, access to convenient, top-quality healthcare is becoming more and more of a reality for the area.

The Winchester, Va.-based non-profit health system chose Hammes Company, the nation’s largest healthcare real estate developer, as its owner’s representative and project manager to help build three new critical access hospital (CAH) projects. Two of the CAH hospitals recently opened and the third is set to open in the first quarter of 2014. The projects are:

• War Memorial Hospital, a two-story, 87,000 square foot facility on 80.5 acres at 1 Healthy Way, Berkeley Springs, W.Va.;
• Hampshire Memorial Hospital, a two-and-a-half story, 88,000 square-foot facility on 49.5 acres at 363 Sunrise Blvd. in Romney, W.Va.; and
• Page Memorial Hospital, a two-story, 67,000 square-foot replacement facility on 15.3 acres at 200 Memorial Dr., Luray, Va.

“These three new facilities help to further Valley Health’s mission to bring quality healthcare to our patients in their own communities,” says Neil McLaughlin, President of both War Memorial and Hampshire Memorial Hospitals. “Partnering with Hammes Company has brought a new level of leadership and innovation that has energized these projects and in turn, the patients they serve and staff who work in them. All three are sure to be major assets to the Northern Shenandoah Valley region for years to come.”

“To have three brand new, technologically advanced, environmentally efficient, patient- and staff-friendly hospitals in these particular communities might have been deemed impossible at one time,” adds Mark Baker, Valley Health Corporate Director of Construction Services & Project Management. “Working with Hammes Company has helped us achieve an invaluable asset for the residents of Morgan, Hampshire and Page counties.”

All three hospitals carry the CAH designation, which makes them eligible for special payments under Medicare. To qualify for this federal designation, a hospital must be located in a rural area, have no more than 25 inpatient beds, provide 24-hour emergency services, have an average length-of-stay for its patients of 96 hours or less, be located more than 35 miles (or more than 15 miles in areas with mountainous terrain) from the nearest hospital – or be designated as a “necessary provider” by its state.

In addition, all three facilities have been built to meet important sustainability, operational and design standards. The three hospitals incorporate such green features as a roofing system that leads to energy conservation and environmentally efficient mechanical and electrical systems. There are also extensive daylighting features that have been created using environmentally enhanced windows, providing healing exterior views. 

“Hammes Company has been able to deliver effective and strategic project management expertise to Valley Health on these three critical access hospital projects. We are delighted with the results and the difference the facilities are making to their communities,” says Matthew J. Hufnagle, a Vice President with Hammes Company. “Providing top quality, energy-efficient and life-saving healthcare to people who need it most is not only part of our strategy, it’s the right thing to do.”

The architect for all three hospitals is the Washington, D.C., office of Perkins+Will. The general contractor on War Memorial Hospital and Hampshire Memorial Hospital is Howard Shockey and Sons of Winchester, Va. Page Memorial Hospital is currently undergoing the bidding process for its project teams.

“We owe much to these firms for their major contributions on the success of these projects. Without them, these hospitals would not have been possible,” adds Mr. Hufnagle.

About Valley Health
Valley Health is a non-profit organization serving the healthcare needs of people in and around an area known as the Top of Virginia, as well as parts of West Virginia and Maryland. Valley Health was incorporated November 4, 1993 when Winchester Medical Center (WMC) and Warren Memorial Hospital (WMH), in Front Royal, partnered to serve the region. Headquartered in Winchester, Va., Valley Health now operates six hospitals: Winchester Medical Center in Winchester, Va., Warren Memorial Hospital in Front Royal, Va., Shenandoah Memorial Hospital (SMH) in Woodstock, Va., Page Memorial Hospital (PMH) in Luray, Va., Hampshire Memorial Hospital (HMH) in Romney, W.Va., and War Memorial Hospital in Berkeley Springs, W.Va. Valley Health has a combined 610 licensed inpatient beds and 166 long-term care beds. The system is supported by more than 5,300 employees, and a medical staff of over 500. For more information, please visit www.valleyhealthlink.com.

About Hammes Company
Hammes Company is a single source of market-based and financially sound healthcare solutions. The full-service consulting firm is at the forefront of providing strategic planning, facility development, project management and implementation, and real estate acquisition and advisory services to hospitals, healthcare systems, and major physician groups. The company has been ranked as one of the nation’s top developers of healthcare facilities for 13 consecutive years by Modern Healthcare magazine. Hammes Company is headquartered in Brookfield, Wis. and provides services through a network of regional offices strategically located across the country. For more information, please visit www.hammesco.com.

Fact Sheet
War Memorial Hospital
Location: 1 Healthy Way, Berkeley Springs, W.Va.
Size: 87,000 square feet, 25 rooms (21 private) with 16 long-term care beds and an eight-bed emergency department on an 80.5-acre campus
Schedule: Broke ground June 4, 2010, and opened April 28, 2011
Owner: Valley Health, Winchester, Va.; www.valleyhealthlink.com/war
Project Manager/Owner’s Representative: Hammes Company, Brookfield, Wis.; www.hammesco.com
Project Architect: Perkins+Will, Washington, D.C., office; www.perkinswill.com
General Contractor: Howard Shockey and Sons, Winchester, Va.; www.howardshockey.com
The new CAH replaces a hospital with a long history, which started out as a polio treatment facility known as The West Virginia Foundation for Crippled Children in the 1930s. That building then became an acute care facility known as Morgan County War Memorial Hospital in 1947. Then, in 2003, the decision was made to begin the process of replacing the aging facility that would bring modern technology and convenience to the 18,000 citizens of Morgan County. Valley Health acquired the hospital in 2010, breaking ground for the replacement facility that June. The new War Memorial Hospital opened April 28 and features 23 rooms (21 of which are private); 16 long-term care beds, and an eight-bed emergency department. 24-hour emergency services, acute and skilled care, and outpatient and ancillary facilities. Other convenient design features of this replacement hospital include a heliport, increased access to natural light, attractive color schemes, large dining area, and convenient parking.

Fact Sheet
Hampshire Memorial Hospital
Location: 363 Sunrise Blvd., Romney, W.Va.
Size: 89,000 square feet, 12 rooms (10 private) with 30 long-term care beds on a 49.5-acre
Schedule: Broke ground July 6, 2010, and opened June 4, 2011
Owner: Valley Health, Winchester, Va.; www.valleyhealthlink.com/hampshire
Project Manager/Owner’s Representative: Hammes Company, Brookfield, Wis.; www.hammesco.com
Project Architect: Perkins+Will, Washington, D.C., office; www.perkinswill.com
General Contractor: Howard Shockey and Sons, Winchester, Va.; www.howardshockey.com
Located in Romney, West Virginia’s oldest town, Hampshire Memorial Hospital opened in June 2011. The facility serves about 24,000 people in Hampshire County. It features 14 inpatient beds, 10 of which are in private rooms. The new hospital replaces an almost 60-year-old facility that was built in 1957, doubling its size, and features major technological improvements such as a 32-slice computed tomography scanner (CT-scan) replacing the former 4-slice model, new ultrasound machines and specialized MRI technology. In addition, the design of the new facility is patient-focused and gives easy access, fosters privacy and affords area residents great healthcare close to home. In the year since Hampshire Memorial Hospital has opened, customer visits have increased forty percent and inpatient care has doubled.

Fact Sheet
Page Memorial Hospital
Location: 200 Memorial Dr., Luray, Va.
Size: 67,000 square feet, with 25 beds on 15.3 acres
Schedule: Construction is due to start summer 2012, with an anticipated opening in the first quarter of 2014.
Owner: Valley Health, Winchester, Va.; www.valleyhealthlink.com
Project Manager/Owner’s Representative: Hammes Company, Brookfield, Wis.; www.hammesco.com
Project Architect: To be determined
General Contractor: To be determined
Construction on the 25-bed replacement hospital, located on the same campus but at a different site, is scheduled to begin this summer. The facility is expected to open during the first quarter of 2014.