Inova has broken ground on its new Franconia-Springfield hospital, promising to bring full-service inpatient care to the area by 2028.
Marking the start of construction on the expansion of Inova’s HealthPlex campus, the groundbreaking at 6361 Walker Lane in Franconia was the first of two ceremonies that the health system held yesterday (Monday), along with one for the new Inova Alexandria Hospital at Landmark.
Inova President and CEO J. Stephen Jones said it’s a special milestone for the health system.
“Each of these sites plays a significant role in our integrated health system serving all the communities of Northern Virginia,” Jones told an audience of elected officials, county staff and Inova employees. “I’m particularly excited that soon we’ll have inpatient care right here in Franconia Springfield on this site.”
Inova Alexandria Hospital President Dr. Rina Bansal said the new 110-bed hospital will bring essential inpatient services and specialize in orthopedic care.
“No longer will patients from the HealthPlex here and emergency room here have to be transferred to Inova Fairfax Medical Campus or to Inova Alexandria hospital, except in rare circumstances,” Bansal said. “For our aging patient population, by providing these services locally, we are bringing comprehensive care to the heart of our community.”
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said that the new hospital reflects a strong community.
“When you think about great communities all over the world, all over our country, many times you think about how well established is their healthcare system, how good are their emergency services,” McKay said. “Clearly we have that here, and we have it in a full-service way for the people of the greater Franconia-Springfield area.”
Inova announced in 2020 that it had acquired land that would enable it to expand the Franconia campus up to 21 acres. Fairfax County’s board unanimously approved the 985,000-square-foot project two years ago.
The facility will be built on land adjacent to the Inova HealthPlex at Franconia-Springfield, and not far from the future Franconia Governmental Center that’s now under construction on Beulah Road. The existing governmental center site to the north is being considered for redevelopment with affordable housing.
Franconia District Supervisor Rodney Lusk said he looks forward to observing construction progress from the window of his new office.
“This will be a transformative project improving not only the health and welfare of our residents, but also providing a welcome shot in the arm for our local economy,” Lusk said.
More on the Franconia-Springfield Hospital from Inova’s project page:
The initial phase of the Franconia-Springfield project will include a state-of-the-art inpatient facility with 110 beds spread across two patient towers. The hospital will include private rooms, an expanded emergency room, diagnostic imaging, and multiple procedural rooms. An adjacent building will offer a variety of outpatient services, including ambulatory surgery, physician offices, and procedural rooms.
The existing HealthPlex will be linked to the hospital through new internal road and walkway connections. Patients will continue to have access to the HealthPlex emergency room, physical therapy, physician offices, and other clinical operations during construction. Inova plans to relocate the existing ER from the HealthPlex to the new hospital in an expanded space. Inova will then renovate the former ER space for other community healthcare services.
Parking will be provided through a combination of above- and below-grade structures, as well as retention of a portion of the existing surface parking. In addition, Inova’s proposal includes a series of improvements along Beulah Street, the Franconia-Springfield Parkway, and the internal streets to improve the flow of traffic to and through the property.
