Patrick County Hospital set to begin operation in January

PATRICK COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) - The new Chicago-based owner of Patrick County’s hospital spent time in southwest Virginia Monday speaking with local stakeholders.

“I’d like to engage with the community in the next several weeks, even next several months, to see what they can actually give us feedback on or if they need anything else. We really want the building to be in perfect shape,” said Dr. Sameer Suhail, CEO of Foresight Health.

The hospital was originally supposed to begin operation by the end of this year, but regulatory factors caused a delay, pushing that date to January.

“We want to fix the façade, we want to fix the interior, we want to make sure that this is proper for the community. And one of my long-term, you know, ideas is basically not just to keep it the way it is,” said Dr. Suhail.

In the future, Dr. Suhail is looking to add an oncology unit and infusion services to the facility.

It is very important that we and the community engage in bringing back these hospitals to the community. COVID was a great example. There was a deficiency of hospitals,” said Dr. Suhail.

hiring events and town halls are being planned to involve the community in the reopening process.

My team and I have come up with an agenda that we’re going to start coming here either weekly or biweekly. We really want to engage the community and the officials in the community. We want to see what they have to say and what they would like to bring for the community,” said Dr. Suhail.

Renovations and construction on the property will begin within the next few weeks.

Dr. Suhail is also looking forward to collaborating with other hospitals and professionals in the healthcare field to serve the southwest community in the best way possible.

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