$40 million surgical pavilion at Sentara 40+ years in the making

A new $40 million surgical services building at Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center is one way the hospital is working to change the perception of healthcare in Woodbridge.

The new 60,000 square-foot facility cannot be missed by anyone driving past the hospital on Opitz Boulevard. For those who remember the medical center when it was Potomac Hospital, this is first major upgrade to the hospital’s operating rooms since it was built in 1972.

“Building a new building doesn’t change perceptions. It’s the work we’re doing here that is changing perceptions in the community,” said Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center President Stephen Porter.

The new surgical pavilion is a modern upgrade. Its rooms are larger, with operating rooms that are nearly double the size of the old ones, and procedures that can be performed here range from orthopedic surgery to shoulder replacement.

The hospital wants to make this a place that surgeons want to come to work, and a place where patients want to have procedures performed. It’s a safer, brighter environment. So safe and so bright, a robot that emits ultra-violet light is brought in and rids the room of any germs after a patient is discharged.

Porter came to Northern Virginia two years ago, after overseeing the construction of a 500,000 square-foot hospital in Virginia Beach — Princess Anne Medical Center, also a part of Sentara’s network. The surgical center expansion in Woodbridge was already planned, but his team did run into some complication during construction when crews located gas and water lines that weren’t where they were supposed to be.

Porter said the market is underserved when it comes to the number of physicians providing care in the region. Sentara, like its neighbor to the west Novant – UVA Medical Center, will open up new ambulatory outpatient centers in the area.

The idea is to provide more access to satellite centers in the community to patients and doctors. “If you don’t need to come into the hospital, don’t come into the hospital,” said Porter.

Later this year, a $3 million cardiac lab will open, and will join the new surgical pavilion at Northern Virginia Medical Center. Improvements are also planned for hospital’s labor and delivery area, and co-locating the MRI and CT imaging centers over the next three to five years.

“It’s more about patient flow, visitor flow, and efficiency,” said Porter.