Representatives from Braden Health, the company working to reopen the former Patrick County Community Hospital, provided an update on the facility’s restoration efforts at the Patrick County Board of Supervisors meeting on Feb. 10.
Kyle Kopec, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer (COO), said the company has made significant progress since acquiring the hospital. Construction work is well underway, and officials invited county leaders to tour the site and learn more about ongoing projects.
The company has nearly completed replacing sections of the hospital’s roof. Medical gas lines, including oxygen and vacuum systems, have been relabeled and plumbed in preparation for the installation of external oxygen tanks and pads, which are required on the facility’s exterior.
“As far as sewer systems and mold, the sewer system is being overhauled currently as far as our plumbing and things that lead to that,” Kopec said. Mold mitigation, “we’re proud to report that the folks that we’ve hired to do that have taken care of it and isolated it, so we’re feeling pretty good, doing a lot of renovations and things,” he said.
Kopec thanked officials at the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), which is ensuring Braden Health is meeting the necessary regulations as different phases of work are completed. Kopec added that the VDH is expected to tour the facility in late February or in March.
While construction continues, the company is not yet prepared to announce an official reopening date. Asbestos assessments and final determinations on sewer system piping remain key factors in the project timeline. Kopec emphasized that these elements, along with ongoing contracting work, could impact scheduling.
“Until we get the final reports back on asbestos and a final conclusion on the piping for sewer, we won’t be making any announcements on a timeline — as far as what date doors will be open — just because those two items are very big on our list, and can fluctuate the most,” Kopec said.
Acknowledging past efforts by other groups to reopen the hospital, Kopec said Braden Health is committed to making tangible progress rather than offering empty promises. He stressed that restoring hospital services is a complex process involving strict regulatory requirements, construction codes, and inspections.
“Hospitals are not flip a switch and suddenly services are restored. There is a very long regulatory process that we go through. Things have to be built to specific codes, and we’re following those very closely,” he said.
Braden Health has also been in communication with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The regional CMS office in Atlanta has been notified of the acquisition — “we notified them along with the public once it was all complete,” he said, adding CMS representatives will conduct inspections as part of the certification process.
In addition to regulatory coordination, Braden Health representatives have met with local Emergency Management Services (EMS) personnel and visited the Blue Ridge Airport to consult with helicopter crews. Discussions focused on the role of air transport when hospital transfers are critical and how emergency services were handled when the hospital was previously operational.
Braden Health plans to provide further updates as construction progresses and regulatory milestones are met.
