The closest hospital to me is DePaul. The non-profit facility has served the community since 1855 and was Norfolk’s first public hospital. From that point, the facility was operated by the Daughters of Charity, an order of nuns. The hospital moved to its current Granby Street location in 1944 and in 1996, sponsorship of the hospital was transferred from the sisters of the Daughters of Charity to Bon Secours.
Any facility in service for 64 years no doubt has its issues. The hospital has 238 beds and serves some of the Norfolk’s neediest residents. Bon Secours has proposed tearing down the facility and replacing it with a 64-bed facility, with the remainder of the rooms being redistributed to new facilities in Virginia Beach and Suffolk. Initially, the City of Norfolk supported the proposal, but has changed its mind.
The city has withdrawn its support for a proposal to radically downsize the Bon Secours DePaul Medical Center and is instead calling for a 134-bed hospital with fully functioning emergency, obstetric and intensive care facilities.
The state had already rejected Bon Secours plans back in March. In its ruling, deputy health commissioner Dr. James Burns said:
The three DePaul projects would effectively divide an existing acute care hospital, upon which many residents of Norfolk rely, and replace it with a facility in Norfolk of far smaller scope and curtailed service, thereby significantly reducing patient access to vital services.
Bon Secours has appealed the state’s ruling. In the wake of this, a new group has been formed. DePaul Emergency 134 is dedicated to seeing that Norfolk keeps a full-service facility and is supportive of the city’s efforts to have the facility be 134 beds. As is generally the case, time is of the essence: the hearing on Bon Secours’ appeal will be held July 18.
On the group’s website you will find a list of people who should be contacted in advance of the hearing. It is critical that the voices of Norfolk’s residents be heard.
The public hearing will be July 18 at 10:00am at the Chesapeake LifeStyle Center
And be sure to contact the folks over at DePaul Emergency 134 and let them know that they have your support. Thanks in advance from those of us in this part of the city.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
TalbotHall is right. The Virginian Pilot records show that the ads for DePaul Emergency 134 running today and last Sunday were paid for by the city of Norfolk. Can someone explain to me how Norfolk can justify such a flagrant misuse of taxpayer dollars?
I have lived and worked in norfolk all my life, I was born at DePaul, I currently work in the ER there and have done so for 8 years. On any given day the total censis is about 80 beds. The hospital has not had over 120 people in years. If anyone is to blame for the down fall of DePaul it is Sentara, they have used the mission statement of Bon Secours against it self to make money. It surgicaly places facilities in population densities where people have money. Take for instance the new bell haven in suffolk. The only profitable facility Bon Secours has in tidewater is the ER at Harbour view, Sentara knew this so what do they do build; a free standing ER. There is only one hospital in Portsmouth Maryview, do you see Sentara building there. I don’t think so. How about this, Did you know that Sentara partly owns all the Patient first Urgent care centers around tidewater. If you think about it where are most of the patient first centers? One is right in front of Chesapeake general, picking off all the paying customers that do not want to wait in a ER. Sentara built and financed the Patient first that is down the street from Mary Immaculate, do you all see a trend.
Bon Secures must be able to substain itself. I do not want DePaul to close, but it will close if the state turns down the appeal a second time . Then I will be out of a job.
worker – from numerous sources, I have been told that DePaul will not close the hospital. As a matter of fact, the article in Sunday’s paper basically said as much.
vjp – are you willing to gamble Norfolk’s healthcare against the odds that Bon Secours does not close DePaul? Bon Secours has been working with Norfolk to find a compromise that works for all parties, but with Norfolk basically turning on them and now giving them the ultimatum of “my way or the highway” – where will Norfolk be if Bon Secours decides that the end result is not worth the effort anymore?
If DePaul is still planning to close why would they be doing a complete renovation, and expansion of the ER and spend a 1,000,000 to do it. Have you seen how beautiful that ER is looking?