Chesapeake Regional Medical Center (CRMC), a nonprofit health system serving Virginia and North Carolina, has sued a larger area provider, Sentara Medical Group (SMG), for $20 million. CRMC alleges that SMG is actively working to keep CRMC from expanding its cardiology offerings in the region.
The lawsuit was originally filed in late April, according to a report from WAVY in Portsmouth, Virginia. CRMC alleges that SMG opposed its application to develop an open-heart surgery program when it aimed to get approval from the Virginia Department of Health (VDH). That opposition, CRMC believes, influenced the VDH to not approve its application.
Dale Gauding, a spokesperson for SMG, issued a statement to WAVY about the system’s open opposition to CRMC’s development.
“Before a hospital can perform open-heart surgery, it must prove to the state that an unmet need exists for that service in the area and that the hospital is qualified to provide it,” he said. “Patients in the region are fortunate to have three open-heart surgery providers. The state health commissioner and the courts came to the conclusion that the region did not need a fourth.”
CRMC also alleges that SMG privately met with several of its cardiologists, convincing them to leave CRMC and work for SMG.
“Chesapeake Regional Healthcare was compelled to file this suit because the organization must protect and defend its ability to fulfill its mission to provide critical medical services for the community it serves,” John Conrod, an attorney for CRMC, said in a separate statement.
Virginia’s Certifiate of Public Need Program appears to be one of the primary reasons the rivalry between these two systems has escalated to this degree. A detailed report in the Virginia Mercury examined this rule, sharing additional context into the issue between CRMC and SMG.
Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.