"It would include the renovation of operating rooms, emergency services department and radiology, and there will be a new a new ambulatory surgical center," Prince William Health Systems' Donna Ballou tells GlobeSt.com. "Now [the proposal] goes to Richmond and we'll probably know around July or August if it's been approved." If all goes as planned, the hospital will begin work on the extension later this year, and finish the project by the end of 2004. "We're also adding a second MRI unit that will cost $1.3 million," Ballou notes.

The proposed upgrades come on the heels of the in-progress construction of the hospital's $13 million, 27,000-sf birthing center, which will offer a 32-bed postpartum wing and a neonatal intensive care unit. That project, constructed by Forrester Construction Co. and designed by architectural firm Wilmont/Sanz, is scheduled for completion in the spring of 2003.

"Our goal is just to meet the needs of the growing public," Ballou says of the hospital's construction endeavors. Census figures for 2000 indicate that Prince William County experienced a 30% growth in population over the ten-year period beginning in 1990, bringing the county's total number of residents to more than 280,000. Considering the hospital's age--it first opened in 1964--the upgrades are imperative for efficient service of patients. And the facility is probably not finished growing. "We add on as we need to, and as funding allows," Ballou says.