Maybe once in a generation, we’ll get a new Maryland hospital. On Jan. 25, the Maryland Health Care Commission approved for the first time in recent history a bid by Holy Cross to build a new hospital in Germantown. Now, Washington Adventist is petitioning the state commission so that it, too, may expand. This will involve the continued use of its current campus at Takoma Park, which has badly needed renovating for a long time, and a new hospital at White Oak, which will be at the heart of its service area. The commission’s decision is pending.

As an engaged member of the community, I believe passionately that the east county cannot afford to have Adventist’s request turned down. To fulfill our community’s hope for a burgeoning east county, the health care commission must recognize this is the right solution at the right moment.

Imagine Adventist’s new site as a modern state-of-the-art hospital, and the old site as a primary care and urgent care facility that will offer health care, community services, and education programs for the region. This is Adventist’s plan today, and it’s not escaping notice. For one, hospital administrators, including some administrators in Detroit who are facing the challenges of downsizing due to the lingering effects of the economy, are looking at Adventist’s plan as a model of service that does not abandon its poor clients, and that demonstrates how clients’ needs can be met in new ways. For another, health care leaders in far-away places such as Australia are paying attention to Adventist’s partnership with the Food and Drug Administration, and the potential it has as a prototype for scientists to work with patients in a real-life setting.

Many individuals who are interested in the east county’s future want to take pride in having a new hospital and the opportunities to build on it. The Adventist project already has well over 2,000 letters of support from local residents, civic leaders, community organizations and various faith communities. Government leaders, including County Executive Isiah Leggett, eight County Council members, the District 14 delegation and the District 20 delegation, have endorsed Adventist’s plan. Our leaders are enthusiastic it will create more than 1,000 permanent jobs for the Montgomery County and Prince George’s County region, and also begin to unlock the full potential of the sort of community we want our families to live in.

East county residents want a local hospital that meets our needs. The east county has a large aging population living at Riderwood and a young population in the affordable starter homes clustered close to Adventist’s new campus at Plum Orchard Drive and Cherry Hill Road. As of June 1, some 3,000 Riderwood residents and staff have signed a letter of support for Adventist’s expansion. They and the dense population center at White Oak stand to benefit from getting quicker access to emergency care, new opportunities for patient and long-term care, and the promise of improved health outcomes for everyone both insured and uninsured.

What then is needed to get state approval? We should not let the new Germantown hospital be a detractor for the east county. The most useful procedure to pursue would be informing state regulators that a Washington Adventist hospital at White Oak is essential for an east county economy competitive in the health care arena, and critical for a boost in quality of life similar to what underpins the health success of places such as Bethesda.

Kim Bobola, Burtonsville