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Adventist HealthCare has proposed a hospital in Clarksburg that would serve the upcounty, and the effect on the community could be significant if the state denies the facility in favor of a Holy Cross hospital in Germantown, according to Adventist representatives.

The Holy Cross proposal, announced in August, was a surprise to county planners who have been updating the Germantown Master Plan for more than two years.

Planners have expressed their discontent at public meetings, as they now must consider a hospital in the Master Plan, which is expected to go to the Planning Board for final approval before its draft is transmitted to the County Council in December.

Adventist began planning a three-building medical campus in the 535-acre Cabin Branch development six years ago and decided to include a hospital about two years ago, according to Thomas Grant, associate vice president of communications for Adventist.

The proposed medical campus, on 142 acres off of Interstate 270, would include the 350,000-square-foot hospital, a 234,000-square-foot medical office building, a 150-bed skilled nursing facility and a daycare, according to Planning Board documents.

"We think it's the best location for access in the future of the county," Grant said. The Clarksburg hospital would be between Shady Grove Adventist Hospital in Rockville and Frederick Memorial Hospital. "Shady Grove has invested a lot of time in providing medical care in Gaithersburg and Germantown, and we think Clarksburg is the next step," he said.

Adventist has not filed for a Certificate of Need for the hospital with the Maryland Health Care Commission, the agency that determines if new medical facilities are needed, Grant said.

Holy Cross' proposed 93-bed, five-story hospital on Montgomery College's Germantown campus has no land use approvals from the county, but a letter of intent was filed with the health care commission in August, just days before the project was announced. Holy Cross applied for a Certificate of Need on Oct. 3, according to the documents.

"It was important to us to have the county sign off on land approval before we moved forward," Grant said, adding that the health care provider has been working with the community as it develops its plans. "We wanted to make sure a hospital fit in."

The Planning Board approved the preliminary plan for the second phase of the Cabin Branch development, which includes the medical campus, in April, and Adventist is developing a site plan, Grant said.

"I think it would be a shame if Clarksburg came out on the short end again," Grant said. "A lot of things are dependant on that medical center."