Local News
Local officials help Valley Health ‘cut the ribbon’ on new Warren Memorial Hospital complex
County and Town officials gathered with Valley Health staff and administrators Tuesday morning, June 8, to cut the entranceway ribbon to the new Warren Memorial Hospital. And while patients will not begin to be admitted or moved from the current North Shenandoah Avenue hospital location until June 23, the ribbon cutting marking the start of the relocation was a landmark moment in the multi-million dollar, sometimes controversial – most prominently in the absence of a Maternity Unit – modernization of the community hospital.
Below, see Valley Health’s full June 8th press release on the event and its new facility off Leach Run Parkway just south of Warren County Middle School:
‘Valley Health Warren Memorial Hospital Dedicates, Celebrates Its New Health-Inspiring Home’ – Staff Preparing for June 23 Hospital Opening
Front Royal, Va., June 8, 2021— Valley Health and community leaders gathered this morning to dedicate the nonprofit health system’s new $100-million Warren Memorial Hospital in Front Royal. The replacement facility will open in two weeks, at 6 a.m. on June 23, at 351 Valley Health Way.
The three-story hospital with adjoining medical building commands a 28-acre developed campus on a slope with stunning views of the Shenandoah Valley, offering a refreshing patient-centered environment for wellness and healing.
“This is an exciting day for Valley Health, but, more importantly, for residents of the Front Royal-Warren County area,” said Valley Health President and CEO Mark Nantz. “I commend the Valley Health Board of Trustees for their commitment to invest in this site and this remarkable, technologically-advanced facility, and I thank all who have supported our efforts to reach this point. We look forward to many more years of serving our community by improving health from this inspiring location.”
The facility reflects 21st century priorities on patient privacy, greater patient and family involvement in healthcare, and convenient access to providers and outpatient services. The clean, uplifting design capitalizes on available light and outdoor views and features abundant parking and room to expand on the 150-acre site.
“We are grateful for this extraordinary opportunity to ‘take healthcare to new heights,’ said Warren Memorial Hospital President Floyd Heater. “While a new building and state-of-the-art equipment alone cannot guarantee excellent healthcare, I’m confident the form and function of this beautiful, calming space will support our phenomenal team and maximize outcomes and healing for all who come here for care.”
The new hospital has 36 private inpatient rooms, each with a view, accommodations for a visitor, and bathroom with wheelchair-accessible shower. For more acutely ill patients, 12 Critical Care Step-down rooms will accommodate staff and equipment to monitor and support care. A well-equipped inpatient rehab gym will help expedite recovery through physical and occupational therapy.
The 18-bed Emergency Department is larger and more welcoming for EMS crews and waiting families. It has a decontamination area, two trauma rooms with space for equipment and multiple staff, rooms equipped for bariatric and behavioral health patients, a dedicated imaging suite, and adjoining 5-bed Clinical Decision Unit. A helipad expedites Medevac support for rapid emergency care.
Surgical Services boasts three spacious operating suites, two endoscopy rooms, a cardiac catheterization lab, larger pre- and post-op patient staging areas, and a dedicated family waiting room with a view.
All of the new hospital’s clinical support services – from the laboratory to cardiopulmonary rehabilitation to medical imaging — have space and equipment to better support patients and staff, improve efficiency and quality, and provide needed diagnostic and rehab services locally.
Robert Meltvedt, MD, WMH Vice President of Medical Affairs, has practiced general surgery in the community for 24 years and expressed the anticipation shared by many of his colleagues: “With beauty and light and a healing environment we welcome our new home to bring the best and latest innovations in health care to Warren County,” Dr. Meltvedt said.
“Wired” for Efficiency, Safety, Patient Experience
The new hospital incorporates technologies that support quality care, safety and efficiency, from an interdepartmental pneumatic tube network that delivers medications, specimens and documents, to a patient call system that alerts the appropriate team member’s portable phone. A new monitoring system sends a screen shot of patient vitals and key data to the nurse’s phone. And MyChart Bedside offers hospitalized patients access to a tablet and smart TV to facilitate sending and receiving messages with the care team, accessing test results and education materials, choosing meals, streaming favorite shows, playing games or listening to music.
Primary and Specialty Care Providers Next Door
The new Medical Building adjoining the hospital will be home to more than 50 healthcare providers, offering patients and providers convenient access to hospital services. Front Royal Family Practice will relocate to Level Three of the new building on June 25. Orthopedic staff will relocate June 26, and other Multispecialty Clinic providers — cardiology general surgery, pulmonary medicine, urology and vascular surgery – will occupy Level Two on July 16.
New Services
A new Physical Therapy & Sports Performance Department has certified staff and specialized equipment to help patients increase strength and mobility after surgery or injury, athletes gain a competitive edge, and anyone wanting to build stamina and improve conditioning, including “tactical athletes” needing conditioning for jobs in construction, firefighting, law enforcement or the military.
Valley Pharmacy has opened a retail location at the new hospital, located off the main lobby on Level 2. A “Meds-to-Beds” program offers the convenience of direct delivery of medications (and education) to patient’s hospital room before discharge. Staff and community members will also have access to the full-service pharmacy, over-the-counter medications and other products on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Community Support
In addition to facilities and services to treat illness, injury and disease, the new hospital campus is intended to be a source of community health and wellness. Through the philanthropy of local residents Fred and Christine Andreae, a 2.5-mile hiking trail was created behind the hospital, offering a recreational destination with a view for patients, family members, staff members, and the community. The trail is suitable for all ages and ability levels, with an average grade of 7-8%, rest areas, and lower and upper overlooks of Front Royal, the Skyline Drive, and Signal Knob. Another ¼-mile spur connects to the neighboring Warren County Middle School.
More than 150 donors have helped raise nearly $2.5 million to support features such as new beds ergonomically designed to increase comfort and safety, and MyChart Bedside, an innovation that will help patients and families stay informed.
Warren Memorial Hospital invites the community to tour the new facility at an open house on Saturday, June 12, between 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Please reserve a tour time at valleyhealthlink.com/newwmh. Face coverings and social distancing will be required inside the building.
Warren Memorial Hospital’s Lynn Care Center, home to 120 long-term care residents and skilled nursing patients, will continue operating at 1000 North Shenandoah Avenue after the hospital relocates to the new campus. Valley Health is studying options for the vacated hospital, considering community needs and site feasibility.
About Valley Health Warren Memorial Hospital
Since 1951, Warren Memorial Hospital has served residents of Front Royal, Warren, and adjacent counties. In 1993, Warren Memorial affiliated with Valley Health System, a nonprofit network that has grown to include six hospitals, more than 60 medical practices and Urgent Care centers, outpatient rehabilitation and fitness, medical transport, long-term care, and home health. Valley Health serves a rural population of more than 500,000 in the Northern Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, the Eastern Panhandle and Potomac Highlands of West Virginia, and western Maryland. As a healthcare provider, employer, and community partner, Valley Health is committed to improving the health of the region. valleyhealthlink.com
Local News
Congratulations to Warren County High School Seniors – Class of 2024
Royal Examiner presents the Warren County High School Class of 2024. Congratulations to these wonderful seniors on their hard work and deserved accomplishments! We wish you the best in your next big endeavors. Photos courtesy of Victor O’Neill Studios and Tolliver Studios, LLC.
If your Warren County senior is not listed, please send in their Name and Senior Picture to news@royalexaminer.com.
Local News
Fairfax Police Officer, Son of WC Deputy Jim Williams One of This Year’s Fairfax Valor Awards Recipients
At the Thursday, April 11 Fairfax County Valor Awards ceremony, Fairfax County Police Officer Cody Williams, son of Warren County Sheriff’s Office Deputy and Bailiff Jim Williams, and two colleagues were among the 2023 honorees. We asked proud father Jim about the incident late last year that led to his son and fellow officers’ recognition. This is what he told us:
“On December 25th, Christmas Day, at 9 p.m., members of the Fairfax County Police Department Reston District Station responded to a shot person call. According to his wife, the homeowner had accidentally shot himself while cleaning his handgun. Officers Cody Williams, Andrew Craven, and Anthony Galindo arrived on the scene to find the homeowner unresponsive. The gunshot wound was to the victim’s left calf, resulting in an extreme loss of blood. Williams and Craven applied two tourniquets, and Galindo performed CPR. The victim was transported to the local hospital. He was able to make a full recovery.”
We were also informed of comments by Fairfax Police Chief Kevin Davis, who made an analogy to his officers’ Christmas Day call and the 1947 Hollywood movie classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” starring Jimmy Stewart. As fans of that great and timeless film will recall, it had its own Christmas day event of a somewhat miraculous nature involving a Guardian Angel. And indeed, it will be “a Wonderful Life” for the injured man and his family moving forward due to the prompt actions of their “guardian angels” Officers Williams, Craven, and Galindo, among others at the scene.
We found this background on the Fairfax Valor Awards website:
“The Fairfax County Valor Awards recognize the remarkable achievements in service of our community’s dedicated first responders. Since 1979, members of our police, sheriff, fire and rescue, and public safety communications have been honored for exceeding the call of duty with their lifesaving acts. The Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce is proud to host this prestigious event.” In attempting to get photos of the Christmas Day “guardian angels” from even sponsor the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce, we were informed individual shots were not taken due to the number of recipients from the past year. This year, a total of 240 awards were presented, including 84 Lifesaving Awards, 131 Certificates of Valor, 22 Bronze Medals of Valor, and 3 Silver Medals of Valor.
Congratulations to Officers Williams, Craven and Galindo for a Christmas Day first response well done, and one that at least two Reston residents may remember as their very own Christmas miracle, circa 2023.
And thanks to our own WCSO Deputy Jim Williams for alerting us to this nearby Happy Ending Christmas story. And also a nod toward our own first responders in Warren County and the Town of Front Royal for all they do daily for us. You’re ALL Valor Award winners to us!!!
Community Events
Valley Chorale Announces Upcoming Spring Concerts in Middletown and Front Royal
The Valley Chorale presents “Wishing On a Song – Music in the Key of Hope”, a spring concert exploring aspirations of love, home, spirituality and compassion that unite and uplift us all. With styles ranging from light classical and sacred to vocal jazz, spirituals and pop, The Valley Chorale strives to capture the hopes that unite us.
The Valley Chorale is known throughout the Shenandoah Valley for innovation and excellence, with piano, cello and percussion accompaniment, and their concerts are often a heart-warming experience for all. They welcome babies and tots, so no need to hire a babysitter.
Tickets can be purchased on their website TheValleyChorale.org — $15 for age 21+ (free under age 21) or at the door for $17.
SATURDAY, MAY 4, 3:00 – 4:15 PM
Belle Grove Plantation (Bank Barn), 336 Belle Grove Road, Middletown, VA
SUNDAY, MAY 5, 3:00 – 4:15 PM
First Baptist Church, 14 W. 1st Street, Front Royal, VA (Community Reception to follow)
For further information, visit the website: TheValleyChorale.org: follow them on Facebook; email them at TheValleyChorale@gmail.com or call at 540-635-4842.
(From a Release by The Valley Chorale)
Local News
Gifted and Exceptionally Motivated Former Students of Mountain Vista Governor’s School Inducted into Foundation Hall of Fame
On the evening of Saturday, April 27, beginning at 5 p.m. in the cafeteria at Warren County High School, the Mountain Vista Governor’s School Foundation hosted a donor reception followed by an induction of two former MVGS students into their hall of fame. In the names of those former students, two scholarships will be awarded in the amount of two hundred dollars each to students in need.
One of nineteen regional governor’s schools in Virginia, Mountain Vista Governor’s School for Math, Science, and Technology, is present at two locations, on Laurel Ridge Community College’s Warrenton campus and the Middletown campus. MVGS draws and actively seeks out gifted, exceptionally motivated students from the thirteen base schools it serves in Clarke, Frederick, Warren, Culpeper, Fauquier, Rappahannock, and Winchester. Splitting their time between their base schools and MVGS, these students, in Middletown or Warrenton, depending on the counties in which their base schools are located, are given a chance to take advanced courses, including ones in humanities that, if they opt for dual enrollment, may help them skip the first two years of college. Government funding allows MVGS to welcome students into its tuition-free program. But if the students desire dual enrollment in connection with Laurel, wherein they receive college credit for their courses, then tuition becomes necessary. Attendance at MVGS involves an application, and there is a limit to the number of student places that can be filled in during any given school year.
Saturday evening was a showcase of rising talent in the MVGS system, as well as testimonies to the caliber of its program as two former students who benefited from MVGS and have gone on to have brilliant careers were given the opportunity to speak about how much they value their educational history at the governor’s school and how it uniquely prepared them to excel. The Foundation, separate from the school itself, is concerned with fundraising on behalf of the school so that students can be supplied with the tools and other resources they need to receive their education. Because of those assets made accessible by the Foundation, the two students who spoke were effusive about what a great foundation they had for future success. The rigor they underwent prepared them to maximize the challenges ahead.
A good example of the type of excellence students are encouraged to achieve in the program is the artificial intelligence project undertaken by Tamara Otten, which was displayed at the event. Tamara will soon take her project to an international competition in Los Angeles. She is exploring the possibility that AI could be trained to detect filtered images. This has ramifications for mental health as young people would then be able to discern that many of the images that they are being bombarded with on the Internet are not genuine. Therefore, they should not compare themselves to those unrealistic standards. In Tamara’s mind, this is just the beginning.
The evening also featured an auction of student-created artwork and a bag raffle. The members of what was an intimate gathering went home with leftovers of Devin Smith’s culinary art. Smith is an expert chef known for his involvement with Reaching Out Now, another organization reaching young people, specifically in Warren County.
Local News
As Opening of Youth Center Draws Near, the Reaching Out Now Family Looks to the Past for Inspiration
As Samantha Barber and Toby Hire sat, side by side, holding hands on April 26 in a yet-to-be-furnished room of the Raymond E. Santmyers Student Union and Activity Center in Front Royal, Virginia, there was a very real sense of water, which is stopped by nothing. “Water is my serenity,” Samantha said in this conversation with the Royal Examiner. It maneuvers its way around any obstacle in its path, if not eroding the obstacle altogether, and that is precisely what the Reaching Out Now (RON) family, of which Samantha is the president, has done in its endeavor to provide Front Royal and the wider Warren County region with a youth center, opening soon, where students can come to play, relax, have fun, develop strong bonds of friendship, and explore what they want to do with their futures.
The youth center is necessary, and the stakes are life and death. The brilliant lives and tragic early departures of Harlee Hire and Nathan Jenkins, the first to suicide and the second to a boating accident, inform the RON family of their mission to reach young people. There is this awareness that life is incredibly fragile, and the only way to face it is through community. It is as simple as asking: “Are you okay?” That is precisely what RON intends to do through the youth center so that young people in Harlee’s position do not fall through the cracks.
Harlee loved water. And by all appearances, she could overcome any obstacle. Through tears, “She was a great friend,” her mother Toby said as Samantha gripped her hand. Harlee practiced radical encouragement. It was not uncommon to hear her yelling shameless compliments like: “Your butt is looking fine today!” And even in the early months of 2022, after her friend Nathan’s boating accident in January and before she attempted suicide on May 10 and officially passed on May 11 and the Honor Walk donation of her organs on May 13 at UVA, she clung tenaciously to life. “I am going to do this, Miss Sam,” she told Samantha at a fashion show RON was hosting. And she walked down the runway.
“It is a sacrificial gift,” Samantha said of the youth center. “Nathan would have loved this,” Susan Jenkins said, standing outside the Santmyers building in May of 2023, and as soon as she said it, it began to rain. Indeed, a little fall of rain can hardly hurt me now, to quote the musical production of Les Miserables. There is a very real sense that both Harlee and Nathan continue to live through the youth center as the RON family remembers them and strives to reach young people in their position. Especially Harlee’s. While it is impossible to predict an accident like the one that occurred for Nathan, Samantha, and Toby both feel strongly that intervention is possible in the case of young people who are struggling with mental health issues.
In fact, May will be Mental Health Awareness Month for RON as they host three different athletic events in memory of Harlee and Nathan through their Safe at Home program. On May 9, a varsity girls’ softball game will be held at Skyline High School at 6 p.m. They will host a community baseball day on May 11, between 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. at the Bing Crosby Stadium. And on May 25 at Skyline High School from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., they will host a community softball day. In order to get tickets, go to reachingoutnow.org
There is no need to be perfect. Samantha is frank about the impact this trauma has had on her health. “You have rheumatoid arthritis,” a doctor told her. He explained that she had internalized so much psychological pain that it had a very real manifestation in her physical health. But this is just one more obstacle that can be overcome through the support of friends offering real, physical comfort. You can be broken, Toby said. It is okay. It is the broken kids that RON wants to reach. If you are in trouble at school, we understand, Samantha emphasized. If you have weed in your backpack, we understand. This is not a matter of selecting the crème de la crème of students who are already gifted and exceptionally motivated. It is a matter of reaching all the kids and helping them understand their potential.
In the unfurnished room at the youth center, a room named in honor of Nathan and intended to be a game room, the Nate (DAWG) Game Room, Samantha, and Toby agree wholeheartedly that there is nothing wrong with just playing games if you are not playing them alone. Toby said this is the most connected yet disconnected age. The goal of the youth center is to help young people connect authentically.
Community Events
Updated: ‘Phony Ponies’ Give a Competitive Edge to FR Rotary Downtown Pub Crawl Fundraiser
On Friday, April 26, the Front Royal Rotary sponsored a downtown Front Royal “Pub Crawl” featuring a Phony Ponies “horse race” ticket holders could bet on to add to the Rotary fundraiser, and a little reward for their knowledge of the relative prowess and breeding of the involved Phony Ponies. Or as one pre-race announcer informed the crowd, “We’ve got three stallions and two old mares in this race,” which was met by some boos from the filly-supporting contingent.
And it was one of those two filly mares that led the five-horse field across the finish line after three laps around the Gazebo in the in the Main Street Downs Raceway shortly after 7:30 p.m. — that was “Blazin’ Botox” (Warren County Sheriff Crystal Cline), followed in order by “Money for Nothing” (Front Royal Rotary President Ken Evans), “Closing Real Fast” (Front Royal Police Chief Kahle Magalis), “Bullseye” (Warren County Rotary President Michael Williams), and “The Old Gray Mare” or was that “Mayor” (Front Royal Mayor Lori Cockrell).
It was a highly competitive race with some post finish line challenges offered by runner up Money for Nothing, whose jockey Evans noted an unapproved by the Racing Commission pre-race change into borrowed running shoes by the winner, as well as some out-of-my-lane territorial elbow-bumping by Blazin’ Botox to keep him in his 2nd place position. WAIT, do horses have elbows? I guess phony ones do.
Jockey Cockrell explained her disappointing 5th place finish, noting she had locked in behind Bullseye/Williams early in the running. However, it ended up being a bad spot to draft, as Bullseye appeared to be having an equipment break-down in front of her, as in a drooping “saddle” threatening that stallions stability and which she had to pull back from for caution’s sake.
On the more serious side, the second annual Talk Derby To Me Pub Crawl fundraiser was in support of Rotary International’s eradicate polio worldwide effort. More information about Rotary’s efforts to end polio can be found at this website: https://www.rotary.org/en/our-causes/ending-polio
Involved and supporting downtown businesses included Vibrissa, the On Cue Sports Bar & Grill, Buckle & Belle Boutique, sponsor of the “Phony Ponies” race, C&C Frozen Treats, Pavemint Smoking Taphouse, Honey & Hops, Catamount Lounge, and Garcia & Gavino. Hope we didn’t miss anyone, and we’ll update as necessary if we did.
And in a late update, individual sponsoring of the Phony Ponies was provided by: Ken Evans, ReMax Reality sponsoring Evans on “Money For Nothing”; CSM Aesthetics sponsored “Blazin’ Botox” and jockey Cline; Clint Pierpoint, Next Home Reality Select sponsored “Closing Real Fast” with Chief Magalis on the saddle; Lori Cockrell for Mayor sponsored “The Old Grey Mare” with the mayor riding; and Shenandoah Valley Axe Throwing Co. sponsored the saddle-failing “Bullseye” with Williams keeping his stallion upright.
And if you missed the fun and excitement, here are a few more shots.