Front Royal Family Practice Files $5-Million Civil Claim Against Valley Health and Warren Memorial Hospital

It does not appear to be a pleasant parting of ways between local medical provider Front Royal Family Practice (FRFP) and its former medical establishment and physicians training partner, Valley Health Systems (VHS), and Valley Health’s local facility, Warren Memorial Hospital (WMH). A recent clue to the unpleasant background of the recently announced relocation of FR Family Practice to its former location on a portion of the old Warren Memorial Hospital grounds at 140 West 11th Street is a $5-million Breach of Contract civil suit filed by FRFP against Valley Health and the current Warren Memorial Hospital on Friday, July 10.

A sign acknowledging the return of FR Family Practice at the parking lot entrance to FRFP’s former and current site at 140 West 11th Street. The VH and WMH portions of the original sign appear to be partially phased out in dark blue. Royal Examiner Photos Roger Bianchini

That civil suit filing claims $5 million in damages being sought by the plaintiff, Front Royal Family Practice. The plaintiff has also requested a jury trial on all issues triable in civil court.

The foundation for the plaintiff’s claims dates back to cooperative agreements cited as occurring in 1993, 1998, and 2001 at the old WMH site off Shenandoah Avenue on the Town of Front Royal’s northside.

The FRFP civil complaint then notes that in 2019, “VHS announced plans for a new WMH building and requested that FRFP join a new Rural Health Clinic (RHC) in the new hospital,” adding, “FRFP declined VHS’s invitation.”

From there, FRFP claims a series of events that have evolved and deteriorated to the point of its current $5-million civil suit against Warren Memorial Hospital and Valley Health.

Graphic of the current WMH from the hospital website.

The civil complaint states this:

“In 2020, VHS informed FRFP that VHS would terminate the teaching contract between FRFP and WMH for teaching in the SVFPR (Shenandoah Valley Family Practice Residency) as well as the office building lease if Plaintiff would not join the new RHC (Rural Health Clinic).

“After protracted negotiations, FRFP and VHS agreed on a ‘lease model,’ and this model was outlined in two contracts, a Professional Services Agreement (‘PSA’) and a Practice Support Services Agreement (‘PSSA’) … Plaintiff and Defendants both recognized that there may be tensions with the new lease agreement and intended for the PSA and PSSA to provide a smooth ‘offramp’ should the parties decide to separate.”

However, FR Family Practice claims the transition has been far from smooth since announcing its decision to opt out of the reworked lease agreement and return to the 140 West 11th Street site it formerly occupied, which it has now purchased at the old WMH Shenandoah Avenue site. A priority concern for the plaintiffs appears to be a lack of access to the VH/WMH Epic MyChart system, where patient records and contact information are largely stored.

Two current perspectives of the main entrance to Front Royal Family Practice offices at 140 W. 11th Street.

Fortunately, so far, those cited incidents related to a prescription refill mistake and one call from a FRFP patient into the defendant’s Epic Mychart system, who was having a mental health crisis leading to suicidal thoughts, have been resolved without injury or irreparable damage.

However, “If the court does not intervene immediately, there will be a tragedy,” FRFP warned in their civil complaint to the court.

Stay tuned for developments as this civil claims case proceeds in Warren County Circuit Court.