Virginia hospital dispute: Inova fears HCA will try to shift beds and services

The fight for hospital space in Northern Virginia between Inova Health System and Hospital Corporation of America took another unusual turn when Inova accused its competitor of trying to strategically "tie up" bed space with its latest application to build in Loudoun County. Last month, HCA officials announced plans to build Loudoun's second hospital, a 164-bed facility. In a letter to the state health commissioner, Inova officials said they have "grave concerns that HCA is merely trying to take the path of least resistance in the short term, and that HCA will use the relocation to Route 50 as a place holder until HCA decides at some point in the future where to deploy the beds."