In 2017 two skilled nursing facilities of 136 beds and 60 beds in Planning District 22, the Eastern Shore, elected to close their doors due to old facilities in need of extensive repair.  Also,  an excess of 63 beds in the area made it financially disadvantageous to continue to operate the buildings.  This created a large need in the community for skilled nursing rehabilitation services.  With both skilled nursing facilities closing, the residents of the Eastern Shore would have to travel several miles to the other side of the tunnel to find a bed, thereby creating an economic burden for their visiting loved ones.  Accomack Health Investors, LLC proposed a solution to the community and the state to solve the excess of beds in the planning district and create a financially viable skilled nursing rehabilitation facility.  This solution was to purchase the beds of both buildings and upgrade the Riverside Skilled Nursing Facility for 133 beds.  The proposal included transferring an additional 63 beds to Stafford County in Planning District 16 to serve the estimated need for 79 beds in 2020 and an additional 18 beds in 2021.  The Accomack Health Investors, LLC plans are to build a brand new state-of-the-art skilled nursing facility on an existing senior housing campus to help rectify the imbalance between the two planning districts.

Accomack Health Investors, LLC submitted an application and paid a $20,000 review fee to the state providing detailed plans for the transfer of 63 beds from the Eastern Shore (PD22) to Stafford County (PD16) to better serve both communities.  The application was followed up by an in-person meeting to address their concerns and ensure that the plan satisfied all of the state’s criteria.  Accomack Health Investors, LLC received a disappointing recommendation of denial from Staff.  This decision was then appealed by Accomack Health Investors and the application was presented to the State Hearing Officer demonstrating that the plans did indeed satisfy all the state’s criteria.  The State Hearing officer decided to uphold the Staff’s denial of the transfer of the 63 beds from PD22 to PD16.   After much determination by Accomack Health Investors in demonstrating that the transfer of beds did, in fact, meet all the state’s criteria, and that this transfer would greatly benefit the communities in both planning districts, the Commissioner of Health agreed with Accomack Health Investors and admitted that his initial ruling was incorrect.  Therefore, the application for the construction of a brand new state-of-the-art skilled nursing facility in Stafford County was approved, transferring 63 beds from PD22 to PD16 .  After a long road and a lot of diligent work by Accomack Health Investors, LLC, the state has approved the plan to help serve the needs of the two communities.