Virginia lawmakers have again delayed a vote on a plan to close Hiram Davis Medical Center, a state-run long-term care and skilled nursing facility in Petersburg, citing concerns about where residents with some of the state’s most complex medical and behavioral needs would receive care.
The Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services has planned to close the facility since 2024. Under the proposal, the department would move residents to other facilities in the community. Those whose care needs exceeded the abilities of local providers would transition to the Southeastern Virginia Training Center in Chesapeake. Hiram Davis would be permanently closed by December 2027.
To stay on schedule, the commission needed an advisory vote from the Joint Commission on Health Care by late July. Instead, commission members last week postponed the vote and said they will send Gov. Abigail Spanberger a letter outlining their concerns. The letter will not include recommendations, Sen. Barbara Favola, D-Arlington and the chair of the commission, said during Wednesday’s meeting…