Hard-to-find Bedford Memorial Hospital pushing VDOT, city of Bedford to erect more signs

By: Justin Faulconer | Lynchburg News and Advance
Published: June 21, 2008

Nestled in a quiet residential city of Bedford neighborhood with scenic mountain views, Bedford Memorial Hospital has served many patients in 52 years.

Hospital staff is working to ensure people passing through on nearby highways will know how to find it.

Susan Whitney of hospital medical staff services said there is a great need for the hospital to add more signs in Bedford County and nearby routes such as U.S. 460, U.S. 221 and Virginia 122.

The hospital currently has just eight signs, she said, and they are scattered roughly a mile from the hospital’s location on Oakwood Street.

As the hospital continues to draw clients from various parts of the county and other areas, Whitney said there is a concern that some converging into the city are having a hard time navigating.

“We’re not on a major road,” Whitney said. “We’ve discovered quite a few of our constituents can’t find us.”

Hospital representatives, city of Bedford officials and Virginia Department of Transportation administrators are set to meet June 30 to talk about solutions, she said.

A good number of patients have moved to Smith Mountain Lake, she said, and future signs would benefit their travels.

“There’s not a sign anywhere (on Virginia 122),” she said.

Debbie Shinstine, a Bedford VDOT administrator, informed Bedford County supervisors recently that the costs of future signs would merit discussion.

The hospital is jointly owned by Centra in Lynchburg and Roanoke-based Carillion.

Jeffrey Yentz, who as Centra’s corporate architect is responsible for signage, said a hospital is eligible for road signs by having emergency response capabilities, which Bedford’s hospital has.

The challenge is to find out the “main feeders” of traffic, he said, and how to make them effective.

“They are purely a way finding tool,” Yentz said. “They are strategically placed with the intent less is more.”

FOR YOUR INFO

Hospital patients and citizens are invited to attend the June 30 meeting on the topic of road signs at 11 a.m. in the hospital auditorium at 1613 Oakwood St.