A rendering of the hospital that HCA proposed this year for a site near Ashland. The project needed state approval in order to proceed, which ultimately wasn’t granted. (BizSense file photos)
The year 2023 was a busy one for the healthcare landscape in the Richmond area.
A major local story was health system HCA’s months-long, ultimately unsuccessful bid to secure state approval needed to open a hospital it proposed for a site in Hanover County.
Also in 2023, HCA and other hospital operators capped off capital projects at their existing local facilities. The year also saw a couple health providers expand their presence in the Richmond market with new types of care centers.
HCA’s Hanover bid stymied by the state
Just days into 2023, Nashville-based HCA announced plans to build a 60-bed $233.6 million acute-care hospital on Sliding Hill Road just off of I-95 near Ashland. The project sought to extend the HCA’s local hospital footprint into Hanover County for the first time.
HCA then embarked on a process to seek the necessary approval from the state’s health department to move forward with the project. The push for the hospital was resisted by competitor Bon Secours in hearings held by state officials. Bon Secours and HCA also dueled over competing proposals to build free-standing emergency centers in Hanover. HCA pitched its ER as an alternative to its hospital project that would have risen on the same site.
In late September, the state health commissioner rejected HCA’s hospital proposal, and followed that with the decision to approve the Bon Secours ER pitch and pass on the HCA ER.
Capital projects and expansions
In early 2023, VCU Health marked the completion of a $420 million addition to the Children’s Hospital in downtown Richmond. The Children’s Tower, a 16-story facility focused on pediatric inpatient, trauma and emergency care, brought another 500,000 square feet to the hospital.
Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU Vice President Jeniece Roane (on left), as well as children who received care at the hospital and donors John and Deborah Kemper participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony July 18, 2023 at the new Ronald McDonald House Charities family center in the hospital.
Later in the year, Ronald McDonald House of Richmond cut the ribbon on a new support center at the hospital, featuring bedrooms, a kitchen and other amenities to be used by families of the hospital’s patients.
Goochland-based Sheltering Arms Institute, a joint venture between Sheltering Arms and VCU Health, got the state’s approval in October to add 30 new inpatient rehabilitation beds to the hospital located in West Creek.
Bon Secours completed $15 million in capital improvements at its Rappahannock General Hospital in the Northern Neck. The local arm of the health system also this year kicked off an expansion of its urgent care concept.
HCA has a $9 million expansion and renovation project in the works at Johnston-Willis Hospital, with construction anticipated to be completed in 2024.
Health insurance giant Humana introduced its subsidiary CenterWell Senior Primary Care to the local market with new clinics catering to elderly patients.
A rendering of the hospital that HCA proposed this year for a site near Ashland. The project needed state approval in order to proceed, which ultimately wasn’t granted. (BizSense file photos)
The year 2023 was a busy one for the healthcare landscape in the Richmond area.
A major local story was health system HCA’s months-long, ultimately unsuccessful bid to secure state approval needed to open a hospital it proposed for a site in Hanover County.
Also in 2023, HCA and other hospital operators capped off capital projects at their existing local facilities. The year also saw a couple health providers expand their presence in the Richmond market with new types of care centers.
HCA’s Hanover bid stymied by the state
Just days into 2023, Nashville-based HCA announced plans to build a 60-bed $233.6 million acute-care hospital on Sliding Hill Road just off of I-95 near Ashland. The project sought to extend the HCA’s local hospital footprint into Hanover County for the first time.
HCA then embarked on a process to seek the necessary approval from the state’s health department to move forward with the project. The push for the hospital was resisted by competitor Bon Secours in hearings held by state officials. Bon Secours and HCA also dueled over competing proposals to build free-standing emergency centers in Hanover. HCA pitched its ER as an alternative to its hospital project that would have risen on the same site.
In late September, the state health commissioner rejected HCA’s hospital proposal, and followed that with the decision to approve the Bon Secours ER pitch and pass on the HCA ER.
Capital projects and expansions
In early 2023, VCU Health marked the completion of a $420 million addition to the Children’s Hospital in downtown Richmond. The Children’s Tower, a 16-story facility focused on pediatric inpatient, trauma and emergency care, brought another 500,000 square feet to the hospital.
Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU Vice President Jeniece Roane (on left), as well as children who received care at the hospital and donors John and Deborah Kemper participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony July 18, 2023 at the new Ronald McDonald House Charities family center in the hospital.
Later in the year, Ronald McDonald House of Richmond cut the ribbon on a new support center at the hospital, featuring bedrooms, a kitchen and other amenities to be used by families of the hospital’s patients.
Goochland-based Sheltering Arms Institute, a joint venture between Sheltering Arms and VCU Health, got the state’s approval in October to add 30 new inpatient rehabilitation beds to the hospital located in West Creek.
Bon Secours completed $15 million in capital improvements at its Rappahannock General Hospital in the Northern Neck. The local arm of the health system also this year kicked off an expansion of its urgent care concept.
HCA has a $9 million expansion and renovation project in the works at Johnston-Willis Hospital, with construction anticipated to be completed in 2024.
Health insurance giant Humana introduced its subsidiary CenterWell Senior Primary Care to the local market with new clinics catering to elderly patients.