Bon Secours is another step closer to opening a freestanding emergency center in Hanover.
The health system held a ground-breaking ceremony Wednesday to commemorate the start of construction on its future emergency room and imaging center at 11400 N. Lakeridge Parkway.
The 10-bed, 17,000-square-foot facility is expected to be completed in late 2025, said John Emery, president of Bon Secours Memorial Regional Medical Center. The upcoming ER, called the Ashland Emergency Center, will be an outpost of the Bon Secours hospital in Mechanicsville and is intended to help handle patients in the hospital’s service area.
The project is currently anticipated to cost $37.5 million, which includes $25 million in construction and equipment costs, as well as the $12.5 million purchase of the project site by Bon Secours that happened earlier this year.
Henrico-based DPR Construction is the project’s general contractor. Cincinnati-based GBBN Architects was tapped to handle the design of the project.
At the ground-breaking event, Bon Secours officials said they’re pursuing the project to handle population growth and demand for medical care in that part of the Richmond region, particularly among older people.
“The Richmond community is growing and we are always on the lookout for where we need to be next to invest to meet the needs of a growing community, and it is an aging community. Most of that growth is in the 65-plus cohort with a higher demand for services,” said Chris Accashian, COO of the Bon Secours Richmond market.
Hanover Supervisor Faye Pritchard, who represents the Ashland District where the ER is to be built, said the project will fill a gap in emergency services in that part of the county.
“The truth is, we have not been well served by emergency care,” she said. “We know that we don’t have equal access to healthcare and we know that this is a first step forward in providing our citizens with much-needed healthcare.”
Hanover County Administrator John Budesky, Hanover Fire Assistant Chief Blake Stephens and Emery also shared remarks at the event.
The future facility is located just southeast of Ashland. In addition to its 10 treatment rooms, the building is planned to feature CT and MRI imaging capabilities, in addition to ultrasound and x-ray equipment.
Bon Secours bought the 7.5-acre site North Lakeridge Parkway for the new ER from Craig Realty Group in a deal that was recorded in January, per online land records. The health system had previously sought to build the Hanover ER on a different property at 10800 Lewiston Road, before securing the Lakeridge site.
The Hanover ER would be the fifth free-standing emergency center operated by Bon Secours in the Richmond market, joining similar facilities in Short Pump, Midlothian, Chester and Colonial Heights.
Bon Secours secured approval for Hanover project from State Health Commissioner Karen Shelton late last year, around the time that a similar facility proposed by HCA was rejected. HCA is now planning to build an outpatient surgical center at 10054 Sliding Hill Road. That project has received state approval, according to an HCA spokeswoman.
Bon Secours also continues to build out its footprint of urgent care centers in the region and is planning a surgical center in Short Pump.
Bon Secours is another step closer to opening a freestanding emergency center in Hanover.
The health system held a ground-breaking ceremony Wednesday to commemorate the start of construction on its future emergency room and imaging center at 11400 N. Lakeridge Parkway.
The 10-bed, 17,000-square-foot facility is expected to be completed in late 2025, said John Emery, president of Bon Secours Memorial Regional Medical Center. The upcoming ER, called the Ashland Emergency Center, will be an outpost of the Bon Secours hospital in Mechanicsville and is intended to help handle patients in the hospital’s service area.
The project is currently anticipated to cost $37.5 million, which includes $25 million in construction and equipment costs, as well as the $12.5 million purchase of the project site by Bon Secours that happened earlier this year.
Henrico-based DPR Construction is the project’s general contractor. Cincinnati-based GBBN Architects was tapped to handle the design of the project.
At the ground-breaking event, Bon Secours officials said they’re pursuing the project to handle population growth and demand for medical care in that part of the Richmond region, particularly among older people.
“The Richmond community is growing and we are always on the lookout for where we need to be next to invest to meet the needs of a growing community, and it is an aging community. Most of that growth is in the 65-plus cohort with a higher demand for services,” said Chris Accashian, COO of the Bon Secours Richmond market.
Hanover Supervisor Faye Pritchard, who represents the Ashland District where the ER is to be built, said the project will fill a gap in emergency services in that part of the county.
“The truth is, we have not been well served by emergency care,” she said. “We know that we don’t have equal access to healthcare and we know that this is a first step forward in providing our citizens with much-needed healthcare.”
Hanover County Administrator John Budesky, Hanover Fire Assistant Chief Blake Stephens and Emery also shared remarks at the event.
The future facility is located just southeast of Ashland. In addition to its 10 treatment rooms, the building is planned to feature CT and MRI imaging capabilities, in addition to ultrasound and x-ray equipment.
Bon Secours bought the 7.5-acre site North Lakeridge Parkway for the new ER from Craig Realty Group in a deal that was recorded in January, per online land records. The health system had previously sought to build the Hanover ER on a different property at 10800 Lewiston Road, before securing the Lakeridge site.
The Hanover ER would be the fifth free-standing emergency center operated by Bon Secours in the Richmond market, joining similar facilities in Short Pump, Midlothian, Chester and Colonial Heights.
Bon Secours secured approval for Hanover project from State Health Commissioner Karen Shelton late last year, around the time that a similar facility proposed by HCA was rejected. HCA is now planning to build an outpatient surgical center at 10054 Sliding Hill Road. That project has received state approval, according to an HCA spokeswoman.
Bon Secours also continues to build out its footprint of urgent care centers in the region and is planning a surgical center in Short Pump.
Certificate of Need laws need to go. Health systems should not have to get special permission for new facilities. It’s arbitrary and drives up costs.
There is more to the certificate of need process that also ensures underserved communities don’t lose out on services. For example HCA wanted to close down even more of retreat hospital in The Fan in order to relocate to Hanover. Retreat is accessible by public transit whereas Hanover has no public transit options.