It looks as if Chester may finally be getting an emergency room.
Bon Secours St. Francis Medical Center received notice that a Certificate of Public Need application it filed with the state last October was approved May 21.
“We’re absolutely thrilled this was approved,” Bon Secours CEO Chris Accashian said last week. He thanked the Chesterfield County Fire and EMS and members of the public who helped by submitting public comments in favor of the application. Thirty-nine people submitted letters in support of the application, according to Bon Secours spokeswoman Jenna Green.
“We’re excited to move forward and bring these services to Chester,” said Accashain, a Chesterfield native who has been with Bon Secours for three years. “It’s been much needed for a long time.”
The hospital plans to build an emergency room and imaging center and may add a primary care medical office to the site, which would be located off Jefferson Davis Highway on the campus of John Tyler Community College. The building would likely be between 15,000 and 20,000 square feet, he said.
The $2.6 million project is currently in the planning phase, Accashian said, noting that Bon Secours plans to lease state land from JTCC.
He envisions construction starting in mid-2020 with a completion date of mid-to-late 2021.
The emergency room would likely consists of 10 to 12 beds, which could serve some 20,000 to 24,000 people a year. Imaging services would be available to emergency room patients as well as outpatient customers.
The state turned down the hospital’s original request for a Certificate of Public Need last year. The approval came after the company resubmitted the application and asked for the public to submit comments on its behalf.
Bon Secours is located at 13710 St. Francis Blvd. in Midlothian.
From JTCC, the closest hospitals are: John Randolph Medical Center, 8 miles; Southside Regional Medical Center, 15; VCU Medical Center, 15; Bon Secours St. Francis Medical Center, 19; and Johnston-Willis Hospital, 20.
