SMITHFIELD, Va. (WAVY) – The Riverside Health System celebrated the groundbreaking of the Riverside Smithfield Hospital with a ceremony Wednesday morning.
According to a press release, local and regional government officials and more attended the groundbreaking of the hospital, which will be a full-service general acute care hospital.
The healthcare system announced in March 2022 that the Virginia Department of Health approved the construction of the new hospital in Isle of Wight County.
Construction is expected to be complete in 2026 the hospital and once the hospital is open, it will offer an emergency department and diagnostic imaging services where patients can get both CT and MRI scans. The hospital will also be equipped with 34 medical and surgical beds, 10 intensive care unit beds, and four operating rooms.
Hospital President, Jessica Macalino told WAVY, “This has truly truly been a testament of the power of community and coming together to achieve something so remarkable.”
2500 community members sent letters of support to the State Department of Health when Riverside submitted it’s certificate of public need application. Pam Jordan who wrote one of those letters told us at the groundbreaking, “This is a blessing to all of us.”
Brian Carroll, Chief of the county rescue squad knows better than anyone about the public need. For the past 37 years, he has been transporting patients on the long drive, to Riverside in Newport News. “It’s when we get stuck on that bridge and we’re stuck for 20-30-45 minutes… and greater than that is return times back from the hospital,” he said.
The county has five ambulances and there are times Carroll says when all of them are stuck on the other side- leaving patients to wait.
County Board of Supervisors Chairman, William McCarthy has twice witnessed that time run out with separate families in the community. He told the crowd gathered Wednesday morning, “I remember the doctor coming out and here’s what the doctor said to them, I’m sorry we could not bring them back I only wish they could have gotten here sooner .”
McCarthy welcomed Riverside to Smithfield saying, “We are grateful that you are bringing hope in a priceless way to our community.”