Virginia’s state health commissioner has approved certificate-of-public need applications for hospital projects for three health systems.
Here are five things to know:
1. Richmond, Va.-based VCU Health, Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare and Marriottsville, Md.-based Bon Secours received the approvals March 13 from State Health Commissioner Cameron Webb, MD. Becker’s reviewed the documents. The approvals include conditions, such as charity care requirements.
2. VCU Health received conditional approval to establish Chesterfield (Va.) Hospital with 66 acute care beds, including 42 general medical-surgical beds, six pediatric beds, six obstetric beds and 12 ICU beds. The hospital will also include six operating rooms, a cardiac catheterization lab, a CT scanner and an MRI. The project is expected to cost $306 million and be completed by May 30, 2030, according to the certificate.
3. VCU Health is taking steps to begin the design and planning process, a health system spokesperson said in a March 17 statement shared with Becker’s.
“We are thrilled that we have received Certificate of Public Need (COPN) approval from the Virginia Department of Health for our Chesterfield Hospital,” the spokesperson said. “The approval recognizes the merits of our application and the positive impact that VCU Health System provides throughout the Commonwealth. We are taking steps to begin the design and planning process and are excited about expanding access to our unwavering care in Chesterfield County.”
4. Chippenham & Johnston-Willis Hospitals, part of Richmond-based HCA Virginia, received conditional approval to build Magnolia Hospital in Moseley, Va. The 60-bed general acute care hospital will include four operating rooms, a CT scanner and an MRI scanner, according to a March 13 letter from Dr. Webb.
The beds will include 54 general med-surg beds and six ICU beds. The $260 million project is expected to be completed by Oct. 13, 2029.
5. Bon Secours received conditional approval to add 40 acute care beds — including 36 med-surg beds and four ICU beds — to St. Francis Medical Center in Midlothian, Va. The expansion will increase the hospital’s bed count to 225. The $106 million project is expected to be completed by Sept. 13, 2029.
“This approval represents an important step as we continue planning to support access to care, advance health equity, and responsibly respond to the growing health care needs of Chesterfield County — one of the fastest‑growing regions in Virginia — and the surrounding communities that St. Francis Medical Center has served for more than two decades,” a health system spokesperson said in a March 17 statement shared with Becker’s.
Becker’s has reached out to HCA Healthcare for comment and will update this story if more information becomes available.
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