Community Today. Community Tomorrow.

Bon Secours’ commitment to the Richmond community is unwavering. In January of 2023, we introduced our Community Today, Community Tomorrow: Pathway to Wellness in the East End initiative, which is a three-year plan developed using data gathered from the East End community, for the East End community.

In our first year, we have made great strides on the four key components of this plan including increasing access to medical services, focusing on wellness and prevention, growing our partnerships with the East End community, and recruiting and training physicians and associates. We have seen that when we come together, we can meet the challenge of improving the health and well-being of the East End community, and we appreciate your ongoing support and partnership.

As we enter year two of the implementation of the Pathway to Wellness in the East End initiative, we will continue posting updates by the 15th of the month following the end of each quarter (April 15th, July 15th, October 15th, January 15th) on this dedicated webpage.

Richmond Community Hospital

Click here to view the Community Today, Community Tomorrow: Pathway to Wellness in the East End plan

Quarterly Updates - Q3 2024

Richmond Community Hospital Completes Beautification Project In August, Richmond Community Hospital finished the final section of their overall campus beautification efforts with the installation of new and improved exterior signage on the Main and Medical Office Building Entrances to the facility. The completion of this project marked the final step in not only improving the overall campus atmosphere, but also provides clear and concise wayfinding signage for our patients and visitors who are entering the building.

Access to Medical Services

Inpatient Pulmonology Now Available at RCH Virginia Lung physicians are now providing inpatient and emergency department (ED) consultations at Richmond Community Hospital. With this partnership, we are enhancing access to care for pulmonary evaluation and management for patients in the East End, ranging but not limited to acute asthma exacerbation and chronic lung disease.

Multi-Disciplinary Specialty Clinic Expands Benjamin Bluen, MD, recently joined the team at Richmond Community Hospital. He is board certified in Infectious Disease, American Board of Internal Medicine and has expanded infectious disease outpatient services to the multi-specialty clinic. Dr. Bluen is seeing patients at 1510 North 28th Street, in suite 110. To make an appointment with his practice, patients can call 804-673-2814.

Bon Secours Urgent Care, East End Officially Opens to Patients

Bon Secours Urgent Care, East End officially opened to patients on July 8, 2024. walk-in and online reservations with a full spectrum of care options in a convenient setting for those in need in the area surrounding Richmond Community Hospital. With no appointment needed and most major insurances accepted, you will find a welcoming option for healthcare 362 days a year. Since opening, the clinic has been able to provide quality care to over 550 patients. The clinic started as a soft opening, operating on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9am to 5pm. The hours were expanded on September 1st to Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm. Beginning in early November the clinic will transition to our 7-day standard, Sunday through Saturday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. hours.

Wellness and Prevention

Sarah Garland Jones Center Place Making Events – Jammin in July, Movie Night, Gospel Fest, Cooking & Conversations, and Chair Yoga

The Sarah Garland Jones Center annual place making events include Jammin in July, Movie Night and Gospel Fest. The place making events are family-friendly and community coming together for fun and fellowship.

Jammin in July included local band Another Level, where members had fun dancing in the street to the sound of R & B music.

Movie Night consisted of face painting, eating popcorn, and enjoying the Little Mermaid under the moon light with friends.

Gospel Fest, the center’s biggest event, consisted of local gospel groups from surrounding areas including Baltimore, Maryland, District of Columbia and Chesapeake. It was spiritually uplifting with mental health moments by Douglas Cofield, a dedicated Bon Secours nurse director and reflections about having faith by Joseph May, Director of Mission at Richmond Community Hospital. Over 300 people attended this event!

Cooking and Conversations: To focus on mental health awareness this summer, the Sarah Garland Jones Center hosted a 4-week series. The series highlighted recipes, nutrition, and mental health conversations. Joseph May and Doug Cofield also facilitated the conversations on anxiety and depression, prayer and therapy. Romaine May, another dedicated Bon Secours associate cooked up the nutritional recipes to coincide with the topics.

Chair Yoga is held each Thursday at the center. This program offers an opportunity for local retirees and Senior Citizens to experience mindful awareness and active movement within the comfort of their chair.

Richmond Community Hospital Blood Drive

In partnership with the American Red Cross, Richmond Community Hospital hosted a community blood drive on July 30th, 2024, for hospital employees, and members of the neighborhood. The successful event welcomed over 20 attendees.

Community Health Needs Assessment

Every 3 years, Bon Secours Richmond Community Health conducts a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), where we hear from community members that live near our 7 hospitals about what they think are the biggest health needs facing our community. The CHNA is a rigorous, federally mandated community engagement process that involves focus groups, town halls, interviews, and a survey. These opportunities to hear from the community help Bon Secours leadership to identify community health needs, pinpointing the most pressing health issues and gaps in services that need to be addressed. They also help us guide our resource allocation, improve health outcomes, and enhance our ongoing community engagement. Our CHNA process is a vital tool to ensure that our Bon Secours services align with community needs and are contributing positively to public health.

The survey takes an average of 6-7 minutes to complete.


Here is the link to take the survey in English: 

Thank you for helping us make our community healthier!


Here is the link to take the survey in Spanish: 

Gracias por ayudarnos a que nuestra communidad sea mas sana

Community Partnerships

School Supply Drive – Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School Richmond Community Hospital associates teamed up and donated school supplies to Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in honor of Humility of Mary Day this summer. These school supplies were dropped off to the school on August 13th, just in time for the students to make their way back into the schools on the 19th! We are honored to continue to be partners with MLK Middle School and are wishing them the best start to their school year!

Clothing Drive – Shiloh Baptist Church

Richmond Community Hospital associates partnered with the Community Health Neighborhood Engagement Team for clothing donations from staff at RCH for one of the Congregational Churches in the East End, Shiloh Baptist Church. The Pastors have been an integral part in finding ways to assist with disparities within the neighborhoods that they serve - and have continued the work of building relationships and assessing the social drivers of health needs. We look forward to partnering with the church in Q4 for donations for winter clothing, hygiene care packages, and laundry detergent.

Bon Secours Volunteer Ministry

Bon Secours Volunteer Ministry (BSVM) is a service-focused, faith-based year of ministry sponsored by the Sisters of Bon Secours. The team is grateful to be serving again in Richmond Community Hospital and at Cristo Rey Richmond High School, where young adult Ministry Volunteers cultivate a compassionate presence within their unit or department, live in intentional community with fellow recent college graduates, and go through a facilitated spiritual formation curriculum that touches on faith, justice, service, community, and simplicity. BSVM provides housing, health insurance, transportation, a modest monthly stipend, and an AmeriCorps Education Award as Ministry Volunteers are invited to grow spiritually, personally, and professionally through the year. The new team of 3 volunteers at Richmond Community Hospital began their experiences the first week of September 2024.

Richmond Police Department Connection

Richmond Community Hospital leadership team members met with Richmond Police supervisors from each precinct to discuss partnership opportunities and how the facility and law enforcement can support one another and the community. Strengthening this partnership will foster a safe workplace environment for staff members at the hospital as well as instill faith in the safety of the community atmosphere in the East End on a consistent basis.

Inspire – Healthcare Explorer’s Camp

Healthcare Explorer’s Camp aims to introduce adolescents aged 13-17 from the Boys and Girls Club to various health care opportunities and careers, fostering a future generation of medical professionals and administrators. This initiative aims to establish an inclusive health care career pathway through equitable principles and practices.

This summer, Boys and Girls Club students participated in the second annual informative and experiential summer sessions from July 2nd - July 30th, facilitated by Bon Secours associates, to expose youth to the health care field and stimulate their curiosity. Some competencies students learned include how to properly put on PPE (personal protective equipment), how to do CPR, dress a wound, read an EKG, and swaddle an infant. The students have expressed how they were inspired to pursue a career in pediatric care, radiology, and lab in the previous year and are the main reason we plan to expand the program partnerships in the future.

Training and Recruitment

Cristo Rey Richmond High School Partnership Continuation

Richmond Community Hospital is thrilled to continue into the second year of partnership with Cristo Rey Richmond High School and their Corporate Work Study Program. This program provides high school age students with an opportunity to experience life in the workplace prior to many of their peers at similar ages. This partnership is an example of a lasting relationship between two local Richmond entities that is fostering not only future healthcare career interests, but also growth and networking opportunities for students of various backgrounds throughout the community.