Midlothian, Va. (May 30, 2024) – Bon Secours leaders and associates joined together today to celebrate the completion of construction on a $108 million, 55-bed renovation and vertical expansion project at Bon Secours St. Francis Medical Center (St. Francis) in Chesterfield County. 

With a new neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), intensive care unit (ICU), mother infant unit (MIU), MRI machine and pre-admission testing center already open, there are two remaining units to open to patients before the expansion is officially complete in mid-June: a new medical/surgical unit and a new observation unit. Upon the opening of the medical/surgical and observation units to patients, the St. Francis expansion will officially be complete, and the hospital will have a total of 185 licensed beds.

“Today is a milestone moment for Bon Secours St. Francis Medical Center. It takes a village to get an expansion of this complexity across the finish line, and we’re thrilled to deliver on this for our patients and community,” said Joe Wilkins, president, Bon Secours St. Francis Medical Center. “We’re grateful for the opportunity to celebrate with our supporters and the dedicated professionals who were instrumental in this project. We look forward to continuing to provide quality, compassionate care for this growing community now and into the future.”

Chesterfield County continues to be the fastest growing county in the Richmond metropolitan area, growing by 20 new residents each day. Since opening in 2005, St. Francis has served patients not only in Chesterfield County but in the surrounding counties of Powhatan, Amelia, and Cumberland/Nottoway. The hospital expansion stemmed from a need to provide an increased complexity of inpatient services amid population growth and aging. While this expansion improves access to the health care services that were most needed by the community, it also expands patient access to innovative resources, outstanding clinical staff and award-winning patient care.

This project consisted of both new construction (110,000 square feet) and renovation of existing space (70,000 square feet), and most notably, new construction included a two-story expansion over the critical care tower. This renovation and expansion project included:

  • Expansion of obstetrical beds from 21 to 29 beds
  • Expansion of intensive care beds from 16 to 24 beds
  • Expansion of NICU from 10 open bays to 11 private rooms and three bays
  • Expansion of medical/surgical services by adding 24 new medical/surgical beds
  • Expansion of an intermediate care unit (15 additional beds)
  • Addition of a new outpatient pharmacy as well as a new inpatient pharmacy
  • Expansion of an outpatient pre-admission testing center
  • Relocation of an open MRI to the hospital campus, the only Bon Secours open MRI south of the James River

The expansion also included the addition of 10 observation beds which allow for clinical care to be provided on a dedicated unit, reducing the number of observation patients occupying a licensed inpatient bed. 

In addition to its own emergency department, St. Francis oversees two freestanding emergency departments (ED) in the area: Westchester Emergency Center and Chester Emergency Center. Of note, the Chester Emergency Center, which opened in 2022, is currently the busiest ED in the entire Bon Secours Mercy Health footprint.

This $108 million hospital expansion received Certificate of Public Need (COPN) approval in 2019 and came in on time and on budget, despite facing the global COVID-19 pandemic.

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About Bon Secours - Richmond

Bon Secours - Richmond is part of Bon Secours Mercy Health (BSMH), one of the 20 largest health systems in the United States and the fifth-largest Catholic health system in the country. The ministry’s quality, compassionate care is provided by more than 60,000 associates serving communities in Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, Ohio, South Carolina and Virginia, as well as throughout Ireland. Bon Secours – Richmond provides compassionate medical care through a network of hospitals, primary and specialty care practices, ambulatory care sites and continuing care facilities. As one of Richmond’s largest employers, the not-for-profit health system employs more than 10,000 people, including more than 470 providers as part of the Bon Secours Medical Group. Bon Secours – Richmond includes St. Mary’s Hospital, Memorial Regional Medical Center, Richmond Community Hospital, St. Francis Medical Center, Rappahannock General Hospital, Southside Medical Center, Southern Virginia Medical Center, Westchester Emergency Center, Chester Emergency Center, Short Pump Emergency Center and Southside Emergency Care Center. Consistent with its commitment to serve each patient with dignity, BSMH provided more than $600 million dollars in community investments across five states in 2023, ensuring that cost is not a barrier to health care for our patients in need. In addition to charity care, BSMH invests in programs that address chronic illness, affordable housing, access to healthy food, education and wellness programs, transportation, workforce development and other social determinants of health that directly affect the communities we serve. The mission of Bon Secours is to extend the compassionate ministry of Jesus by improving the health and well-being of our communities and bring good help to those in need, especially people who are poor, dying and underserved. For more information visit BonSecours.com.