Photo courtesy of Sara Harris Photography.
Following years of planning and construction, Riverside Health System unveiled the completed portions of its $55 million renovation and expansion of Riverside Walter Reed Hospital in Gloucester, Va.
“I want to reinforce the importance of having quality health care like you have here at Riverside, because certainly in my profession, in neurology and in cardiology, every minute counts now,” Governor Northam, a pediatric neurologist, said at the ribbon cutting ceremony. “If someone has to go an hour or two hours to receive their health care, that may be the difference.”
The expansion and renovation project marks the most significant construction project at the community hospital since it opened in 1977, Riverside President and CEO Bill Downey said.
The hospital’s new two-story, 54,000 square foot Surgical and Inpatient Services building and new main lobby area opened for patient care on Feb. 4, 2019.
The Surgical Services Suite includes three new state-of-the-art operating suites, two procedure rooms, and pre-operative and post-operative recovery areas. Among the advances in the surgical suite include advanced LED lighting that puts off less heat and are camera equipped, enabling surgical video integration that provides a complete picture of the patient’s condition at any given moment.
In addition, any case can be handled in any operating room at any time, allowing maximum scheduling flexibility. All seven new pre-op rooms are fully private, equipped with televisions and music therapy is available to help relieve patient anxiety. Thirteen post-surgery patient bays/rooms also allow for increased privacy while supporting best practices in infection prevention, safety and monitoring.
“These improvements will mean better care, more comfort, more safety and quicker recovery. I don’t think you could ask for anything more for a local hospital like this,” said Barbara Van Hoy after completing a tour during the community open house.
Van Hoy, a Gloucester resident, underwent emergency hip replacement surgery with Dr. Steven Hospodar at Riverside Walter Reed Hospital last summer. “It really helps people that want to stay in the community, and it allows their families to be right here with them for whatever they are going through,” Van Hoy said.
The second floor of the new building also houses 36 next-generation private inpatient rooms equipped with private bathrooms and showers, convertible sleeper sofas and additional seating for visitors and family members and numerous other features designed to increase both care and comfort.
Each room also includes its own fully integrated computer system, enabling safe, efficient access to Electronic Medical Records and built-in telemetry capabilities to be monitored by trained technicians stationed right on the floor 24/7.
“Each room will provide a healing environment that is comfortable, not only for the patient but for their family members and visitors,” said Esther Desimini, Riverside Vice President and Administrator at Riverside Walter Reed Hospital.
The new Surgical and Inpatient Services building is located adjacent to the existing Medical Arts Building and will become the hospital’s new main entrance – complete with a drive through drop-off area, and expansive lobby and registration facilities.
During his visit and tour of the new hospital facilities, Governor Northam also commented on the positive impact that high-quality health care has on local economies, noting that while the unemployment rate is at a 17-year low in Virginia, rural areas lag behind.
“One of the most important things to help bring all of Virginia back up, especially rural Virginia, is for people who want to live in rural Virginia to have access to affordable and quality health care,” said Governor Northam. “That’s important for quality of life, and it’s also important for helping businesses that want to grow and that may want to come to rural Virginia.”
“It’s a top priority for our business leaders to make sure that their employees have access to good healthcare. And nobody I really think has embraced that more than Riverside,” Governor Northam said.
The complete renovation and expansion project at Riverside Walter Reed Hospital also includes the expansion of the hospital’s Emergency Department which services nearly 22,000 patients a year. The new Emergency Department, scheduled for completion later this year, is being enlarged from 6,300 square feet to more than 16,000 square feet and includes 18 beds, three major treatment rooms, a trauma room and a dedicated Family Care Room.
Other major enhancements to be completed later this year include a new central pharmacy, the relocation of various administrative offices and the opening of a new gift shop and a coffee bar in the new lobby area, offering grab-and-go food and beverage items. New interior hallways will also be opened, creating multiple connector halls from the new Surgical and Inpatient Services building to the existing hospital and the Medical Arts Building.
It was perhaps Gary Ward, owner of Olivia’s in the Village and Scoot’s Barbeque in Gloucester, who captured the essence and impact of the project best, Desimini said. “Gary told me ‘often you have to go the hospital, but now the hospital has come to us.’”
For more information on Riverside Walter Reed Hospital, visit riversideonline.com/rwrh.
WORDS FROM RIVERSIDE PATIENTS
» “We are so blessed to have something like this in such a small community. I hope all of the residents here realize just how fortunate that they are to have doctors right here.” -Jane Niethamer, Gloucester resident who recently relocated from Northern Virginia.
» “It’s a wonderful addition for the community. Riverside always does things big time.” -Jane Sterling, Gloucester resident who worked in nursing for Riverside for 20 years.
» “It is so nice, when you walk into a hospital, to see everything brand new and clean, and it definitely gives you more confidence in the hospital.” -Connie Licone, former Gloucester resident.
» “It’s really very nice to be able to get care here in your hometown hospital.” -Meg Carmine, Mathews resident.
» “I am super impressed. I now feel like I can go out into the community and give Riverside Walter Reed a five-star review. The facility is great, the staff is great. It makes me feel good. The community needed this. The community deserved this.” -Joanna Jenkins Sibley, Gloucester resident.