Bon Secours announces that Bon Secours St. Francis Medical Center in Midlothian received approval from State Health Commissioner M. Norman Oliver, M.D., M.A., of the Virginia Department of Health to its application for a certificate of public need (COPN) to increase its bed capacity. 

The expansion includes the addition of 55 acute care beds, including nine obstetrical beds, four intensive care beds, and 42 medical/surgical beds and is projected to be about 110,000 square feet, costing approximately $119 million.

“Throughout the Certificate of Public Need process, we enjoyed strong support from our patients, employees, local leaders, and area residents in favor of expanding bed capacity in order to meet the growing health care needs of patients in Chesterfield County and the surrounding areas,” said Chris Accashian, president, Bon Secours St. Francis Medical Center. “We are grateful for everyone’s support of this project and are thrilled it will move forward, allowing us to continue to pursue our mission of bringing compassionate care to our community.” 

Chesterfield County is the fastest growing county in the Richmond metropolitan area. St. Francis Medical Center is located in the heart of this large area of population growth, and it serves patients in surrounding counties, including Chesterfield, Powhatan, Amelia and Cumberland/Nottoway. St. Francis’ planned expansion is a response to an increased need for inpatient beds from patients for medical, surgical, obstetrical and intensive care, stemming in part from increased complexity of inpatient services and population growth, especially growth in the population of ages 65 and older, who require more inpatient care than other age groups.

The bed expansion, which will increase St. Francis’ licensed capacity to 185 beds, will involve the following expansions:

  • expand obstetrical beds from 21 to 30 beds
  • expand intensive care beds from 16 to 20 beds
  • expand medical/surgical services by adding 42 new medical/surgical beds 

To accommodate the bed expansion, St. Francis plans to renovate selected areas of the hospital, expanding parking and constructing two new two-story additions; the first one above the emergency department tower and the second above the inpatient bed tower. “We are carefully planning the construction process to ensuring there are no impacts to our daily patient care and hospital operations,” added Accashian.