A new, two story, 25,000 square foot medical office building (MOB) on the campus of Bon Secours Richmond Community Hospital (RCH) has opened its doors, significantly improving access to quality health care for Richmond’s East End community. Leaders from Bon Secours, together with community and civic partners, celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on January 10.
“While Bon Secours has been committed to improving the health and well-being of residents in the East End since 1995, today marks a highly anticipated, very significant milestone for this community,” said Bryan Lee, president, Richmond Community Hospital. “Over the past 27 years we’ve served this community, we’ve been a catalyst for positive change, job creation, and neighborhood revitalization in the East End. We are glad to celebrate today at this grand opening ceremony with our neighbors and partners.”
Construction began in February 2022 and was completed in December 2022, as practices and programs began moving into the building, eager to start serving the neighborhood. As previously announced, the East End MOB will house services including Richmond Community Hospital’s intensive outpatient adult behavioral health program, the first and only of its kind in the East End, and an outpatient wellness clinic, which will include community health wellness and prevention services. Bon Secours’ pastoral care education team, community health team, home health and hospice teams, and additional support for behavioral health, including tele-consult services and intake services, will also be housed in the facility.
In 2013, Bon Secours entered into a Performance Agreement with the Richmond Economic Development Authority concerning projects in three areas of the City of Richmond. One of those projects included making capital improvements on the campus of Bon Secours Richmond Community Hospital in the East End. As part of this agreement, Bon Secours remained committed to, and has exceeded, the requirements: development of a 25,000 square foot medical office building; $8.5 million in capital investment ($16.5 million actual), 75 FTEs (147 FTEs actual), a $6.7 million annual payroll ($9.5 million actual) to be maintained for at least ten years, and the establishment of a publicly available fitness center ($1.6 million investment with the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club of Richmond).
“We are proud to officially open the East End Medical Office Building to patients, however, this only signifies the start of our work. Our commitment to this community is unwavering,” said Mike Lutes, market president, Bon Secours Richmond. “Our goal is to focus on forward momentum – effectively using data gathered from Richmond residents during our triennial Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), input from our Physician Advisory Council, and learnings from ongoing stakeholder engagements – to continue to improve the health and well-being of the East End community.”
At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Bon Secours also announced its Community Today, Community Tomorrow: Pathway to Wellness in the East End initiative. This three-year plan has four key components with actionable tactics that can be used to transparently measure progress. Progress will be tracked annually on a dedicated website: www.bonsecours.com/communitytodaycommunitytomorrow. The plan’s four components include:
- Committing to increasing access to medical services
- Focusing on wellness and prevention
- Continuing to grow our partnerships with the East End community
- Continuing to recruit and train physicians and associates
In addition to this path forward, Bon Secours will continue to invest in community benefit programs, and provide community benefit investment grants to the East End community through initiatives that address the social determinants of health.
“There are many factors that contribute to the health of a population. We continue to welcome collaboration to identify and execute long-term, sustainable solutions that will improve the overall health of the East End community,” continued Lutes. “Bon Secours is proud to be responding directly to community need with our Community Today, Community Tomorrow: Pathway to Wellness in the East End initiative, which will provide more access to medical services in this community. It is our hope that together we can meet the challenge of improving the overall health and well-being of the East End community. It takes a village.”
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