Riverside Shore Memorial Officials Celebrate Groundbreaking
ONLEY, Va. — Officials held a groundbreaking ceremony last week to commemorate the start of construction for the new Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital.
The 69-bed, 155,000-square-foot facility will be built alongside a new 40,000-square-foot medical building and the exterior design will be in keeping with local architecture of Virginia’s Eastern Shore.
The hospital will have 57 private inpatient rooms with the ability to expand by 12 additional beds in the future. The hospital will also feature three operating rooms; an intensive care unit; a 13-bed, 24-hour emergency department; a newborn unit; two sleep study suites; 10 infusion areas; a diagnostic center with MRI, CT and general radiology capabilities; and inpatient and same-day surgery services. The adjacent medical office, which will be connected to the hospital by two enclosed corridors, will house the hospital’s cancer center, physician offices and support services.
More than 500 members of the community, including several local and state officials, attended the ceremony to celebrate the hospital that will bring modern health services to the rural community.
“As a public official, I have the privilege of attending a number of ceremonial events, but there is no more momentous event on the Eastern Shore than the building of this hospital,” said Virginia State Del. Lynwood Lewis. “We should be grateful for the physicians, board members and others who have shown their dedication to our citizens. It’s a commitment that the Eastern Shore deserves and one that I know Riverside will fulfill.”
The design for the exterior was also unveiled to the public at the groundbreaking ceremony. To create an architectural character similar to the surrounding buildings, red brick and red cement board are being considered as the primary cladding for the exterior of the new three-story hospital.
The new hospital will replace an existing 104-bed facility built in 1971. Formerly known as the Northampton-Accomack Memorial Hospital, the hospital became affiliated with Riverside Health System in 2009 and renamed to Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital.
“When we searched in 2009 for a partner, one system stood out from the rest: Riverside,” said Robert Leatherbury, chairman of the hospital’s board. “It’s an organization that shares our values and commitment to the community. Right away we began working on our greatest needs: physicians, equipment and information systems and a facility ready for the next century.”
The estimated $80 million project is due for completion in late 2015.