Today, leaders throughout Riverside and the community held a celebratory groundbreaking ceremony to mark the commencement of construction for the new Riverside Smithfield Hospital (RSH), scheduled to open in early 2026. The 50-bed hospital will offer services such as an emergency room, intensive care unit, medical/surgical unit, operating suites, and other diagnostic and procedural services for those living south of the James River.
“As we break ground on the new hospital, we lay the foundation for a healthier future for the community,” says Mike Dacey, M.D., President & Chief Executive Officer. “Riverside Smithfield Hospital will create a place where compassionate care and leading-edge technology meet community. The groundbreaking symbolizes a step forward, and upon opening the doors in 2026, it will expand our ability to provide personalized care close to home.”
The momentous effort to build the hospital on land near the intersection of Routes US-258 and VA-10 began in June 2021, when Riverside submitted a Certificate of Public Need (COPN) to the Virginia Department of Health (VDH). A COPN requires health care organizations to receive approval from the VDH to prove the community needs the services the facility would deliver before the onset of construction. Nearly 10 months later, on March 18, 2022, Riverside’s COPN was approved, and planning began.
“Being a Smithfield resident myself, the construction of the new state-of-the-art facility is reassuring, knowing that care will be more readily accessible for our community and our loved ones,” says Jessica Macalino, President of Riverside Smithfield Hospital. “The hospital will be more than just a building; it signifies Riverside’s effort to prioritize the health and wellness of the greater Western Tidewater community.”
In tandem with the construction of the 200,000-square-foot hospital, Riverside will be expanding the campus to include a Medical Office Building (MOB), the Jamison-Longford Medical Office Building, which will include space for multispecialty medical offices and various diagnostic and procedural services. During today’s groundbreaking ceremony, officials thanked Joseph W. Luter III and Karin Luter, who made a leadership contribution to the Riverside Foundation for the building of RSH and the MOB. The Luter family chose to honor Dr. Bernard “Barney” Jamison and the late Dr. Desmond Longford through their gift.
“As Riverside brings even more services to the Smithfield and Isle of Wight communities, we’re deeply honored to follow in the footsteps of Dr. Bernard ‘Barney’ Jamison and the late Dr. Desmond Longford, two extraordinary leaders whose dedication to quality care close to home laid the foundation of health care in the region today,” said Kristen Beam Witt, Associate Vice President and Chief Philanthropy Officer. “It is a privilege to work with the Luter family to ensure these two health care heroes are cherished and remembered.
Construction will officially begin later this year for the new MOB, which is set to open ahead of RSH in late 2025. For more information, photos, videos and details on the construction taking place on the soon-to-be Riverside Smithfield Hospital campus, visit riversideonline.com/rsh.