Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center invests $37M across two ERs

Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center announced Wednesday plans to invest more than $37 million in emergency services for the region, including a new freestanding emergency room in Stafford County and an expansion and renovation of the hospital’s primary ER in Spotsylvania County.

Located on 75 acres south of Fredericksburg along Interstate 95, the 133-bed Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center opened in 2010 and is part of the HCA Virginia Health System. Its leaders plan to spend $16.2 million to add 10 ER exam rooms at the hospital, expanding capacity by 30%, and create three triage bays. Overall, the project will add about 5,400 square feet to the emergency room.

The cost of constructing an 11,000-square-foot freestanding emergency room in Stafford is expected to be about $21 million. Construction is expected to begin in early 2027, with a 2028 opening. The ER will have 11 emergency bays, including a trauma bay and a covered ambulance entrance.

The freestanding ER will be staffed by emergency physicians and about 40 clinical professionals.

“We are incredibly excited to be able to make this investment in emergency care to meet the needs of our growing community and bring the exceptional care that we offer closer to home for many patients,” Ryan DeWeese, CEO of Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center, said in a statement. “These projects will improve the patient experience through more convenient access and shorter wait times, allowing us to focus on the most complex, high-acuity needs.”

Last year, HCA Virginia Health System had more than 613,000 emergency room visits at its facilities in the commonwealth.

HCA Virginia opened its first freestanding ER in Virginia in 2012 with the West Creek Emergency Center in Goochland County. While HCA closed the West Creek facility during the pandemic, citing a need to redeploy resources amid staffing and supply chain shortages, the health care system now operates eight other freestanding ERs in Virginia.

In January, Reston Hospital Center broke ground on a 14,000-square-foot emergency room and outpatient imaging center in Leesburg. It is expected to open by early fall and is one of three HCA Virginia freestanding ER projects in the works. Scott’s Walk ER and Chesterfield ER are scheduled to open in Central Virginia in summer 2026.

“At HCA Virginia, we are focused on expanding access to high-quality care across the commonwealth,” Shaila Menees, chief development officer of HCA Healthcare Capital Division, said in a statement. “The ‘front doors’ into our system are critical to supporting our full continuum of care, and we are proud to be building a system that meets patients where they are.”

The HCA Virginia Health System operates 14 hospitals, 26 outpatient centers, eight freestanding emergency rooms and 12 urgent care centers.