Virginia health regulators approved Riverside Health System’s plan to build a hospital in Isle of Wight County.

The Newport News-based health care system wants to construct a 50-bed hospital at the intersection of US Route 258 and state highways 32 and 10, about four miles east of Smithfield and a short drive from the southern end of the James River Bridge.

The hospital would have 34 acute medical-surgical beds, 10 intensive care unit beds and eight obstetrics beds, as well as four operating rooms. It would include an emergency department and also would have a CT scanner and access to MRI scans with a mobile unit.

The authorized capital cost for the project is $100 million and is slated to be completed by September 2025.

Virginia regulates construction and expansion of hospitals on the theory if there are too many, the increased competition will mean existing facilities will no longer be able to afford to provide care to the indigent or to maintain less profitable services, such as obstetrics and mental-health care.

The Department of Health said it approved the plan because the number of beds in the area did not provide enough access for people in the fast-growing county.

Its decision said while its staff found driving times to the 81 bed Southampton Memorial Hospital in Franklin and to hospitals to the east in Suffolk, Chesapeake and Portsmouth were within the guidelines set by regulations, Riverside argued that the distance-based measure did not accurately reflect real work conditions, including delays at local bridges.

Isle of Wight’s population, which has grown by more than 50% since 1990, is set to grow another 10% by 2030, and many residents are aging, the department noted.

“With consideration of population growth, expanse of geography, singular barriers to road travel presented by watercourses and waterways, the Smithfield project bears clear potential for reasonably and effectively increasing access to general and essential health care services,” the department said.

It said the new hospital would improve the delivery of emergency services in the area, and mean better services in several federally designated underserved areas.

The department received nearly 2,100 letters and emails supporting the project, and was supported by another nearby hospital, Chesapeake Regional Medical Center. Only Bon Secours Hampton Roads Health System opposed the proposal, which in 2017 won state approval for an 18-bed surgical hospital in Suffolk that it has not started to build.

The hospital would have about 200 staff. Riverside proposes to finance construction through its own internal resources, and would not incur any expense to finance the project.

The decision reverses a staff finding last year that the new hospital was not needed.

“The decision is a tremendous win for the people of Isle of Wight and Surry Counties,” Riverside said. “This decision clearly reflects the Western Tidewater region’s need for greater, more convenient access to high-quality, affordable medical care. It also is consistent with the overwhelming support among local residents, first responders and community leaders for this vital facility.”

The hospital will have a major impact on Isle of Wight, assistant county administrator Donald Robertson said.

It will cut the time needed to get accident victims, heart attack patients and others with urgent medical needs to an emergency room.

“We’re ecstatic ... reducing response time will mean better outcomes,” he said.

The new hospital will also give a big boost the the economy, he said.

“This is a huge announcement,” he said. Building and staffing the hospital will create hundreds of jobs, while the hospital itself will have spin off effects, as outpatient facilities and other medical offices open nearby and employees move to the community, he said. Shorter trips to the hospital will mean less wear and tear on fire and ambulance vehicles, too.

Dave Ress, 757-247-4535, dress@dailypress.com

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