Courtesy of LewisGale
LewisGale Regional Health System in Salem will soon have a second emergency room in the Roanoke Valley. Ground was broken today on West Ruritan Road in Roanoke County for what will become the second freestanding ER of its kind in the region.
It has been named LewisGale Medical Center Blue Hills ER and is right at 10,000 square feet. It will be staffed with physicians and nurses 365 days a year, proving the same services LG offers in its hospital emergency room.
Says Steven Pasternak, LG’s emergency department medical director, “In an emergency situation, every minute matters. Having access to unparalleled medical care at a facility nearby 24 hours a day, seven days a week will save lives and enhance patient recovery.”
Roanoke County Administrator Dan O’Donnell says, "This new facility enhances service delivery in a strategic location on the 460 corridor and provides high quality innovative medical services to an underserved area of the county."
The new facility will feature many attributes, including walk-in and ambulance entrances; eight private treatment rooms; CT capabilities; digital ultrasound and diagnostic x-rays; and on-site laboratory
The emergency facility will employ more than 30 staff including emergency physicians and nurses. It is expected to open in January 2022.
About the Writer:
Dan Smith is an award-winning Roanoke-based writer/author/photographer and a member of the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame (Class of 2010). His blog, fromtheeditr.com, is widely read and he has authored seven books, including the novel CLOG! He is founding editor of a Roanoke-based business magazine and a former Virginia Small Business Journalist of the Year (2005).