A new hospital set to open in Isle of Wight County in January will cut the travel time for residents of Western Tidewater, who have long had to drive for half an hour or more for full-service emergency and inpatient care.
Riverside Smithfield Hospital was first proposed in mid-2021, after Riverside had owned the property outside the Town of Smithfield for several years, but the project got caught up in regulatory disputes over new hospital proposals in Hampton Roads.
When it’s finally ready to start accepting patients in January 2026, the new facility will open with 50 inpatient beds, four operating rooms and a 24-hour emergency department.
Riverside Smithfield Hospital President Jessica Macalino said the new services will close a major gap.
“This is huge for this community. It’s going to change lives and save many lives,” she said.
Local EMS agencies expect the facility to significantly reduce transport times, which previously left ambulances tied up for hours navigating rural roads, waterways and the often-congested James River Bridge on its way to the nearest hospital in Newport News.
For longtime first responders, the change is personal.
Smithfield Town Council member Steve Bowman, a former rescue squad volunteer, said he remembers transporting cardiac patients across the James River Bridge when it was raised.
“That lost time was dangerous,” he said. “This hospital is a game changer for seriously ill or injured patients.”
Beyond emergency care, the hospital also includes full diagnostic imaging, cardiovascular services, women’s imaging and an adjacent medical office building with cardiology, orthopedics, GI, general surgery, sports medicine and physical therapy.
Macalino said the project will add more than 300 jobs in its first year — a boost for a region that previously lost many healthcare workers to other cities with hospitals.
“There are people here who worked outside the county because they had no other option,” she said. “Now they can stay and work in their own community.”
Riverside also plans to open another primary care clinic two miles away later this month.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin and local lawmakers gathered Dec. 4 for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the $250 million medical campus.
Youngkin said residents should not have to cross bridges or drive an hour to receive basic medical care.
“Your zip code should not determine your health outcome,” the outgoing governor said, calling the project a major step in expanding health access for rural Virginians.
He added that improving healthcare access in rural communities is central to lowering costs and noted Virginia has applied for federal funding that could provide $100 to $200 million annually over the next five years to support rural healthcare access.
“By opening a hospital here, we’re taking the first step toward lowering the cost of healthcare,” said Virginia state Sen. Emily Jordan, who represents much of Western Tidewater.
“This is the first step in the right direction to being able to reduce the cost of health care. Reducing access barriers in rural communities is going to be monumental.”
