Dominican president honors VCU surgeon, Bon Secours opens first free-standing emergency center, and new hospital comes to the area

Bon Secours opens the area’s first free-standing emergency department, Richmond Eye and Ear Healthcare Alliance gets a new name (one that’s not such a mouthful), and Dominican Republic president honors a VCU surgeon that helped separate conjoined twins.

May 4, 2012; 9:36 AM • by RVANews staff

Henrico Doctors Hospital has opened a new emergency center. It’s located near the intersection of Route 288 and Tuckahoe Creek Parkway East, just minutes from Short Pump. The 10,000-square-foot ER will be staffed 24/7 by physicians and clinical staff with special training in pediatric and adult emergency medicine. The new facility will include a full-service lab with point-of-care testing, a full range of imaging (x-ray, CT, and ultrasound), and expedited transfers for patients who need inpatient or specialty care at Henrico, Parham, or Retreat Doctors’ Hospitals.

In other hospital news, Bon Secours has recently opened the St. Francis Watkins Centre. Located at the corner of Route 288 and Midlothian Turnpike, it is the area’s first Free-Standing Emergency Department with advanced diagnostic imaging, comprehensive women’s health center and multi-specialty physician practices. Among its amenities are 16 private rooms equipped with cardiac monitoring and include trauma, bariatric, psychiatric, and negative pressure rooms and a women’s health center.

Dominican Republic president Leonel Fernandez Reyna presented pediatric surgeon David Lanning, M.D. with that country’s highest civilian honor for his efforts to separate conjoined twins in a dramatic 22-hour surgery late last year. Lanning received the Order of Christopher Columbus rank of Knight, an honor usually reserved for Dominican citizens or military. Only a handful of non-civilian, foreign-born individuals have received the award since it was established in 1937.

Richmond Eye and Ear Healthcare Alliance (REEHA), the parent company of Richmond Eye & Ear Foundation and Stony Point Surgery Center, has recently launched of a new name and brand identity: MEDARVA Healthcare, an organization focused on the medical arts in Virginia. Their focus is not only on quality surgical procedures, but also on funding cutting-edge research and community outreach.

stock photo by brykmantra