A new micro-hospital is opening soon in Chester County, Pennsylvania, bringing emergency medical care back to a community that’s gone without it for years.
ChristianaCare is launching three micro-hospitals in the Philadelphia region, starting with the first one in West Grove, which sits on the site of the former Jennersville Hospital. That facility shut down in 2021, leaving residents with long drives for emergency care.
Kate Ramirez, director of nursing at ChristianaCare West Grove, is one of 90 staff members hired to run the new 20,000-square-foot facility.
“I’m really excited,” Ramirez said. “I’m local, like I said before, close to home. So we really needed something in this area.”
Micro-hospitals are smaller than traditional hospitals. Officials said West Grove is equipped to handle most emergencies, including strokes and heart attacks.
Severe trauma, major surgery and STEMI heart attacks will require a different level of care, Dr. Vinay Maheshwari, physician executive for ChristianaCare, said.
“We do not have an intensive care unit,” Dr. Maheshwari said. “We do not have an operating room, so we don’t have those types of capabilities, but we can manage the great majority of the conditions that are required from an emergency perspective.”
The West Grove micro-hospital offers advanced diagnostic tools, such as a CT scanner, and provides around-the-clock care.
“Our hospital here has the capabilities for lab services that are not found in urgent care,” James Bennett, Market CEO for ChristianaCare-Emerus, said. “We have board-certified emergency physicians 24/7.”
Before this, people had to drive 45 minutes away to Christiana Hospital in Newark or Chester County Hospital in West Chester for emergency care.
For West Grove residents like Ray Moyer, the return of a local emergency facility brings peace of mind.
“It makes me feel a lot more comfortable if I have an issue or if some of the neighbors have issues that there’s a place close by for them to get immediate care,” Moyer said. “At least they can stabilize you and then transport you. It’s better than if you have a major issue having no nearby care. So I think it’s a significant improvement.”
In addition to West Grove, ChristianaCare plans to open micro-hospitals in Springfield and Aston, both in Delaware County.
The West Grove facility is expected to open in mid-August. In the meantime, signs have been posted outside letting the public know the hospital is not open yet, after some residents already showed up seeking services.
