Bon Secours tops out new emergency department

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Bon Secours St. Francis celebrated a milestone Thursday in its emergency care construction project at St. Francis Downtown when a small group of hospital staff gathered for a topping-off ceremony. They watched construction workers place the final beam on top of the hospital’s new 45,000-square-foot emergency department.

Many of the hospital’s frontline workers were given the chance to sign the beam before the ceremony, according to a news release. The construction — part renovation and part new construction — will relocate the emergency department and quintuple the unit’s current space.

The new emergency department will have 42 rooms and accommodate 75,000 visits annually, the release said. Its design will include “fast-track” rooms to separate less acute care cases from other emergencies; holding rooms for patients waiting on lab results, behavioral health rooms for mental health emergencies; and new equipment.

“Following a very difficult year, this topping off ceremony is an exciting reminder of a bright future,” Greta Gue, administrative director of emergency services for Bon Secours, said in the release. “The goals of this project will help us continue carrying out our mission of being good help to those in need. With the city of Greenville growing exponentially each day, this expansion will allow Bon Secours to grow along with and care for our community as the number of people needing our services increases.”

The project is expected to be complete by the end of the year.

Bon Secours St. Francis is part of Bon Secours Mercy Health. Bon Secours St. Francis – Greenville provides medical care through Bon Secours St. Francis Downtown and Bon Secours St. Francis Eastside, as well as a network of primary and specialty care practices, and ambulatory care sites in the area.

Vannoy Construction is the general contractor.