{"id":77641,"date":"2025-12-09T23:11:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T23:11:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/77641\/"},"modified":"2025-12-09T23:11:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T23:11:15","slug":"free-standing-emergency-department-planned-for-jacksonville-area","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/77641\/","title":{"rendered":"Free-standing emergency department planned for Jacksonville area"},"content":{"rendered":"

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. (WBRC<\/a>) – Residents in the Jacksonville area may soon have access to a free-standing emergency department.<\/p>\n

Jacksonville State University (JSU) says it is working with the Health Care Authority of the City of Anniston (RMC), the City of Jacksonville and Developer Solutions and Facilities Development Company to expand emergency health care for residents of Jacksonville and surrounding areas by moving forward with plans to construct a free-standing emergency department within the city of Jacksonville.<\/p>\n

\"Free-standingFree-standing emergency department at Jacksonville State University(Jacksonville State University)<\/p>\n

A JSU spokesperson says that on Nov. 5, RMC filed a formal letter of intent with the Alabama Certificate of Need (CON) Review Board for the construction of a free-standing emergency department on the campus.<\/p>\n

Jacksonville Mayor Mark Jones and the Jacksonville City Council have reportedly welcomed the project\u2019s progress and the partnership between RMC and Jacksonville State University.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn behalf of the city of Jacksonville, we\u2019d like to thank Jacksonville State University and Regional Medical Center for their commitment to making a free-standing emergency room become a reality for our community. This delivers on our commitment to bring quality emergency care to the people of Jacksonville, providing faster response times when seconds count. We look forward to working together on this significant project.”<\/p>\n

According to JSU, this partnership represents a significant investment in the health and well-being of Jacksonville residents, as well as a major enhancement to emergency and primary care access for the university\u2019s faculty, staff and students.<\/p>\n

A portion of the proposed 17,000-square-foot facility would relocate the RMC Student Health Center at JSU from its current location on the south side of Jacksonville to a wing of the new construction, according to a JSU spokesperson.<\/p>\n

The site is set to be located directly across Highway 21 from Hugh Merrill Hall on the north side of campus, on a plot adjacent to the previously announced Jacksonville Fire Station 2.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis project is another example of what can happen when Jax State, RMC, and the City of Jacksonville work together toward a shared goal,\u201d Dr. Don C. Killingsworth Jr., president of Jacksonville State University, said. \u201cWe\u2019re grateful for the leadership of Mayor Jones and the City of Jacksonville, and for RMC\u2019s continued collaboration and shared commitment to addressing a critical need for expanded emergency care in our community. Together, we\u2019re working to strengthen healthcare access for our campus and for the people of Jacksonville.\u201d<\/p>\n

RMC leaders reportedly echoed Killingsworth\u2019s statement, emphasizing the project\u2019s importance in meeting the growing demand for emergency care across Calhoun County.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the most consistent pieces of feedback we\u2019ve received from patients is about emergency department wait times. Over the past several months, we\u2019ve made tremendous progress, reducing the time it takes for patients to see a provider by 26% and decreasing wait times for admitted patients by 29%. Our wait times are now below national averages. This new location in Jacksonville would further alleviate demand at our Anniston facility while providing faster access to high-quality care closer to home for many residents,\u201d Keith Parrott, president of Regional Medical Center, said.<\/p>\n

\"Free-standingFree-standing emergency department at Jacksonville State University(Jacksonville State University)<\/p>\n

A JSU spokesperson says that the Board of Regional Medical Center has approved this venture and a $7 million capital budget for FY2026 to continue advancing patient care and safety across all RMC Health System campuses.<\/p>\n

According to JSU, the project will undergo state review through the Alabama CON Board. The estimated timeline, including approvals, design and construction, is expected to take 20 to 24 months. It is estimated to be completed by spring 2028.<\/p>\n

\"Free-standingFree-standing emergency department at Jacksonville State University(Jacksonville State University)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are excited about the opportunity to fill an important gap in patient care and provide better healthcare access to the people of Jacksonville and surrounding communities with this Free-Standing Emergency Department,\u201d says Parrott. \u201cI am deeply grateful for the support and collaboration of Jacksonville\u2019s former Mayor Johnny Smith, current Mayor Mark Jones, City Council President Terry Wilson, and Dr. Killingsworth of Jax State. Their combined efforts have been instrumental in advancing RMC\u2019s vision to expand emergency care access for the community and strengthen primary care services for Jax State.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Copyright 2025 WBRC. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Ala. (WBRC) – Residents in the Jacksonville area may soon have access to a free-standing emergency department.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":77642,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[43603,43617,43613,5947,43614,9024,37724,43600,43609,43601,8025,43602,43615,43599,43606,43607,116,4040,43608,118,43604,117,8036,8037,43611,8031,115,43610,43612,8038,43605,43616,8021,42325],"class_list":["post-77641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-alabama-certificate-of-need-review-board","tag-alabama-con-board","tag-board-of-regional-medical-center","tag-calhoun-county","tag-capital-budget","tag-city-of-jacksonville","tag-con","tag-developer-solutions-and-facilities-development-company","tag-don-c-killingsworth-jr","tag-emergency-health-care","tag-fox-6","tag-free-standing-emergency-department","tag-fy2026","tag-health-care-authority-of-the-city-of-anniston","tag-highway-21","tag-hugh-merrill-hall","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-city-council","tag-jacksonville-fire-station-2","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-mayor-mark-jones","tag-jacksonville-news","tag-jacksonville-state-university","tag-jsu","tag-keith-parrott","tag-myfoxal","tag-news","tag-president-of-jacksonville-state-university","tag-president-of-regional-medical-center","tag-rmc","tag-rmc-student-health-center","tag-spring-2028","tag-wbrc","tag-wbrc-6"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77641"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77641\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}