Ascension St. Vincent’s is increasing access to emergency care in Jacksonville’s Southside community by developing a new freestanding emergency room at the intersection of Kernan and Beach boulevards. Preliminary plans are to complete construction by late fall 2025.
“At St. Vincent’s, we want to do everything in our power to ensure every person in every community can receive care during an emergency,” said Kevin Rinks, president and CEO of St. Vincent’s Southside. “This new freestanding emergency room reinforces our commitment to our patients that they will have access to quality and compassionate care.”
More than 40 associates will staff the new 10,000-square-foot emergency room and offer a range of services. These include a triage area, a critical care room, nine treatment spaces and advanced CT and X-ray technology. Once it is opened, more than 16,000 patients are expected to receive care annually at the site.
This location will provide a much-needed access point for care in expanding neighborhoods. Over the next five years, St. Vincent’s expects the population to increase by 5.9% in the Southside service area, a promising sign for the future. More importantly, this new facility brings mission-driven health care to more patients across Northeast Florida.
“This expansion of emergency services in Jacksonville reaffirms our commitment to delivering compassionate, personalized care to all,” said Ascension Florida Chief Strategy Officer Michael Shaw. “Every patient who steps through our doors can be sure that our teams are equipped to handle even their most complex cases thanks to the system of care sites we have established throughout Northeast Florida.”
The ER facility will be operated by Ascension St. Vincent’s Southside. In the event a patient needs emergency care on the main campus, St. Vincent’s can coordinate transportation and schedule follow-up appointments with providers.
St. Vincent’s operates two other freestanding ERs in Jacksonville’s Arlington and Westside communities, highlighting the hospital’s commitment to treating those needing care across Northeast Florida. St. Vincent’s was recently named a top 15 health system in the country for 2024 by Fortune and PINC AI.
Ascension St. Vincent’s, based in Jacksonville, operates four hospitals and more than 90 other sites of care and employs more than 5,300 people. In fiscal year 2023, Ascension St. Vincent’s provided more than $87.7 million in community benefit and care for persons living in poverty.
Ascension is a faith-based health care organization dedicated to transformation through innovation across the continuum of care. As one of the leading nonprofit and Catholic health systems in the U.S., Ascension is committed to delivering compassionate, personalized care to all, with special attention to persons living in poverty and those most vulnerable.
