CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — Chesapeake Regional Medical Center celebrated the completion of their Richard S. Bray Critical Care Tower, a $155 million expansion project that started back in 2020.
Wednesday, the hospital hosted a ribbon-cutting celebration and unveiled a portrait dedicated in honor of the late Judge Richard S. Bray, whose legacy and leadership helped shape the hospital and the Chesapeake community.
The completion of the 72,000-square-foot expansion with advanced ICU, cardiac ICU, stepdown and neuro/telemetry units honors Chesapeake’s civic and healthcare landscape, while also recognizing a major philanthropic gift from the Beazley foundation, a foundation that Bray was once the president and CEO of. It’s something Bray envisioned, and now, that vision has come to life.
“If the judge was here, he might say it’s not about me,” said Chesapeake Regional President & CEO Reese Jackson. “I think he would say this is about the community that he served for all these years.”
Those involved call the moment a milestone.
“Another monumental step in the life of Chesapeake Regional Medical Center,” said Stephen Best, president and CEO of the Beazley Foundation.
Chesapeake Regional Medical Center, just months shy of its 50th anniversary, continues its journey to provide stellar care with its new Richard S. Bray Critical Care Tower.
“It’s roughly 90 beds, a three-story addition, the first floor is an intensive care unit, the fifth-floor is a step down unit,” Jackson said.
The hospital hopes it’s something residents continue to support.
“People say these are hospitals and they make all the money,” Best said. “Chesapeake Regional Medical Center is a independent hospital, and our genesis of this hospital was a grass roots effort. A lot of people worked very hard to make this hospital a reality and it was nickels, dimes and quarters in the very early days.”
Now with the dawn of this $155 million project, those involved say the hospital is even more equipped to serve the region.
To learn more about the hospital’s expansion, click here.
