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City to be asked to annex ER site
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Editor's note: Story updated to clarify annexation process.

The hospital planning to build a “free-standing” emergency room in South Bryan wants Richmond Hill to annex about 40 acres of the land it will sit on, City Manager Chris Lovell told council members at a Tuesday night workshop.

The city council will vote Aug. 4 on whether or not to accept the annexation request by HCA Healthcare, which owns Memorial Health University Center in Savannah. 

Additional steps to finalize the annexation request will have to take place in August, September and October. Among them are a planning commission public hearing on rezoning Aug. 24, and city council will have to hold first and second readings of both the annexation and rezoning requests.

The property is part of a 436-acre tract off Port Royal and Rabbit Hill roads purchased in January for $9 million by Savannah Medical Services LLC.

HCA Healthcare is only asking the city to annex the land the ER site will be built on, Lovell told council members. The remaining acres are not included in the request.

Council member Mark Ott questioned the speed with which the process was moving and whether the facility is adequate for the city’s needs.

Other council members have said it’s Memorial’s decision whether to build the ER, and Mayor Russ Carpenter is supportive.

The state in June approved Memorial’s application for a certificate of need, a requirement.

In February, Memorial Medical Health University Medical Center Director for Emergency Services, Dr. Jay Goldstein said the facility will be able to provide patients with everything from CT scans or X-rays to treatment for strokes, heart attacks and more serious injuries.

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