The “Emergency Department at Harrison Crossing,” the 11,000-square-foot facility, is on the southern end of the Harrison Crossing Shopping Center and has two ambulance bays, a walk-in emergency entrance, and parking in the front and rear. Inside is an office for walk-in medical emergencies and a separate emergency clinic.
It is operated by Mary Washington Healthcare and staffed with board-certified emergency physicians and a team of emergency-trained nurses.
Currently, there are 400,000 people in the Fredericksburg area, and with this center opening in the western part of the congested Plank Road area, it serves a need. “People don’t have to go as far to get the treatment they need,” said Justin Richardson, the nurse manager at Harrison Crossing.
“Our region is growing like crazy,” said Susan Spears at the Fredericksburg Chamber of Commerce. Spears and Richardson were at the ribbon cutting on February 5, but the emergency center opened its doors on January 23 and started seeing patients.
Another emergency medical center about a mile east, Fredericksburg ER opened about a year ago.
Next to the Emergency Department at Harrison Crossing is a Taco Bell, Popeyes Chicken, McCallister Deli, and a Goodyear Tire Center. An access road connects the shopping center, so a traffic signal for the shopping plaza is available only for cars and ambulances heading east.
Ever since the center opened, the area seemed busier, noted some. “Traffic has picked up, I noticed just today,” said one of the workers at Firestone.
One of the customers at Taco Bell was happy to have it right next door. “It’s the only one that’s near here,” she said.
