Parkland Medical Center Breaks Ground on $16 Million Freestanding Emergency Room in Salem

New 24/7 emergency room will put hospital-level care within a 15-minute drive for approximately 30,000 more residents
 
SALEM, NH (Oct. 27, 2026) — More families in Salem and surrounding southern New Hampshire communities will be closer to emergency care when Parkland Medical Center opens Salem ER in summer 2027. Parkland Medical Center, part of HCA Healthcare, broke ground today on the $16 million freestanding emergency room at 53 South Broadway, near Interstate 93 and across from Tuscan Village.
 
Once open, the new facility is expected to bring an emergency room within a 15-minute drive of home for approximately 30,000 residents who do not currently have that level of access. Salem ER will offer the same types of emergency services available in a hospital-based emergency department, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
 
“An emergency is stressful enough without a long trip to reach care,” said Whitney Fenyak, chief executive officer of Parkland Medical Center. “This new location will give Salem-area families a convenient place to turn for hospital-level emergency services when they need them.”
 
The new Salem ER will feature:

• 12 private patient rooms, including a fully equipped trauma bay

• Emergency medicine physicians, specially trained emergency nurses and support teams

• CT scanning, diagnostic X-rays and on-site laboratory testing

• A walk-in entrance and covered ambulance entrance

 
Staffed by board-certified and board-eligible emergency physicians, Salem ER will provide around-the-clock emergency care for a wide range of conditions, including serious emergencies such as heart attacks, strokes and severe injuries.
 
Emergency doctors and nurses will be equipped to begin treatment onsite, supported by advanced diagnostic imaging and laboratory testing. If a patient needs hospitalization, care teams will help coordinate a transfer to an appropriate hospital.
 
“A shorter trip to a freestanding emergency room can help people get evaluated more promptly when time matters,” said Dr. Devin Keefe, medical director of emergency medicine at Parkland Medical Center. “One in every 15 emergency care visits in the U.S. takes place at an HCA Healthcare facility.  Our local teams benefit from these best practices shared by HCA Healthcare emergency clinicians across the country, and we bring that experience to the care we provide right here in southern New Hampshire. Hospital-based emergency rooms will continue to play an essential role in caring for patients with more complex needs, including those who require advanced specialty care or hospitalization.”
 
The project is part of HCA Healthcare's broader investment in strengthening New Hampshire's healthcare infrastructure. Across the state, HCA Healthcare has recently invested $50.5 million in expanding high-quality emergency care by developing Salem ER, Nashua ER and Capital Region ER in Concord and an expansion and renovation project of the hospital-based ER at Catholic Medical Center.
 
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Parkland Medical Center
Parkland Medical Center is an 86-bed regional acute-care hospital with a Level III Trauma Center in Derry, NH. It is owned by HCA Healthcare, which operates four hospitals, three freestanding emergency rooms, an ambulatory surgery center, urgent care center, and 46 physician practices in New Hampshire, where it employs 2,600 colleagues and 554 physicians, provides $15.8 million in uncompensated care, and pays $43.8 million in taxes annually. HCA Healthcare’s New Hampshire hospitals also include Catholic Medical Center in Manchester, Portsmouth Regional Hospital, Frisbie Memorial Hospital in Rochester, and freestanding emergency rooms in Dover, Nashua, Plaistow and Seabrook.
 
Photo Captions:
Salem ER Groundbreaking group – Members of the Parkland Medical Center leadership team and Board of Trustees joined Salem town officials, local elected officials, EMS agencies and Consigli Construction to celebrate the groundbreaking of a freestanding emergency room in Salem.
 
Whitney Fenyak, CEO of Parkland – Whitney Fenyak, CEO of Parkland Medical Center, talks about the importance of bringing emergency care to the Salem community.