UnityPoint Health - St. Luke's Hospital to Open an ER in Marion

Feb 02, 2023

UnityPoint Health – St. Luke’s Hospital is expanding its footprint of care and will open an off-campus emergency department in Marion in summer 2024, following extensive planning and review as well as governance approval last fall. This extension/satellite emergency department will offer fast, efficient and high-quality care like that offered at St. Luke’s main Cedar Rapids ER.

The timing of this announcement was contingent upon two factors: working with a local property owner to secure the site at 3301 Armar Drive and receiving a “determination of non-reviewability” for the project from the Health Facilities Council at their scheduled meeting on January 31. We are pleased to share both steps have been successfully completed.

St. Luke’s identified Marion as an ideal location due to its fast-growing population and community expansion projections. This new location will be crucial to the Marion community as well as Northeast Cedar Rapids and surrounding Eastern Linn County communities to receive fast emergency care when time is critical. Access to emergency medicine physicians close to home for residents will save lives and enhance patient recovery.

St. Luke’s Marion ER will also help alleviate congestion and enhance the patient experience at St. Luke’s downtown main ER, which is one of the busiest emergency departments in the state. The Marion ER is another option for care when family medicine clinics and urgent cares are closed.

“Opening an off-campus ER in Marion helps us serve this community better by offering a faster, closer more convenient option for timely, lifesaving emergency care. No matter what the emergency, the new ER is equipped to handle everything from minor conditions to stabilizing treatment for major conditions such as heart attack and stroke. Time is of the essence in emergency care. This Marion location will save valuable minutes for patients and their families.

Dr. Ryan Sundermann
St. Luke’s Emergency Department medical director

St. Luke’s Marion ER will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days per year and will be staffed by board certified emergency medicine providers from East Central Iowa Acute Care (which currently serves St. Luke’s main campus ER) along with nurses, patient care technicians and other healthcare professionals. Like any hospital emergency department, the new St. Luke’s Marion ER will be equipped to treat patients with illnesses and injuries that require a higher level of care than an urgent care offers.

Designed to meet the community’s needs, the new Marion ER will feature:

  • Full-service emergency care – services like those offered at St. Luke’s Main Cedar Rapids ER.
  • 12 private treatment rooms
  • Advanced imaging for diagnostics and testing including CT, X-ray and ultrasound
  • On-site laboratory and pharmacy
  • Online ER Check-in and ER Passport

Construction will begin on the 10,000 square foot facility in spring 2023 and with opening anticipated in summer 2024.