Crestwood Hospital in Huntsville says it will “soon” begin building north Alabama’s first freestanding emergency department in the fast-growing Harvest area of northwest Madison County.

The Crestwood Center ER-Harvest will open in 2024 at the corner of Highway 53 and Burwell Road. It will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the hospital says, and patients will be able to go online to reserve a place in line.

Crestwood says the Alabama State Planning and Development Agency has issued the official “Certificate of Need” required to begin building. The facility and staff “will bring emergency services closer to residents of one of the fastest growing communities in the state and reduce patient wait-times at other emergency departments,” Crestwood said.

The emergency department “will offer the same services as the emergency department at Crestwood Medical Center in Huntsville,” the hospital said.

Residents in the area rely now on volunteer fire departments and local emergency medical services (EMS) for emergency healthcare. The new center will be staffed by emergency physicians, registered nurses and “other patient care professionals,” Crestwood said.

It will be 11,047 square feet in size with 10 private patient rooms and radiology and lab services on site. It will also have a helicopter pad for patient transfer if needed.

Doster Construction Company will build the facility. The company has offices in Huntsville, Birmingham and Nashville, the hospital says.