Millions poured into new health-care facilities, services
The Knoxville area’s population is growing, spreading out and getting older.
That led the region’s three largest hospital operators to fortify their investments and make additional ones in facilities, services and technology.
Here’s a roundup of what’s occurred this year.
- Covenant Health continues with construction of the $110 million Fort Sanders Sevier Medical Center, which replaces an existing facility across Middlesettlements Creek Road in Sevierville.
The nonprofit organization announced in May the addition of a 30,000-square-foot Dolly Parton Center for Women’s Services in recognition of the hometown superstar’s $1 million donation.
In June, Roane Medical Center announced its desire to sell the city of Harriman-owned hospital to Covenant, which would build a new facility, as well as add and expand services.
Covenant within the last year has also in completed a $40 million renovation of Methodist Medical Center in Oak Ridge and opened a $25 million hospital in Loudon County.
- St. Mary’s Health System opened in mid-August its second Knox County hospital — St. Mary’s North on Emory Road, near Interstate 75 in north Knoxville.
The $67 million facility includes 72 beds, but could be expanded to 300; a 24/7 emergency room; and patient rooms with sleep sofas, wireless Internet access and two televisions, plus meals when ordered.
The system also is set to begin a construction on a $100 million master facilities plan at St. Mary’s Medical Center, just north of downtown Knoxville, that will take several years to complete and include renovations, demolition and new construction.
Pending is a proposed $7.8 million cardiac catheterization lab as joint venture with East Tennessee Heart Consultants. Covenant and Baptist opposed the request. That coupled with federal regulators’ intent to reform rules governing self-referrals by physicians, has caused St. Mary’s to defer the request and determine this fall whether to move forward.
- The University of Tennessee Medical Center is undertaking a multiyear, $60 million renovation and expansion project of its main campus.
The project will add 110 patient beds, which includes 53 beds and four operating rooms that were added in the past year. New services include biatric and robotic surgery and renovation of its cardiovascular intensive care unit.
In a separate project completed this past year, UT Medical Center also opened women’s care, neuro/stroke and renval care inpatient units and expanded units dedicated to vascular surgery and pancreas and kidney transplants.
© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
