The State of Tennessee Health Services and Development Agency unanimously approved an extension to complete the expansion of Erlanger East Hospital to a full-service hospital with 107 inpatient beds.
The state’s “certificate of need” approval, which came last week, allows the Erlanger Health System to complete its $68.7 million expansion project at Erlanger East Hospital, according to Erlanger’s Chief Strategy Officer Joe Winick. The phased-in expansion of Erlanger’s Gunbarrel Road campus, expected to be completed by December 2016, will not only feature more inpatient beds, but also an expansion of surgical services, a cardiac catheterization lab, as well as other ancillary and support services.
Erlanger expects to finance the expansion with the issuance of bonds.
“We were delighted to get this unanimous endorsement from the State to provide a much-needed, full service hospital for the residents of north Hamilton County who clearly need and want this level of care,” said Erlanger President and CEO Kevin M. Spiegel, FACHE following the hearing. “The volume of business we are seeing in our new Erlanger East Emergency Center far exceeded our expectations, and is just one indication of the need for a new full-service hospital to serve those living in north Hamilton County,” he added.
Dr. Phillip E. Jackson, FACHE, newly-named chief executive officer of Erlanger East and Erlanger North Hospitals, said he was "looking forward “to the incredible opportunity of directing a major expansion project, and seeing this full-service hospital come to fruition over the next two years." “
In 2013, the Erlanger Health System opened its fifth Emergency department at Erlanger East Hospital, one of five Erlanger campuses located throughout the region. The only 24/7 Emergency Department in north Hamilton County, it served more than 22,000 area residents during its first year of operations. This year Erlanger East opened the Center for Breast Health, providing the latest technologies for diagnosing and treating breast cancer for area residents. “We consider Erlanger East to be our lifestyle campus, providing the right mix of necessary services for busy families who live in proximity to Tennessee’s largest retail shopping area, the Chattanooga Volkswagen plant, and other major employers at Enterprise South,” said Dr. Jackson.