Parkridge Medical Center in Chattanooga is preparing to start its biggest renovation in 20 years after a state agency approved its request to embark on the $62 million project.
The expansion, which is scheduled to start in a few months, will completely overhaul two floors at the five-story hospital and create a new entrance for the 44-year-old downtown facility.
Changes will include larger operating rooms, a new interventional catheterization lab, newly remodeled patient rooms, and a new pharmacy. The first phase of the project is expected to be completed in March 2017, while phase two is expected to be finished by May 2019.
By the numbers
* $62 million: Total estimated cost of the expansion* 92,662: Total square footage of the planned project, including 54,049 feet of renovated construction and 38,613 feet of new construction* 5.5 percent: Parkridge’s projected increase in total surgical cases from 2012 to 2017.* 275: Total number of beds at Parkridge Medical CenterSource: Parkridge Health System
Staff photo by John Rawlston/Chattanooga Times Free Press - Mar 11, 2015
Parkridge Medical Center is seen on Wednesday, Mar. 11, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The hospital has plans for a $62 million expansion."We are pleased to have received approval to proceed with the project," said Darrell Moore, CEO of Parkridge Health System, which is owned by the Nashville-based HCA Healthcare. "The renovations will position Parkridge for continued growth and leverage the latest technology to provide exceptional patient care."
The project begins just months after Parkridge, which is owned by HCA, decided to shut down inpatient services at its recently acquired Parkridge West facility, formerly known as Grandview Medical Center.
While Parkridge officials said the Jasper, Tenn., hospital was not being used enough to cover the expenses of inpatient services, they told state officials that they expect increased patient activity at its downtown campus in the coming years.
And it comes as Parkridge's competitors are pouring millions into expansions of their own. CHI Memorial Health Care system completed a $318 million multiphase expansion at its downtown and Hixson campuses one year ago. The 485,692-square-foot downtown project alone included two building additions and multiple renovation projects.
Meanwhile, Erlanger Health System recently broke ground on its $50 million expansion at Erlanger East, which will turn the satellite campus into a full-service hospital. The hospital is also planning to put $11.5 million of recently acquired bond money toward a children's and women's ambulatory center, and $8.5 million toward surgical improvements and a new orthopedic center.
Despite the heavy competition, no local hospital contested Parkridge's request to the state to embark on the expansion, state officials said.
Tennessee requires health care facilities to apply for "certificates of need," or approval from the Tennessee Health Services and Development Agency, for capital projects larger than $5 million.
The idea is to regulate growth and prevent an arms race that would lead to an oversupply of services and inflated health care costs. If community members or competing health care companies think that a particular project is unnecessary or bad for the community, they can contest the request.
Except for the cath lab and a new bone density imaging unit, Parkridge officials have said the hospital is not adding any new beds or services.
Contact staff writer Kate Belz at kbelz@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6673.