Two of Chattanooga’s biggest hospitals are teaming up to develop an outpatient surgery center in the growing Ooltewah area to help shift more patients from inpatient hospital care to less expensive ambulatory surgical treatment centers.
Parkridge Medical Center, which is owned by the Nashville-based HCA hospital chain, bought a former U.S. Xpress office building on 38 acres along Jenkins Road near Interstate 75 last week for $36 million, according to property records filed with the Hamilton County Register of Deeds.
A subsidiary of HCA’s Parkridge filed an application Thursday with state regulators to work with local physicians and Erlanger hospital to convert the 55,000-square-foot office that formerly housed U.S. Xpress and Transcard into an outpatient surgery center and medical office building.
In a request filed with the Tennessee Health Facilities Commission, a Parkridge-owned venture known as Chattanooga East Surgicenter LLC asked state regulators to certify there’s a need for a $23.2 million outpatient surgery facility with five operating rooms and four procedure rooms to provide a range of surgeries, including orthopedic, plastic, gynecological, ear, nose and throat, endoscopy, and urology procedures.
If the proposed certificate is granted, Erlanger proposes to buy 49% of Chattanooga East Surgicenter, and physicians would buy another 49% of the company. Parkridge will continue to own the undeveloped property around the proposed outpatient surgery center for potential future development near Exit 7 on Interstate 75, directly across the street from the headquarters of U.S. Xpress.