Erlanger East moves forward with $51 million expansion

Construction work is well underway for the $51 million Erlanger East hospital expansion on Gunbarrel Road, but hospital leaders used a ceremonial groundbreaking Monday to recast the vision of the hospital as a “healthy lifestyle center.”

“Erlanger East will transform into the region’s first healthy lifestyle hospital, with emphasis on health, well-being and short lengths of stay,” said Erlanger East CEO Phil Jackson.

The project will redevelop the hospital – best known for its labor and delivery services and outpatient care – into a full-service facility.

Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 6/22/15. Former UT football coach Phil Fulmer, right, helps his daughter Brittany Ennen make an impression of his 6-month old granddaughter Natalie Ennen’s feet during a groundbreaking event for Erlanger East Hospital’s new $50-million expansion that will include a new patient tower with additional beds, operating rooms and a cauterization suite. The hospital also plans to launch a mile long walking trail which they are calling a “pathway to better health”.

The current build-out will include a patient tower with 58 new private rooms; four operating rooms; a cardiac catheterization lab newly approved by the state; and six additional postpartum beds in the labor and delivery unit.