Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare and Ascension are planning competing freestanding emergency departments in Fairview, Tenn., a fast-growing community in western Williamson County.
TriStar Horizon Medical Center, a subsidiary of HCA, is applying for a certificate of need to build a $21 million freestanding ER in Fairview. If approved, the 24/7 satellite facility would operate as an extension of TriStar Horizon’s main emergency department in Dickson, Tenn.
The proposed TriStar Fairview ER would include 11 treatment rooms, one trauma room, on-site laboratory and imaging services. It would mark Fairview’s first freestanding emergency department, according to TriStar.
“By bringing this proposed emergency department directly into the community, we can improve access, reduce travel time and ensure patients receive high-quality treatment close to home,” TriStar Horizon CEO Wyatt Chocklett said in a Feb. 27 news release.
The news comes two weeks after Ascension Saint Thomas and Dickson Medical Associates unveiled plans for their own freestanding ED and outpatient campus in Fairview.
St. Louis-based Ascension has filed a certificate-of-need application for a $20.6 million, 11,345-square-foot emergency department that would include 10 treatment rooms, two triage rooms and one trauma room.
The Ascension project would be co-located with a new outpatient facility operated by Dickson Medical Associates, offering primary care, express care, behavioral health and medical and surgical subspecialty services.
Fairview, located about 30 miles southwest of Nashville, has experienced significant population growth in recent years, increasing demand for emergency services, according to TriStar. Both systems cited long travel times for residents and limited 24/7 emergency access in western Williamson County as drivers for the projects.
If approved, the dueling developments would bring two freestanding emergency departments to the same growing market, intensifying competition between HCA and Ascension in Middle Tennessee.
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