Vanderbilt University Medical Center has several offices in Rutherford County.

VUMC opened a Children's Clinics and Surgery Center in December in Murfreesboro's Gateway area.

Prior to opening center, about 200 children traveled per day to VUMC in Nashville for health care.

The proposed hospital will offer convenience to people needing health care, VUMC official says.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center proposes to build a 48-bed hospital off Interstate 840 and Veterans Parkway in Murfreesboro.

"The hospital’s projected cost of $134.4 million includes 48 licensed acute care beds and an additional eight observation beds," VUMC spokesman John Howser said in a news release. "The project also seeks to include diagnostic and therapeutic cardiac catheterization services, along with neonatal intensive care services."

Vanderbilt plans to build the 154,000-square-foot hospital on 82 acres VUMC acquired in January 2019 for up to $8 million by an I-840 interchange with Veterans Parkway in the Blackman community on the west side of Murfreesboro. VUMC does not have a timeline of when construction still start and the hospital will open, Howser said.

The proposed hospital is among others in the fast-growing health care industry in Rutherford County. The Vanderbilt project will be near where Ascension Saint Thomas Health has submitted a letter of intent to the Tennessee Health Services and Development Agency for a neighborhood hospital, said Jim Christoffersen, the general counsel for the agency.

The neighborhood hospital will come before the agency's board for a Certificate of Need hearing Aug. 26, according to a news release from Ascension Saint Thomas Health.

The agency also will be reviewing plans for a nearly $14 million Westlawn Surgery Center on Veterans Parkway near I-840, records show. Saint Thomas/USP Surgery Centers LLC will own at least 50.1%, and Tennessee Orthopaedic Alliance will own no more than 49.9% and provide the medical staff.

The Westlawn Surgery Center Certificate of Need hearing had been scheduled Feb. 26 but was deferred. The agency's board will next meet June 24 to consider whether proposed health care developments qualify for certificates of need. The developments also must seek approval from the Tennessee Board for Licensing Health Care Facilities, Christoffersen said.

VUMC grows in Rutherford County

Vanderbilt has several health care offices in Rutherford County. Vanderbilt's Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital opened a $27.2 million Children's Surgery and Clinics building in December off Thompson Lane and Garrison Drive in Murfreesboro's Gateway area.

VUMC Chief Executive Officer Jeff Balser also commented in the news release about the 148-bed hospital plan in the Blackman community.

“Strategic growth for the Vanderbilt Health system is essential to our efforts to improve well-being throughout the region," said Balser, who's also dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. "The opportunity to serve the citizens of Murfreesboro and the Rutherford region through this new facility will allow us to provide a wider array of clinical services for the community and help support important aspects of our academic mission."

The press release mentions Murfreesboro and Rutherford County being among the fastest-growing areas in the nation. According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, Rutherford County’s population has grown by 26.5% over the past decade and is the largest suburban county in the Nashville area with a 2020 population of more than 337,000, according to the County’s Chamber of Commerce.

Planned hospital will offer convenience

VUMC Deputy Chief Executive Officer C. Wright Pinson said in the news release that Vanderbilt officials are excited about the development project in Blackman because their hospital in Nashville serves a significant number of patients from Rutherford County.

“This project will greatly improve their convenience and ready access to care," said Pinson, who also serves as the chief health system officer for VUMC. "We are continuing to invest in this vibrant community to help meet the expanding health care needs of its citizens.”

Prior to opening the Children's Clinics and Surgery Center, Vanderbilt reported about 200 children traveled from the area each day to the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt campus in Nashville. The new center provides 37,500 square feet and 80 employees, including physicians and nurses, near Murfreesboro Medical Clinic and Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital.

SUPPORT OUR WORK: To support award-winning journalism here in Rutherford County, sign up for a digital subscription to DNJ.com.

Reach Scott Broden at sbroden@dnj.com or 615-278-5158. Follow him on Twitter @ScottBroden.