Tennessee’s Health Services and Development Agency recently approved Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC)’s request to build a 42-bed, $144 million facility in Murfreesboro. The facility, to be called Vanderbilt Rutherford Hospital, will be constructed on property owned by VUMC at the intersection of Veterans Parkway and State Route 840.
Vanderbilt Rutherford Hospital will be a full-service community hospital providing emergency room services, obstetrics, surgical capabilities and cardiac catheterization services, and it will bring additional ICU capacity to the community.
VUMC’s certificate of need passed the regulatory board on Dec. 15 by a vote of 5-1. A similar application was considered in August 2020 but was denied in the face of opposition from Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford, TriStar StoneCrest Medical Center and Williamson Medical Center.
The new application cited the area’s explosive growth and provided statistics for how many residents are driving to VUMC’s campus in Nashville for medical care and bypassing other hospitals in the area.
“We did not undertake the decision to submit a new application for Vanderbilt Rutherford Hospital lightly,” said C. Wright Pinson, MBA, MD, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Health System Officer for VUMC. “But we have heard from numerous people in Murfreesboro and Rutherford County, including state and local government officials, community and business leaders, fellow health care professionals, and, most importantly, many of our patients, who are vocal supporters of these plans and continue to encourage us to move forward with this proposal.”
Learn more about VUMC’s commitment to area residents in this article from the VUMC Reporter.
