Health IT Association Announced as Med Mart Tenant

A health care IT association has been named as the first anchor tenant of the proposed medical trade center in Nashville.

Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society or HIMSS isn’t a household name, but it puts on enormous trade shows across the globe. Its idea for the Nashville medical mart is to turn a traveling exhibit into a permanent one.

HIMSS CEO Stephen Lieber says he expects to lease at least 25,000 square feet in what is now the existing convention center. He plans to display the latest health care software and systems.

“The companies that are there are the McKesson’s, the Siemens, the GE’s, so major manufacturers of technology are the ones demonstrating their products.”

The ones trying out the products are hospitals and physician groups, and this way they’d be traveling to Nashville for the side-by-side comparison.

Dallas-based Market Center Management, which is developing the medical mart, will try to also sign leases with HIMSS member organizations by offering them discounts. HIMSS, itself, may be eligible for tax credits, which are currently being considered by the state legislature.

The $250-million trade center is in the pre-leasing stage. The developer hasn’t yet negotiated a deal with Metro Government to takeover the existing convention center.