Spring Hill doesn’t have a full-service hospital. That’s about to change.

One of Middle Tennessee’s fastest-growing cities hasn’t had a full-service hospital — but that’s changing soon. State regulators signed off on a $250 million project in Spring Hill.

Spring Hill’s population has been surging. It jumped by more than 5% from 2020 to 2021, which put it in the top 10 fastest growing cities in the country, according to the Tennessee State Data Center. Late last year, the city announced it was conducting a special census to track the growth.

Right now, Spring Hill only has a free-standing emergency room. TriStar Health operates it.

The company has been petitioning state regulators to let it build the site out. The expansion would include an intensive care unit, a labor and delivery wing, specialized cardiac care, operating rooms and imaging services like MRIs.

Competitors are allowed to fight against these kinds of proposals, arguing they aren’t needed. Several major hospital systems fought the Spring Hill pitch, but ultimately lost.

Regulators gave a greenlight to the project this week.

Tennessee is one of 35 states where the law requires health companies to convince regulators that a project is necessary, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. They’re called certificate of need laws. The Health Facilities Commission is the agency that administers the program.

The certificate of need policy is complicated and polarizing. It became even more so this year. The general assembly made changes to the controversial law, re-igniting debate about whether it’s helpful or harmful.