Spring Hill Emergency Department Gets State Board Approval

A state board narrowly approved a new emergency department for Spring Hill. Wednesday’s decision for the HCA-run facility came in spite of protests from several area hospitals.

The emergency department would go near Saturn Parkway, just off Interstate 65, on land where HCA had hoped to build a hospital. The state had green-lighted that hospital project, but opponents killed it with a court challenge last year.

Supporters of the latest project cast the opposing hospitals as trying to stymie competition at the community’s expense. Durward Blanks says opponents are putting money above people’s lives.

“If you were visiting Rippavilla Plantation in Spring Hill and somebody hit you on the way out, would you care about market share? Do you care that the market share is going to be decreased if you go to a local hospital or emergency room instead of a hospital 25 miles down the road? You don’t care, you want help!”

But opponents pointed out the smaller-scale emergency department won’t be equipped to cover everything a full-fledged emergency room can, like a heart attack. Cardiologist Kevin Maquiling says Spring Hill would have to redirect some patients to bigger hospitals, which could waste critical treatment time.

“I am concerned that if patients unwittingly present to a facility that does not have this life-saving capability that they are guaranteeing delay and inviting disaster.”

Still, the Tennessee Health Services and Development Agency decided 4-to-3 to let the emergency department move forward. And so far, at least Maquiling’s hospital, Maury Regional, says it won’t appeal that decision.

–

WEB:

A statement from Williamson Medical Center CEO Dennis Miller.

“We are honored to be the health care provider of choice for the majority of residents in the communities we serve. For more than 53 years, Williamson Medical Center has been committed to providing quality health care in this region, and we remain focused on this mission.

“In 2007, we completed a $100 million expansion of facilities, programs and services to anticipate the growing needs of the communities we serve. This project included tripling the Emergency Department, adding patient care floors and 45 beds, in addition to growing services such as Outpatient Imaging, an expanded Level II neonatal intensive care unit, cardiac rehabilitation, an accredited Chest Pain Center and robotic-assisted surgery.

“Our strategic planning team will continue reviewing and analyzing services—which may include providing expanded, 24-hour urgent care services to Spring Hill residents in conjunction with Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Maury Regional Medical Center—to meet the needs of these communities.”

That is, a representative says, “Our strategic planning team is evaluating further options. We have no plan to appeal at this time.”

–