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Arlington & Lakeland ’ s Community Newspaper theview . com March 2017
Saint Francis , Baptist Hospitals Eye Arlington for Free-Standing Emergency Department
By Terry Bondurant
THREE-PEAT
Arlington HS JV Cheer Wins National & World Titles
What we know : a free-standing Emergency Department , affiliated with a major medical center , may soon be located near the intersection of Interstate 40 and Airline Road . What we don ’ t know : which hospital or the exact location . But within 10 days of each other in January 2017 , both Saint Francis Hospital Bartlett and Baptist Memorial Hospital filed competing Letters of Intent to file a Certificate of Need with the Tennessee Health Services and Developmental Agency to build a free-standing Emergency Department .
Or it may not happen--the project faces some hurdles . In February 2016 , the Tennessee Health Services and Development Agency denied a request by Baptist Memorial Hospital to construct a free-standing emergency department at the intersection of Canada Road and Highway 64 in Lakeland , citing the proximity of existing emergency departments . The Arlington locations are approximately six miles further away from any existing Emergency Departments in the Memphis Metro Area .
Arlington ’ s strategic location at the intersection of I-40 and Airline , just east of TN-385 , also makes this site readily accessible to the surrounding markets in East Shelby , Fayette , and Tipton Counties . Both hospitals cite the recent closures of hospitals in Haywood County ( 2014 ) and Fayette County ( 2015 ) as reducing access to emergency care in those communities .
On January 10 , 2017 , St . Francis Hospital-Bartlett published an official notification of their intent to apply for a
Photo Courtesy of Universal Event Photo The Arlington HS Junior Varsity Cheer Squad pictured above performing at the National Cheer Competition in Orlando , Florida . The team won 1st place in Nationals for the 3rd straight year and the first-ever JV World Championship title . Turn to page 9 for more photos .
Certificate of Need for " the establishment of a free-standing emergency department to be located at an undeveloped parcel of land located at the southeast corner of I-40 and Airline Road ."
According to the notification , the facility would have 12 treatment rooms and would provide emergency diagnostic and treatment services , including CT , X-Ray , and ultrasound . The estimated cost for the project is $ 13,931,246.70 , later revised to $ 12,857,628 in the Certificate of Need .
Baptist Memorial Health Care ’ s proposed new facility would have 10 treatment rooms , a helipad , and would include various supportive service such as CT . X-Ray and ultra-sound . The letter of intent states that the building containing the proposed satellite emergency facility and other communitybased health services is to be located northeast of the intersection of Interstate 40 and Airline Road . The project would be developed , operationalized and marketed through a joint operating agreement between Baptist
Memorial Hospital and Regional One Health . According to the Certificate of Need , the estimated project cost is $ 9,993,779 .
Arlington Mayor Mike Wissman describes the interest from the hospitals as exciting .
“ Right now , we are just doing our homework on the CON process to see what we need to do from the town .... and what we feel will be best for the town . We are fortunate to be a desirable location for a free-standing ER , and the fact that Baptist & Saint Francis feel confident in our town makes it even more exciting .”
The Town of Arlington will conduct a work session on March 9 for each hospital to present to the board and a Q & A . Baptist will present at 6:00 pm , St Francis at 7:00 pm . Each will have 45 min total , and the meeting will be open to the public .
Both proposals are currently in a 60-day review cycle with the Tennessee Health Services and Developmental Agency and are on the agenda to be reviewed at the HSDA ’ s April 26 meeting .
Inside this edition ...
Happenings , p . 2 Business News , p . 4 Local News , p . 5 School News , starts on p . 7 Sports , p . 10 Views from 38002 , p . 12
The Von Trapp Family Singers from AHS ’ s production of The Sound of Music . More theatre photos on page 12 .