WELLMONT MOVING FORWARD WITH PLANS TO CONSTRUCT OUTPATIENT CAMPUS

KINGSPORT – Construction of a 90,000-square-foot outpatient campus adjacent to Holston Valley Medical Center is expected to begin this fall.

The campus, which will be located on the Kings-Giant Plaza property along Stone Drive, will house an ambulatory surgery center, diagnostic imaging center, outpatient rehabilitation center, laboratory services and pre-admission testing. A medical office building will also be constructed on the site.

The Wellmont Board of Directors at its April meeting earmarked up to $25 million for construction of the campus. The project is expected to be funded through a combination of tax-exempt financing and future cash reserves.

“The Board of Directors recognizes the community’s clear need for this facility,” said Fielding Rolston, Chairman of the Wellmont Board. “As the region’s premier provider of healthcare services, Wellmont is committed to allocate the resources necessary to meet the healthcare needs of the patients who entrust us with their care.”

Outpatient services are growing at a remarkable rate at Holston Valley and around the country. In fact, HVMC has recorded a nearly 40 percent growth in outpatient services over the past five years.

Construction of the outpatient campus will provide much-needed space for departments such as diagnostic imaging that have outgrown their existing locations at Holston Valley. Moving outpatient services off the main campus will also free space within the hospital for the expansion of inpatient care areas.

“The outpatient campus is being developed with our patients’ immediate and future needs in mind,” said Holston Valley President Louis Bremer. “The campus will allow us to expand capacity for inpatient and outpatient services and will provide space for future technological advances.”

Once under way, construction of the outpatient campus is expected to take 12 to 16 months.

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