Erlanger Health System plans to build a $25 million regional hospital in Sequatchie County and hopes to expand its existing emergency facilities in Bledsoe County with an $8 million makeover.  Erlanger officials met last month with city and county officials in Sequatchie County to brief them on their plans.  The health care system built an emergency care clinic in Dunlap almost three years ago, but now believes demand is there for a larger facility, said Joe Winick, senior vice president for business development.

“The volume has been more than double what we projected,” Winick said. “The volume has gotten to the point where we felt our best plan is to go forward with a new regional hospital in Sequatchie County.”   The proposed facility would have 25 beds and a staff of 75 to 80, Winick said.  “Our goal is to provide core services in the community where the patient lives rather than have them go to Erlanger [downtown],” he said.  Erlanger needs federal and state approval before it can start building, but local government officials seem to be on board.  At the December meeting, Dunlap city commissioners gave Winick a check for $10,000 to help pay for preliminary work.

“I’m excited, really excited about it,” Dunlap Mayor Dwain Land said. “This is something County Executive [Keith] Cartwright and I have been working on for five years.”  “Not only would jobs be an economic driver, but if you have a family member or a friend in the hospital in Chattanooga and drive over there, you buy gas in Chattanooga and food in Chattanooga — you’re spending dollars that we would like to see you spend in Dunlap over in Chattanooga,” he said.  Land said local leaders see a need for a regional facility.

“We feel if you take Dunlap in the center and draw a line out in a 25-mile radius, it is unbelievable the amount of people not being served by a hospital of this magnitude,” he said. “This will bring new dollars into our community, when loved ones from Van Buren and Grundy and other counties will spend dollars right here at our hotel, Wal-Mart, and restaurants.”

“The dollars turn over about 10 times in a community,” Cartwright said. “Whenever you have $4 [million] to $5 million in new revenue in employment dollars coming into a community, you are looking at $40-$50 million dollars in impact. And they are higher-paying jobs. Our community has been after us for something of this sort and now they are getting it.”

Land said the investment is unprecedented for Sequatchie County. “You’re talking about a capital investment of $25 [million] to $30 million,  I’m not sure when that has ever happened here. Certainly in my lifetime, I don’t remember anything like this.”  Erlanger wants to build what’s called a “critical access hospital,” or CAH, in Dunlap. To prevent proliferation of unneeded facilities, the federal government requires anyone proposing to build a hospital to show it will meet a specific need.  Critical access hospitals can’t have more than 25 beds and have to target people who won’t stay in the hospital more than 96 hours. They are aimed at providing emergency and short-term care, including surgery, and not long-term stays.

Winick stressed the project is still in the planning stages.  “Even though we have been working on this for a year-plus, we have a long way to go yet to cross these thresholds with the federal and state governments,” he said.  Plans call for Sequatchie County to sell bonds to pay for the facility and then lease it to Erlanger, Cartwright said.  Erlanger also is asking federal and state regulators for permission to rebuild and expand its 45-year-old Bledsoe County facility. The new facility would provide outpatient and emergency care and house some medical offices.

Winick, Land and Cartwright all touted Erlanger’s impact in improving health care in Sequatchie County. They noted that when Erlanger moved into the area, Sequatchie County was ranked 92nd among Tennessee’s 95 counties in the health of its population. Now it is ranked 64th.  “We have made measurable progress in improving the health and wellness of that community,” Winick said.

Land said he also hoped a new hospital will help the county retain some of its older residents. “We’re a bedroom community of Chattanooga and Hamilton County,” he said. “Without a hospital, we’re losing lots of retirees, who are moving closer to better health services. Now they will be staying here, rather than pulling up stakes and moving.”