Two of the largest hospital systems in Chattanooga, Tenn., have partnered to build a $23.2 million ASC inside a former U.S. Xpress office building, according to a Nov. 15 report from the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
Parkridge Health System, an affiliate of HCA Healthcare, purchased the property for $36 million in August. HCA is forming a general partnership with Erlanger Health, its largest competitor, for the new facility, in which the ASC will be 51% owned by HCA and 49% owned by Erlanger. No physicians will own more than 5% of the practice.
A joint venture of this scale has never been undertaken by two competing health systems in Chattanooga, according to the report.
The 24,000-square-foot facility will house five operating rooms and four procedure rooms, specializing in orthopedics, plastic surgery, gynecology, endoscopy and urology.
Currently, 35% of surgeries in the Chattanooga area are performed in the ASC setting, and only about 16.5% of outpatient procedures that would be performed at the new Chattanooga East Surgicenter are conducted at an existing ASC. Relocating these cases to the center will free up space for more complex surgeries at nearby hospitals, according to the report.
The facility is projected to open in 2025 and is estimated to perform 7,100 cases in the first year and more than 12,100 cases in the second year.