Tennova Healthcare still wants to build a new hospital facility off Middlebrook Pike in West Knoxville, and some residents still oppose it. The debate may come to a head in November.
In August, Tennova filed a Certificate of Need (CON) with the Tennessee Health Services and Development Agency. The CON is a large report that details Tennova's case that a hospital is actually needed in the area. Tennova argues moving most of its staff and activity out of Physicians Regional Medical Center in North Knoxville is necessary because the facility, built more than eighty years ago, is outdated and its layout is confusing. Repairs and renovations would be too costly to make financial sense, the company said.
But those aren't good enough reasons for residents who say they don't want the traffic or the sprawling facility along a stretch designated as a state scenic route. A small group of residents is led by Rocky Swingle, who on Wednesday told WATE-TV that he plans to carry his opposition to the state health services board when Tennvoa's CON is considered in November.
Opponents to the planned West Knoxville hospital failed in their attempts to stop plans at the city level. Last year, both the Metropolitan Planning Commission and the Knoxville City Council signed off on Tennova's plans.
Residents of North Knoxville have also registered some displeasure with Tennova's goals. The company says Physicians Regional would still offer some medical services. Though specifics haven't been determined, it is clear that those services would be limited. Residents of North Knoxville, East Knoxville and downtown would then be left with two primary options: Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center, four miles south of Physicians Regional, and Tennova-owned North Knoxville Medical Center, nine miles north in Powell.