Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt has opened its new $27.2 million state-of-the art surgery and clinics facility in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, significantly expanding pediatric specialty care, outpatient surgery and imaging services to children in Rutherford and surrounding counties.
The new 37,000-square-foot facility is Children’s Hospital’s first standalone outpatient surgery center outside its main campus in Nashville and is aimed at bringing care closer to where patients and families live and work.
The single-story facility, located at 2102 West Northfield Blvd. in Murfreesboro, features 22 multispecialty clinic rooms, urgent care services, a suite of operating rooms, imaging capabilities such as MRI, X-ray, and ultrasound, and audiology booths for hearing tests and procedural areas.
Board-certified physicians, nurses and surgeons see patients at the new facility for several specialties, including gastroenterology, general surgery, orthopaedics, otolaryngology, audiology and urology.
“With the opening of our new cutting-edge facility, we’re meeting families where they are, closer to home, to provide clinical and surgical care specifically designed just for pediatric patients,” said John W. Brock III, MD, Senior Vice President for Pediatric Surgical Services, Monroe Carell Jr. Professor and Surgeon-in-Chief Emeritus. “With busy family lives, between work, school and extracurricular activities, we know that the trip into Nashville isn’t always easy. Now, these families will have the same excellence of services and nationally ranked care that we provide at the main campus of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.”
Prior to the opening of the new facility in mid-December 2019, an estimated 200 children have traveled from the area each day to the Children’s Hospital campus in Nashville. Now, fewer families will have to make that trip. Children’s Hospital pediatric otolaryngology, urology and GI specialists also perform outpatient surgeries in Spring Hill.
The surgical suite has three outpatient operating rooms, 14 pre- and post-operation bays, an isolation room, an IV start room, consultation rooms and a dedicated surgical patient exit area in the back of the building to make post-surgery discharges and pick up easy for families.
Children’s Hospital will staff the facility with about 80 employees, including doctors, nurses and additional staff with hopes to expand further in the future. A full-time Certified Child Life Specialist, trained in child development, will also be on hand to help children and teens feel comfortable in a medical environment.
The new facility was made possible by generous philanthropic support, including gifts from Katherine “Kitty” and the late Matt Murfree III with their family, The Christy-Houston Foundation, Inc., the late Bernard Wehby, Raiderthon at Middle Tennessee State University, and Lisa and John W. Brock III, MD.
– by Christina Echegaray