HCA Healthcare's proposed freestanding ER location revealed

Source: Nashville Business Journal
Author: Nikki Ross
Date: August 5, 2024

HCA Healthcare’s TriStar Division now has a proposed location for its freestanding emergency room in Sumner County.

If the hospital system wins the certificate of need battle against Highpoint Health and Ascension Saint Thomas, the freestanding ER will be at the intersection of Raymond Hirsch Parkway and Highway 31W in White House, a city that sits in both Sumner and Robertson counties, according to a press release. 

“TriStar Hendersonville and TriStar NorthCrest have been supportive of the White House community for decades,” said Justin Coury, CEO of TriStar Hendersonville Medical Center. “Our health care network helps ensure patients have access to the right care, at the right time, in the right location. The addition of a TriStar Health emergency room to White House would allow residents easier access to services in our network that thousands in the area are already utilizing.”

The freestanding ER would add to HCA’s (NYSE: HCA) massive family tree. The hospital system is Nashville’s largest publicly traded company by revenue, generating $64.9 billion in 2023, according to Business Journal research. The hospital system operates 186 hospitals and 2,400 ambulatory sites of care across 20 states and the United Kingdom.

HCA’s TriStar Division oversees 17 hospitals, 89 physician offices and 18 urgent care centers in Tennessee and Kentucky, including TriStar Hendersonville Medical Center. 

On July 15, Highpoint Health — Sumner with Ascension Saint Thomas, formerly known as Sumner Regional Medical Center, filed a letter of intent to build the $20.6 million Highpoint Health White House — ER with Ascension Saint Thomas in the city of White House. 

Highpoint Health is owned by Brentwood-based Lifepoint Health and Ascension Saint Thomas, under a joint venture the two companies entered in December. 

Ascension Saint Thomas is one of Nashville’s largest employers, with 8,900 employees locally in 2023, according to Business Journal research. The hospital system operates three of Nashville’s largest hospitals: West, Midtown and Rutherford.

On July 18, Highpoint Health, in collaboration with Ascension Saint Thomas, made an official public announcement that it was applying to build their ER on the northwest corner of North Sage Road and Maiden Lane, a half mile from Exit 108 off Interstate 65. 

In response, TriStar announced to the public on July 18 it would also be applying to build a freestanding ER in White House, though the hospital system had not released an exact location. TriStar Hendersonville Medical Center filed its letter of intent with the state on July 31 for the emergency department, which will cost an estimated $17.8 million. 

If approved, TriStar’s ER would open in the summer of 2025 and Highpoint Health’s would open in the spring of 2025.