KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Knoxville will soon be home to a brand new psychiatric hospital.
The new Knoxville Center for Behavioral Medicine will be a partnership between National HealthCare Corporation (“NHC”), Tennova Healthcare, The University of Tennessee Medical Center (“UTMC”) and Reliant Healthcare.
The state has granted the Certificate of Need for the 64-bed hospital, which will be located near the corner of Middlebrook Pike and Old Weisgarber Road.
“We are pleased to be working together with other reputable healthcare providers to offer compassionate, quality care to adults and seniors in our community who may be experiencing mental or emotional difficulties,” said Tony Benton, chief executive officer of Tennova Healthcare – East Tennessee Market. “We are excited to bring back a much-needed service that was long-established at Physicians Regional Medical Center in Knoxville until the hospital closure 14 months ago. Together, we are able to do what is best for this community.”
According to the release, the project will relocate 38 licensed inpatient beds from other Tennova hospitals and create 26 new beds dedicated to behavioral medicine services for the East Tennessee area. It will serve both adult and geriatric patients.
Construction on the 55,000 square-foot facility is projected to start in 2021 with an opening in 2022, subject to all necessary approvals. It's expected to bring 100 new jobs to Knoxville.
“We see a great need for additional behavioral medicine inpatient treatment services in East Tennessee on a regular basis here at The University of Tennessee Medical Center,” said Joe Landsman, President and CEO of The University of Tennessee Medical Center. “This collaborative effort between the medical center, Tennova Healthcare, National HealthCare Corporation, and Reliant Healthcare will bring experienced, high-quality care and will address the need and access issues for many in our 16-county region who are struggling with behavioral medicine related concerns.”
This is in addition to the new 57-bed Knoxville Rehabilitation Hospital that will be built on the same property. It's a partnership between Tennova, UTMC and Kindred Healthcare.
A Tennova spokesperson said they expect to break ground on that project next month. When announced, they set a projected opening day or 2021.