Sequatchie County to get emergency-room service by July
By Kate Harrison, Chattanooga Times Free Press, Tenn. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
A year after
The signs of progress after years of discussions are a relief to residents who say they have been anxious for emergency room services to return ever since the
"This is so, so needed, and so overdue. It's been first and foremost on our agenda for several years now," said
The new
Last month, the
It has been a long journey to reach that point.
The ER was operated by
"There have been so many talks, meeting sand rumors ever since it closed," he said. "Too many potential residents had turned away from this wonderful spot because [the ER] was not open."
Erlanger and the county have been in talks since the original ER closed, Cartwright said, and the hospital announced last year that the project had been approved by the state. But coordinating approval from other regulatory agencies has been the main delay in the last year, Erlanger officials say.
"If people have limited access to care, that limits people from getting appropriate care," said Dr.
"Oftentimes the ability to get treatment isn't about whether patients can or can't pay, whether they do or do or not have coverage. It is about proximity," Burns said.
Since Erlanger announced it would reopen the ER, he has heard from patients, friends and relatives that "they will feel a lot more secure."
Winick said the hospital aims to improve the county's health outcomes with a variety of tactics. He hopes to bring health coaches to the facility, and said the hospital has held Affordable Care Act enrollment events to get more people signed up for insurance.
"The goal is to make health care more accessible for that community and improve their health status," he said.
Erlanger projects by 2017, it will treat 13,075 patients annually at the facility.
The agreement with the county stipulates that the county will lease the 10,000-square-foot building to Erlanger for
The county is putting up
The commission also voted to hand over its county ambulance services to Erlanger, which is contracting with Puckett EMS.
That decision has been the most controversial part of the agreement, the mayor said, but that contract stipulates that county EMTs will be hired by Puckett as long as they pass a drug test.
The ER itself will employ about 20 people, Winick said.
Whenever the facility opens, it will be the latest of a series of recent moves by
Erlanger opened its Erlanger Bledsoe campus in
Any improvement to medical services bodes well for attracting more residents and businesses to the area, Wohl said. In the meantime, he says, the ER gives him peace of mind.
"I know that my wife and I and all of the residents of
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