By HFT Staff

Vanderbilt University Medical Center announced plans for construction of the largest expansion to date for Vanderbilt University Hospital (VUH). The project is scheduled to begin this summer and will take approximately four and a half years to complete. 

The additional space is needed to accommodate Middle Tennessee’s booming population and because VUH, the region’s largest tertiary referral center, already operates at more than 90 percent capacity most of the year. 

With adult and pediatric multi-specialty outpatient clinics and ambulatory surgery centers across Middle Tennessee, Southern Kentucky and Northern Alabama, the Vanderbilt Health System also includes community hospitals in Wilson, Bedford and Coffee counties. The system is evolving to a hub-and-spoke model where lower-acuity patients can conveniently receive care in their communities while those with more complex illnesses or severe traumatic injuries continue to be transferred to VUH. 

Depending on the final floor configuration, the new VUH tower will add about 180 inpatient beds, 10 operating rooms, radiology services, multiple specialty clinics, and new administrative office space. 

Also included in the overall project is a 600-space, three-floor expansion of the central garage. 

The new VUH tower will be connected to the South Tower of adjacent building Medical Center East (MCE) on several floors. Included in the project is remodeling on the third floor of MCE to add 44,000 square feet of operating room space.