UT Medical Center emergency room will double in size to reduce overcrowding

Silas Sloan, Knoxville News Sentinel
·3 min read

The University of Tennessee Medical Center's emergency department will almost double in size thanks in part to a $10 million donation from the Haslam family.

The 30,000-square-foot expansion should reduce overcrowding, make the treatment process more efficient and improve ambulance response times, an issue affecting all Knox County residents.

"It's really going to allow us to transform both patient access and patient experience in the emergency department," Dr. James Shamiyeh, UT Medical Center executive vice president and COO, told Knox News.

The Haslam family's donation, announced Dec. 15, is the largest philanthropic contribution in the medical center's history, and the department at 1924 Alcoa Highway will be renamed The Haslam Family Center for Emergency & Trauma Services.

While the total cost of the expansion hasn't been determined, Shamiyeh said other donations and a state grant are contributing.

Construction on the expansion of the existing building is expected to begin in early 2024 and will take three years to complete.

The University of Tennessee Medical Center's Emergency Department will be renamed The Haslam Family Center for Emergency & Trauma Services after a $10 million gift from the Haslam family.
The University of Tennessee Medical Center's Emergency Department will be renamed The Haslam Family Center for Emergency & Trauma Services after a $10 million gift from the Haslam family.

UT Medical emergency room expansion will reduce overcrowding

The expansion area will be primarily used for patients who are likely to be discharged and includes:

  • Thirty treatment spaces

  • Eight intake rooms

  • An expanded two-story lobby

  • A new triage area

  • A new entrance with improved parking and patient access

The existing 40,000-square-foot, 65-bed space will be used for patients being admitted.

"They will operate independently of each other. So if that one gets overcrowded (and) we're busy, it doesn't negatively impact the other," UT Medical Center CEO Joe Landsman said at the groundbreaking event. "Right now, they're all together and at times it gets very, very busy."

Should there be a need for more beds, the new space will be able to accommodate a massive influx of patients.

"The emergency department expansion is a bold move. The biggest expansion since 2001, when we last renovated. We have far outgrown the space," University Health System Board Chair Renda Burkhart said at the Dec. 15 event. "Without bold moves, we cannot advance our bold mission. And our bold mission is to transform the health of individuals in our region, as a top-tier medical system."

UT Medical expansion could reduce ambulance response times

The ambulance bay is being redesigned and will have an independent team that hands off patients to the emergency department.

Shamiyeh said that will help ambulances get back on the road faster and allow the emergency department to be more "patient-centered."

In November, the Knox County Commission gave American Medical Response a new contract to continue providing ambulance services, but response times have been slow.

In 2022, AMR's response time on Priority 1 calls in outlying neighborhoods averaged 17 minutes 90% of the time. Response times inside the city barely averaged under 17 minutes 90% of the time.

The new contract requires AMR to cut its ambulance response times to 10 minutes for locations inside Knoxville city limits and 20 minutes for Farragut, Corryton, Mascot, Powell and Strawberry Plains.

Silas Sloan is the growth and development reporter. Email silas.sloan@knoxnews.com. Twitter @silasloan. Instagram @knox.growth.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: UT Medical Center emergency room expands with Haslam donation