News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
UT Medical Center announced finalized plans for Fentress County’s satellite Emergency Department.
The plans include six exam rooms plus a trauma room for major health incidents. Imaging services will include CT, X-ray, and Ultrasound. County Executive Jimmy Johnson said that the announcement of the plans for the facility made its future all the more real.
“We’ve had our doubters, and of course sometimes in our office (we think) ‘Is this really going to happen?’ And it is,” Johnson said. “And so it’s what we’ve all asked for, it’s what we’ve prayed about.”
The facility will also include an on-site lab for immediate results and a physician’s office.
Johnson said that they hope to employ about 25 to 30 people to start. He said that when the hospital closed in 2019, about 150 jobs were lost.
“And that was a big hit on our economy here in Fentress County,” Johnson said. “And hopefully we can build it back a little bit a time and get back where we need to be. This would be a big relief for of course a lot of people here in town that have to go to an emergency room out of town to Cumberland Clay and to also Putnam County. We sure do appreciate that they’ve given us all this time, and hopefully, when we get this up and running in the third quarter it will take some of the pressure off of them their emergency rooms also. They’ve been more than gracious to help be able to do something here in Fentress and we’re very thankful they’ve obliged in helping us and taking our patients when they need to.”
Johnson said that supply chains issues had affected the progress of the ER. He said that they are now hoping for an August or September opening of this year.
