This growing Nashville suburb could soon get a new emergency room to serve patients needs

Depending on the time of day and traffic, residents of the fast-growing Nashville suburb White House currently drive between 20 to 30 minutes to get to the nearest emergency room, but that could soon change.

Tristar Hendersonville Medical Center announced Wednesday that it intends to build a new, freestanding emergency room in White House to "enhance health care access and critical emergency services" in an area where population increased over 23% in the last four years. Since 2000, White House's population doubled from about 7,200 to 16,100 people.

Before the HCA Healthcare-operated hospital can officially start the project, the Tennessee Health Facilities Commission must grant TriStar a certificate of need, affirming that a freestanding emergency room is necessary in White House, which is about 20 miles north of Nashville.

The state's certificate-of-need process exists to regulate the growth of health care providers in Tennessee.

Since 1973, certificate-of-need laws have been in place in Tennessee, but earlier this year, Gov. Bill Lee signed into law a bill removing the requirement for hospitals to obtain certificates of need prior to implementing freestanding emergency rooms that meet certain qualifications. However, the law will not go into effect until 2025.

“We are proud to be the hospital of choice for the residents of White House and surrounding communities, and we look forward to bringing our care closer to home,” TriStar Hendersonville CEO Justin Coury said in a statement. “This new freestanding emergency room will ensure that residents can access high-quality emergency care much faster which can save lives.”

The proposed freestanding ER in White House includes 11 exam rooms, a trauma room, an imaging department and a nursing station. Should the hospital system get approval from the state to build the ER, it will be equipped to treat emergencies like heart attacks, strokes and broken bones.

Still, patients who require surgery or other more serious medical attention would need to be relocated to a full-size hospital.

Hadley Hitson covers trending business, dining and health care for The Tennessean. She can be reached at hhitson@gannett.com . To support her work, subscribe to The Tennessean .

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: This growing Nashville suburb could soon get a new emergency room to serve patients needs