Nashville, Tenn. (TN Tribune)–Nashville General Hospital released a statement Thursday in response to Meharry stating they were unaware of the hospital’s relocation plans.
Meharry President and CEO Dr. James E. K. Hildreth wrote a letter stating Meharry was not consulted nor aware of Nashville General Hospital’s plan preliminary plans for a potential future MetroCenter hospital.
Nashville General Hospital’s response Thursday said research of new locations is well-known and was previously reported in the media. Nashville General also released a letter to Hildreth from Nashville General CEO Joseph Webb dated October 12, 2020 addressing the relocation.
Nashville General Hospital released the following statement Thursday:
June 2, 2022
Statement from Nashville General Hospital in response to Meharry stating they were unaware of the hospital’s relocation plans.
Nashville General Hospital’s research of new locations is well-known and was previously
reported in the media (Nashville Post 1/17/19 and the Tennessean 11/10/20). Nashville General Hospital’s relocation initiative is good for Metro taxpayers, Metro residents, Meto employees and Meharry Medical College. The relocation initiative does not seek taxpayer money to fund the construction of our community’s new hospital.
At last month’s Metro Hospital Authority board meeting, Nashville General presented updated information about an ongoing initiative, which began in 2018. The current hospital lease held by Meharry will expire in 2027 and renovating the current space to meet the changing needs of the communities we serve would be cost and space-prohibitive. Given this, the Hospital Authority board voted on September 24, 2020 to allow Nashville General to begin the due-diligence of identifying alternative sites for a new state-of-the-art hospital. Nashville General also emailed and mailed Dr. Hildreth on October 12, 2020, to communicate the board’s decision for Nashville General to investigate new opportunities to relocate the hospital.
Over the past three years, Nashville General’s relocation plans have been shared on numerous occasions with stakeholders, during a community town hall, at Nashville General staff meetings and with Meharry and Nashville General providers at a medical staff meeting on March 30, 2021. In addition, many Meharry Medical College administrators have attended each of these meetings, including Deans and Senior Vice Presidents. On several occasions Nashville General invited Meharry Medical College President and CEO to discuss the hospital relocation plans. Each invitation was declined with a response that he was meeting with the Mayor.
Nashville General Hospital has never wavered from our commitment to supporting tomorrow’s caregivers or being the index teaching hospital for Meharry Medical College. Our relocated hospital will be an asset for the Nashville community and a state-of-art teaching hospital for Meharry medical students and residents, as well as the medical community.
