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Murray Regional reports rising ER volumes, multi‑million construction program and local contractor spending
Summary
Murray Regional Health updated the committee on high emergency department volumes, ongoing construction projects including behavioral health and ER renovations, community programs and local contracting with roughly $2 million spent locally so far of the $17 million projects.
Murray Regional Health told the Maury County Health and Environment Education Committee on Monday that it is experiencing sustained high patient volumes and is expanding facilities to meet demand.
Doctor Chaney, a hospital leader who addressed the committee, said the emergency department saw about 45,000 visits in the last fiscal year and that the hospital is on pace to exceed 50,000 visits this year. "Some days we've hit 170 or more a day," Chaney said, and he attributed part of the growth to a severe respiratory season and an unusually heavy flu period.
Chaney outlined several capital projects underway. Work completed includes a mother–baby labor and delivery renovation; current projects include a behavioral health unit and an overhaul of the emergency department that will remove rooms from the ER footprint for a thorough renovation. He described demolition and site work in progress and said resurfacing and reorientation of the medical office building parking lot will begin the following Monday, with temporary parking changes and additional wayfinding for patients.
The hospital has also relocated services into space from the former Centerstone building (now being renamed on campus to "Murray Regional Building") after a long-term lease expired; employee health has moved in and human resources and nursing professional development will shift into the space in coming weeks.
On community programs, Chaney highlighted workforce pipelines: a high-school worker summer program will enroll 55 students this year, a work-based learning partnership with the Maury County Board of Education enrolled 12 students in the September period, and the hospital recently accredited a pharmacy residency program in partnership with Lipscomb University.
Chaney provided a financial snapshot of construction spending through April 2024, reporting roughly $17 million in total project spend-to-date and about $2 million spent with local contractors. "I want to be very transparent with these numbers," he said. He also said he signed a number of project checks that day and that a more current update would be shared in future reports.
Chaney said the hospital’s foundation raised more than $69,000 through a recent Riverwalk Park race to fund programs including a mobile health unit and a wellness endowment. He also credited more than 200 volunteers whose reported hours translate, by the hospital's estimate, into a large in-kind value for operations.
Commissioners asked about measles surveillance; Chaney said there were no confirmed cases in Maury County but the state had recorded several cases, prompting education and lower thresholds for testing at the hospital. He urged awareness and noted hospital-level procedures — such as checking measles titers among staff — to manage exposure risk.
No formal county action was taken on the hospital report.
