It was a somewhat gloomy Tuesday morning weather-wise in Franklin, but the mood on the campus of Williamson Medical Center was booming with excitement as the crane operators lifted the final structural beam into place, completing the steel frame for the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital Vanderbilt at Williamson Medical Center.
The beam was signed by many residents of Williamson County at the Williamson County Fair.
On hand to make a special announcement at the topping out ceremony was Orrin Ingram, president of Ingram Industries and local philanthropist.
“My family and I have a long history with Vanderbilt, but I happen to live in Williamson County,” Ingram told the group. “I have children and maybe down the road will have some grandchildren and I understand that children’s health care needs are different than those of adults. When I heard about this partnership between Vanderbilt and Williamson Medical Center, I immediately said ‘I’m in.’”
Ingram announced a donation of $1 million to the children’s hospital at the event.
Jim Lackey, chairman of the children’s hospital’s capital campaign, which is designed to allow the community to be a tangible partner in the project, said Ingram is among a strong group of initial donors.
“We have had tremendous support for this project from a number of people,” he said. “Every single person on our foundation board has committed to this project and that says a lot about the support the children’s hospital has already generated.”
WMC CEO, Donald Webb, called Tuesday morning’s event a milestone in the journey of Williamson Medical Center.
“Our leadership teams have been discussing this Children’s Hospital project that stands behind me, for more than ten years,” he said. “We have known for a long time how much the community needed these additional services in this community and knew that parents would support our efforts. Today’s celebration is all about leadership and without the effective leadership of our architects, Earl Swensson Associates; this project would not happen. Without the attention to details of our contractors Skanska and the entire building team, this project would not be happening, and without the leadership and vision that the Board of Trustees executed throughout, this project wouldn’t be coming out of the ground.”
Pediatrician and WMC Foundation board member A.B. Hawkins, M.D., said this project has been a long-awaited goal for pediatricians in this area.
“Since I have been on staff here at Williamson Medical Center, I’ve seen Williamson County explode,” she said. “By adding this children’s hospital to the services at Williamson Medical, it elevates the level of expertise that will only enhance the exceptional pediatric care children receive here now.”
WMC broke ground late in 2013 on two additions to its campus. The Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital Vanderbilt at Williamson Medical Center and a surgery expansion that was topped off at a smaller ceremony held just a few weeks ago.
The children’s hospital will house a dedicated pediatric emergency department and 12 inpatient beds, both of which are a first for Williamson County. The building is expected to be completed in the summer of 2015.
The final beam for the children’s hospital was on display at the Williamson County Fair where hundreds of people from our community signed it before it was placed into the framework Tuesday morning.
Williamson Medical Center, a 185-bed hospital fully accredited by The Joint Commission, provides comprehensive inpatient and outpatient care including emergency services, with credentialed physicians in 53 specialties and sub-specialties. The community-focused hospital offers a wide range of wellness services, screenings and classes. For more information about Williamson Medical Center, visit www.williamsonmedicalcenter.org.
