History

Southern Hills Medical Center: Experience the place where technology meets compassion every day

Serving our community since October 15, 1979, Southern Hills Medical Center continues to grow and evolve. Since that time, the hospital has grown to 120 beds and now serves three counties, including Davidson, Williamson and Rutherford.

Over the years, the physician base has also changed. Starting with a small group of doctors, Southern Hills medical staff currently has over 300 members representing more than 20 specialties. All are board certified or board eligible.

The hospital’s emergency department continues to be one of the busiest in the city. Within three months of inception, Southern Hills’ emergency department saw over 3,000 patients. We now average more than 35,000 ER visits each year. Southern Hills pioneered bedside registration and was the first hospital in Middle Tennessee to offer community-based angioplasty.

While Southern Hills will always be a community hospital, its services are comparable to those of the downtown hospitals, offering a full range of cardiology, vascular, oncology, orthopaedic and neurology/neurosurgery services. Distinguished as a leader of cardiovascular care in the community, Southern Hills was the first hospital in Middle Tennessee and the 7th in the nation to be names an Accredited Chest Pain Center by the Society of Chest Pain Centers and Providers.

Southern Hills Timeline Reflecting Changes

• 1979 - Hospital opened with 100 licensed beds
• 1983 - Hospital expanded adding the 4th and 5th floors
• 1983 - Hospital added Medical Office Building B, adjacent to hospital
• 1986 - Hospital expanded Same Day Surgery outpatient services on the ground level
• 1986 - Hospital added Medical Office Building C
• 1988 - Hospital expanded to 180 beds
• 1995 - Major hospital renovations to main lobby, ER, 26-bed same day surgery center, surgery expansion, in/outpatient cardiopulmonary lab, 16-bed critical care units, and cath lab addition, totaling $24 million and the addition of 87,700 square feet.
• 1995 - Southern Hills was the only hospital in Nashville to receive accreditation with commendation from (JCAHO) the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
• 1998 - Southern Hills offered first elective community-based angioplasty services in the mid-state
• 2001 - Hospital launched Joint & Spine Centers of Excellence
• 2001 - First hospital in Nashville to implement In-Room Dining program, allowing patients to select from restaurant style menu upon demand
• 2001 - Women’s and Outpatients Imaging Center expanded to free-standing medical building
• 2001 - Second Cardiac Catheterization Lab opened
• 2002 - Hospital opened Recovery Road, creating a new entry point from Harding Road to its campus for patients’ convenience
• 2002 - Southern Hills purchased one of the most advanced nuclear medicine cameras in the city dedicated exclusively to cardiac imaging.
• 2002 - Self-contained Endoscopy Lab expansion opened
• 2002 - Hospital is first to roll out Powerscribe, a speech transcription software used by physicians—a patient safety initiative that ensures high levels of accuracy and faster diagnosis.
• 2002 - First hospital in Nashville to perform laparoscopic gastric banding surgery for obese patients.
• 2002 - eMAR (electronic medication administration record) bar coding technology implemented to enhance patient safety.
• 2003 - Family Birth Place suite renovations including water labor Jacuzzis
• 2003 - 8-slice, full-body helical CT scanner added to campus, complimenting stroke program.
• 2003 - Stroke Center launched
• 2003 - ePOM (electronic provide order management) implemented to enhance patient safety
• 2003 - Southern Hills named 1st Accredited Chest Pain Center in middle Tennessee by Society of Chest Pain Centers & Providers. Hospital is 7th in nation to receive designation
• 2004 - Weight Loss Surgery Center opens, catering to needs of obese patients.
• 2004 - Hospital gives up 40 beds for new sister hospital, StoneCrest, modifying to 120-beds.
• 2004 May - Sleep Center opens.
• 2005 May - Hospital’s cancer program again receives 3-year approval with commendation from the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer
• 2005 August - Ultrasound technology upgraded to 3-D in support of vascular and interventional radiology services.
• 2005 September  - Hospital installs 102 new patient beds that feature advanced patient safety components.
• 2005 September - Advanced Wound Care Center opens
• 2005 September  - Sleep Center doubles in size to 4-bed unit
• 2006 June - Upgrades to high-definition MRI
• 2006 August - Southern Hills adds Hospitalist program
• 2007 January - Diabetes program earns education recognition by American Diabetes Association
• 2008 March - Stereotactic breast biopsy equipment installed
• 2008 May - Hospital's cancer program again receives 3-year approval with maximum commendation (9) from the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer