Tuesday, January 21, 2020 8:23 am

JACKSON -- The Jackson Clinic and Baptist Memorial Health Care have established a partnership to build and operate a new outpatient center in Madison County.

The outpatient center will be located at the junction of U.S. Highway 45 and Passmore Lane in North Jackson. Construction of the new surgery center will begin after receiving certificate of need approval from the state of Tennessee. The Jackson Clinic and Baptist Memorial filed the letter of intent last Friday.

Surgeries and procedures to be performed at the center include gastrointestinal, ophthalmologic, gynecological, general, plastic, urologic, pediatric as well as ear, nose and throat. Diagnostic heart catheterizations will also be performed at the center.

The new outpatient center will give patients more choices, lower patient costs and shorten wait times for surgical procedures, and will provide greater access for patients in surrounding communities. It will create new jobs and generate additional revenue for the city and county according to Mark Allen, CEO of The Jackson Clinic.

Outpatient surgery centers have become an increasingly popular option for surgeries that do not require an overnight hospital stay. Each year, physicians perform more than 23 million procedures in outpatient surgery centers; and, that number is growing as more patients choose the convenience, quality and lower cost of an outpatient setting. The new outpatient center will be Medicare certified and accredited.

The new outpatient center is expected to be completed 18-24 months after the certificate of need is approved.