NASHVILLE – Ascension Saint Thomas associates, physicians, and community members gathered yesterday in celebration of the new Surgery & Critical Care Tower and The Spine Institute on the Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital Midtown campus. 

The tower is the culmination of more than 685,000 hours of labor from 500 individuals and was thoughtfully designed with clinician insight and extensive reflection on pandemic learnings. In addition to 36 intensive care unit (ICU) beds, 18 operating suites, and 63 post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) beds for surgery recovery, the building contains an Innovation & Learning Center that will allow live-streaming from operating rooms for real-time collaboration between hospital campuses.

Yesterday’s ribbon-cutting marked an important milestone of the $300 million Midtown Modernization, an expansion of service lines and campus transformation into a set of boutique, specialized centers offering the latest advancements in technology and patient care. Ascension Saint Thomas extends special thanks to Turner Construction and Gresham Smith. 

Enjoy the attached gallery of images from yesterday’s event and the fun facts below. 

Construction Facts 

• Demolished 128,000 square feet of building

• Removed over 13,000 tons of material

• Over 11,500 tons recycled (88%)

• 685,000 hours of labor from 500 individuals

• Over 1,500 concrete trucks

• 12,000 yards of concrete

Environmental Impact

• 40% floor tile is recycled content

• 100% operating room flooring is rubber and PVC

• 100% carpet tile is recycled nylon

• All light fixtures are LED

• Energy conservation utilized during occupied / unoccupied modes

• Data center designed with sustainable cooling system

• Pursuing the TVA Green Switch Program

• In 2021, Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital Midtown and the Ascension Saint Thomas Foundation partnered with Root Nashville to plant 100 trees across the Midtown campus in honor of the hospital's more than 100 year history. Annually, these 100 trees will prevent an estimated 11,932 gallons of stormwater runoff, store 3,003 pounds of carbon, and remove seven pounds of pollutants from the atmosphere.

Pandemic-Influenced Design 

• The operating rooms have been outfitted with technology that maximizes air returns and Indigo-Clean lighting to support enhanced infection control

• The recovery area can be converted to additional ICU rooms if high-acuity patient population suddenly rises

• Hanal Rotomots have been installed in the new Sterile Processing Department to better protect equipment from airborne pathogens

• Two-way communication devices from hallways to patient rooms have been installed to increase privacy and reduce PPE needs for care of isolation patients