Wellmont Officials Abandon Plans For ER In Boones Creek

Updated at 7:00 a.m.

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KINGSPORT, Tenn. – Wellmont Health System executives say they will not challenge a state agency’s decision barring them from building a stand-alone emergency center on 43 acres it owns in Boones Creek.

Company officials had hoped to build the facility there but it required they obtain a certificate of need from the Tennessee Health Services Development Agency to do so. The agency’s board unanimously rejected the application at its March 25 meeting.

Wellmont spokesman Brad Lifford said the company would not appeal the board’s decision, though it did have alternate plans for the property. He said the plans would announce at a later date once details are solidified.