At 11:00 o'clock Thursday (6/21/2018) morning, St Thomas Rutherford Hospital officially opened a 25-bed Clinical Decision Unit, next to the emergency room, that is designed for patients staying less than 24-hours.

St. Thomas Rutherford Hospital's President and CEO Gordon Ferguson noted, "This will streamline patient flow and improve experience for all areas of the hospital. The new addition will allow Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital to care for patients at the most appropriate site and provide space for additional testing to determine the patients' needs in a more cost-effective manner."

Chaplain Tracey Biles blessed the new facility so that it could serve the emergency needs of persons in this area.

The Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce and Destination Rutherford were a part of the plans over a decade ago to purchase the massive campus in what was known as the Gateway Project of Murfreesboro. On October 2, 2010, the hospital moved its entire operation and 137 patients from the Highland Avenue facility to its massive new campus on Medical Center Parkway. It was fitting that Chamber President Paul Latture was a part of Thursday's expansion of service.

NewsRadio WGNS was on-hand in 2010 to broadcast this history making event. One of the most unique end results was the last birth in the 1927 facility and the first birth at Medical Center Parkway were both performed by Ostetrician and Gynecologist Jim Boerner, MD.