Dr. Jeff Warren sees enormous possibility in the empty, echoing corridors at Methodist University Hospital.

On a recent tour of the Union Avenue facility with the physician and Memphis City Council member, nonpublic elevators and doors opened with a swipe of his key. And, on floor after floor of towers built in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, dozens of patient rooms, entire ICU units and operating room suites were dark.

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“Everyone is sort of shocked at the amount of space here,” said Warren as he walked through Methodist’s Sherard, Thomas and East wings and portions of the North Tower. 

East opened in 1958; Thomas opened in 1966, followed by Sherard in 1975 and North in 1985.

Warren, a longtime local family practitioner, is on staff at Methodist as a private physician.

With the health care system’s approval, he has been giving this same tour for several months, providing an insider’s view of a hospital he said is big enough to accommodate a new Regional One Health Medical Center. 

His goal is simple: Convince the community it doesn’t need to spend $1 billion on a new campus for Regional One because it could use the space already available at Methodist University hospital. 

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He’s written guest editorials about it, urging that Methodist University Hospital be merged with Regional One Medical Center; he also talked about it during Memphis City Council meetings. 

But the proposal is also complex: What Warren envisions is the area’s major health care entities — Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, Regional One, University of Tennessee College of Medicine, Saint Francis Health System and Baptist Memorial Hospital — working with local government to build a “first-class, tertiary-care medical center that they all have a piece of and that they all have a say in.” 

Under this plan, the facility would also serve as the academic teaching hospital for UT.

And, in doing so, Warren argues, the county would be in a better position to replace 201 Poplar with a new jail, estimated to cost $1.4 billion, outside of Downtown, where it has “long stifled the potential of our central business district.”

The need for a new Regional One

What is now Regional One is the hospital that was chartered in 1829, originally to contain the spread of disease coming into the city from travelers on the Mississippi River.

The structure, according to County Commissioner Charlie Caswell, is not earthquake-resistant. Many of its departments are too small for the growing number of patients they serve, including the neonatal ICU and trauma care. Its rooms are largely for duo-occupancy, which is no longer attractive to patients, particularly those with private insurance.

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Until late last year, the plan was to rebuild and expand Regional One on its existing site in the Medical District. But shortly before Thanksgiving, Coopwood contacted a commercial real estate agent, asking him to find 16 acres in the immediate vicinity, saying it wasn’t feasible to run a hospital in the midst of a multi-year construction project.

The agent suggested The Commercial Appeal property, located at 495 Union Ave., and quickly pieced together parcels to fit the requirements.

The Shelby County Commission bought the first two pieces, the lion’s share of the acreage, in late January, for $24.9 million.

At that point, the hope was that Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee would include $400 million in the new state budget, payable over two years, for the project. That didn’t happen.

Despite that, the Shelby County Commission acquired additional parcels earlier this spring.

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“They’ve made a $30 million mistake,” Warren said of the commission. “I just don’t think they need to make the big one.”

Even with necessary upgrades to the Methodist space, the savings for taxpayers would be monumental, Warren says. 

The Memphis City Council does not have a say in what happens with the Shelby County-owned Regional One, but Warren thinks the issue rises to the level of a communitywide discussion because local resources are so limited.

County Commissioner Caswell took Warren’s tour this spring, gave it some thought, but disagrees.

“I don’t share that vision with him,” Caswell said. “What Regional One does and offers far surpasses the space I saw when I toured with (Warren).

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Caswell could picture the Methodist space being converted for mental health care or for people experiencing homelessness, but not as a substitute for a new Regional One.

“What I saw at Methodist I don’t believe will fit the capacity we need for a new trauma center,” he said. 

Tamarques Porter, a member of the Memphis-Shelby County School Board, has not taken Warren’s tour, but he’s a believer, saying the county school system could also use the savings.

“Education is a public safety investment,” Porter said. “I like the fact that we could revitalize existing buildings and redirect some of the money to revitalize and build new schools.

“The overall project, I think, is around $1 billion. Coming from a school board member’s perspective, yes, we would love to access to some of those dollars.”

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Mickell Lowery, who is running for the county mayor, has taken the tour. 

“There’s definitely a lot of space there, but a plan for merging two entities, that takes more than just seeing vacant space in the hospital,” Lowery said.

“I don’t want to lend voice to this without having real conversations with the administration on both sides.”

What the hospitals have to say

Leaders at Regional One had little comment on Thursday, May 29, because a hospital spokeswoman said Warren has not shared his ideas with them.

“Dr. Warren has not contacted Regional One Health about his ideas. Without a clear understanding of his suggestions, we’re unable to provide information,” Angie Golding said. 

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Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, which is the parent organization of Methodist University Hospital, is open to discussions. 

“They’ve made a $30 million mistake, I just don’t think they need to make the big one.”

Dr. Jeff Warren
Memphis City Council member

In response to questions from The Daily Memphian, Methodist released the following statement Thursday, May 29: 

“Should Regional One make the difficult decision that it can no longer operate, we have the capacity and readiness to care for those affected. Our doors are open, and we will continue to serve all who need us, especially the most vulnerable in Memphis and the Mid-South region.”

A further statement from Methodist said the system believes “some of Warren’s ideas are worthy of evaluation.”

The plan to pay for a new Regional One

At one point, there was talk of the county funding the new Regional One to the tune of $500 million.

Last year, the Shelby County Commission increased the wheel tax by $25 to cover the cost of a new Regional One and two high schools. But, in his budget proposal last month, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris suggested a $5 hike to the wheel tax may be necessary because revenues were coming in slower than budgeters expected.

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The County Commission nixed that plan, and for now, is going ahead with a five-year plan that includes $350 million, not $500 million, to rebuild the safety-net hospital and trauma center. 

Under the agreement, Regional One has up to five to seven years to demolish and rebuild the hospital, said Victor Anderson, deputy county administrator.

Though the county’s funding is $150 million less than initially proposed, Caswell said it is still enough to build a smaller facility at The Commercial Appeal site with an expanded NICU and trauma center and other care services.

The Regional One Health Foundation has also launched a capital campaign to raise more than $200 million for the project.

Harris did not return a call, but his office has said it wants Regional One to build the new hospital at the CA site and has partners lined up to help.

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Warren admits the level of cooperation needed for his idea to work would be novel, but he said city and county finances make it critical.

“It’s going to take the political will of city, county, state, even federal elected officials and businesspeople from the community, and leaders from the community, to get the leadership of the various hospitals in a room together, brainstorming about how to make this work,” he said.

The business particulars, including pay scales and leases, are all part of the puzzle, he said:

“This is a business situation that is well above my pay grade to figure out. But there are people in this town smart enough to make it happen.”