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Meteoric growth in Middle Tennessee is spurring plans for Vanderbilt University Medical Center's newly announced $500 million expansion, which will put a new 15-story tower on the Nashville hospital campus.

VUMC CEO Jeff Balser tells Axios the region's population boom coincided with an explosion of patient needs. Hospital capacity hovers above 90% most of the time.

Why it matters: VUMC is a top regional resource for complex medical care, including organ transplants and complicated cancer surgeries.

By the numbers: The tower will add about 180 inpatient beds and 10 operating rooms, along with radiology services, specialty clinics and office space.

State of play: Construction is expected to begin this summer. Officials say it will take four-and-a-half years to complete.

Flashback: Hospital officials began planning for gradual expansion in the years before the pandemic, transitioning three floors in the Medical Center East building from clinic space to patient beds.

Zoom out: Balser says the hospital project won't slow VUMC's growth in other sectors. VUMC's network of regional hospitals and clinics is still expanding, too.

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