The Medical Center at Franklin will undergo a major expansion for the second time in two years.

The hospital is planning a $3.4 million two-story addition to the south side of facility in south Franklin. The projected start date of construction is Friday, Feb. 20, weather-permitting, and it is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

The 17,633-square-foot expansion will connect to the hospital’s relatively new 25-bed patient wing. The patient wing was completed in December 2007 as part of a $5 million expansion and renovation project.

“The Medical Center at Franklin has experienced exponential growth since Commonwealth Health Corp. acquired the facility in 2000,” said Clara Sumner, chief executive officer for The Medical Center at Franklin and a vice president with CHC. “As our community continues to grow, we are dedicated to expanding and enhancing the services we provide for the residents of Franklin and Simpson County.

The addition will house three physician suites and several ancillary services, including a laboratory and cardiopulmonary rehabilitation area. Ms. Sumner said specialists will be recruited, and those physicians will require office staff — thus creating new jobs. There are already three physicians working out of the hospital’s old Urgent Care building on its campus.

More parking is also planned. A new lot on the west side of the building near the ambulance center will provide additional space for employee and overflow parking.

“This is a nice project. It will provide more space for a surgeon and folks like that,” Ms. Sumner said. “We’ve also experienced problems with our parking.”

Ms. Sumner said several factors have gone into the decision to expand. Undoubtedly, there will be more who can not pay for services during the recession, the administrator noted, but the much-improved Medical Center at Franklin also expects to attract more patients from the Tennessee counties of Sumner (Portland) and Robertson (Springfield). The hospital in Portland closed last year.

Congress recently passed legislation that will expand health insurance coverage to children who can not afford it. Kentucky has simplified the process of enrolling uninsured children in KHCIP.

Plus, Ms. Sumner said, this area is growing fast, and the facility’s census continues to climb. During the first full year of the new patient wing — which features state-of-the-art, brightly colored private rooms with private baths and flat-screen televisions — the hospital’s inpatient daily census was up 8 percent over 2007 at about 20 patients per day.

“More people are wanting to stay (in the hospital). I think more people are comfortable with our hospital,” Ms. Sumner said.

The graying of the baby boomers has or will be a boost to medical facilities, Ms. Sumner added.

“The population is getting older, and there are more of us (baby boomers). More medical services are going to be needed to serve these people.”

The hospital also offers a 24-hour emergency room and an array of outpatient services, including the most popular diagnostic services, such as digital mammography, open MRI, 16-slice CT scanner and nuclear medicine.

Formerly known at F-S Memorial Hospital, the facility was once owned by Simpson Fiscal Court and overseen by an appointed board. Fiscal Court — which was struggling to keep the rural hospital open — sold it to Commonwealth Health Corp. nine years ago.

The Bowling Green-based CHC has improved the hospital, which once had semi-private rooms and a communal shower. Those health care upgrades have been a positive for economic development.

“We are very fortunate to have access to a facility like The Medical Center at Franklin,” Simpson County Judge/Executive Jim Henderson said. “An integral component to a progressive community is top-notch health care services. Many communities across the country similar in size to Franklin do not have access to the level of care that The Medical Center at Franklin provides.”

Hospitals contribute significantly to local economies, according to a study conducted by the Kentucky Hospital Association. Released Monday, the report revealed that the estimated total annual economic impact of hospital spending on staff salaries and purchases of supplies and services totaled $5 billion in 2007.

“Besides their caring role, Kentucky hospitals are an important part of the state and local economies. Even during periods of economic recession, hospitals continue to employ personnel to meet the growing demands for services, and thus, contribute to the overall economy,” KHA President Michael T. Rust said.

“Everyone knows that hospitals are the safety net for their communities — staffed and open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and ready to assist all patients regardless of whether they have insurance or can afford to pay,” Rust added. “However, few realize the tremendous contribution hospitals make to the state’s economy. Strong and economically viable hospitals are critical to our quality of life, and Kentucky’s hospitals are an integral part of a community’s well-being.”

Employment at Kentucky’s hospitals increased by 3.5 percent from 2002 to 2007, the study showed. The state’s community hospitals employed more than 79,000 full- and part-time people.

Because hospital workers are highly trained, their wage in 2007 was 14 percent higher than the average wage of all other private employers in the state. Kentucky hospitals paid approximately $3.3 billion in employee wages and salaries in 2007.

The KHA study —- called “Kentucky Hospitals’ Economic Importance to Their Communities” — estimated that the state’s hospitals are responsible for generating about $3.1 billion in local economic activity from the purchases they and their employees make.