New medical building will break ground in November

Groundbreaking for Bedford County's newest medical facility, Russell Plaza, has been set for November, according to its namesake.

In August, plans were submitted to the city of Shelbyville for a 30,000-square-foot building that was believed at the time to be office space for local physicians.

There wasn't much information available about the project when the site plans were presented to the Shelbyville Planning Commission in August, but now that Dr. William Russell has made the official announcement, more details have become available.

Dr. Russell said there is a "real push" underway to recruit doctors at Heritage Medical Center, acquiring those trained in specialities and sub-specialties where the hospital is undermanned, Russell said.

Several new doctors are already set up in the hospital's nearby office building, which is already full, Russell said.

Many of those doctors work directly with Heritage, and the physicians that will occupy Russell Plaza will add to that.

How it started

Russell began his practice in Shelbyville in January 2003 after retiring from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga as a professor of surgery. He and his wife moved here for the same reason that many do -- horses.

He got his start as a solo practitioner 40 years ago and says he's delighted to conclude his career in the same way.

Russell said he is "really committed to health care and the quality of health care in Shelbyville," and recruiting the new doctors, but he also has another reason. He needs a new office.

The current Medical Arts Building behind the old Bedford County Medical Center will soon be turned into Middle Tennessee State University's Shelbyville branch campus. Russell said he had thought about putting up a single office for himself, but those plans changed.

The idea for the medical complex came together after local realtor Phil Fisher brought contractor Lee Adcock to the table with Russell, and after talking it over, architect John Davis of Davis Stokes of Brentwood was brought into the project.

"Phil has been helping us put a lot of this together," Russell explained. "We're excited that we've got local people and local financing. We're not an outside entity coming in and saying, 'We're going to build you a building and lease it' ... what we're doing is building an office complex that will be used by our doctors."

Russell said they hope to have the offices open by the first of July 2010.

Enough space

Renderings of the interior of the building show plans for doctor's offices containing examining rooms and reception areas. In Dr. Russell's case, his office will have a procedure room for surgery as well as spaces for examination.

A basic office for a doctor will be 1,300 to 1,800 square feet, Russell explained, and larger spaces can be accommodated on the second floor. The building could hold space for eight to 12 doctors and staff.

Heritage is actively in the process of recruiting the new doctors now, Russell said, and has already been successful in bringing in cardiologists, surgeons, and primary care physicians.

"We're looking for well-trained, well qualified folks to come to our area," he said. Russell said he would like to see sub-specialists come to the area as well, focusing on arthritic and rheumatoid diseases.

"Hopefully, we can reestablish our hospital as a real center of excellence, because the reputation of Shelbyville and its health care community is very rich," Russell said, a tradition that goes back to the days of Drs. Derryberry, Feldhaus, Rich, Johnson, and Ownby, "and many others that preceded us."

"I don't know if we can achieve their level of expertise, but we're going to try awfully hard."