Construction has begun on the new Unicoi County Memorial Hospital located in Erwin, Tenn. The new hospital will replace the current Unicoi County Memorial Hospital, which originally opened in 1953.

The facility will have 20 beds, inpatient acute-care services and resources for increasing access to primary care. It will also include a 24-hour emergency department, standard and advanced diagnostics, a chest pain center, an area for community education and physician office space.

Construction on the hospital will continue through the next year and is expected to be complete in the fall of 2018.

Earl Swensson Associates was selected as the architect and Layton Construction as the contractor.