Tennessee Hospital Set to Rebuild in Flood-Prone Area

A hospital in Tennessee, devastated by flooding, is slated for reconstruction on land that experts warn may be at risk of becoming a flood plain.

Unicoi County Hospital, a small facility in rural Tennessee, was destroyed during Hurricane Helen in September 2024. Ballard Health, which manages the hospital, laid out plans in January to spend around $44 billion on rebuilding, as reported by KFF Health News.

According to experts, the new site could be over two feet underwater during a rare, once-in-a-century flood. Oliver Wing, the chief scientific officer at a flood modeling firm called Fathom, noted that the location is “clearly a floodplain.”

“You don’t need a model to see that,” Wing added, as KFF Health News noted.

Interestingly, Wing mentioned that while the new location might be more prone to flooding than the previous one, the risk could potentially be managed through methods like building embankments or elevating structures.

Chad Burginis, who serves as executive director of the State Floodplain Managers Association, urged Ballard Health to heed the information gathered by Fathom. He suggested that following standards set by the American Society of Civil Engineers would be wise; specifically, he recommended elevating buildings to mitigate risks associated with significant flooding events.

The hospital was once situated near the Nolichucky River, a region designated as a flood zone by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) a few years back. In February 2025, FEMA announced it would provide $9.8 million to Ballard Health for reconstruction efforts.