An open house was held Thursday at Knoxville Hospital and Clinics for the new Don and Margaret Long Infusion Center and Weiler Specialty Clinics. 

The community came out to the hospital to celebrate the first phase of the $21 million expansion project. The Weiler Foundation Specialty Clinics, home to 24 visiting specialists, is located on the east side of the hospital and shares a waiting room with the Dr. Earl J. McKeever Clinic for family medicine. The Don & Margaret Long Infusion Center, located on the south side of the hospital, provides private treatment spaces featuring 12 treatment chairs with room for loved one support. Knoxville Hospital and Clinics CEO Kevin Kincaid says he was excited to see the community’s response to the effort.

“People really wanted to have an open house. We were able to open this project about a month earlier than expected, so it kind of threw some of the original planning into a little bit of chaos when it came to, how do we do an open house when we’re already open? The community has been really flexible picking a good day that is good from a patient activity perspective. It’s been a great turnout and we just love having people come see what we do.”

The next phase of the construction project will focus on the Emergency Department, with work expected to begin this month.