NEW ALBANY, Miss. (AP) — Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union County wants a new emergency room facility.

Hospital officials have asked the Mississippi State Department of Health to approve a $12 million, 20,000-square-foot extension on the south side of the hospital.

Rather than expand the existing emergency room, Baptist wants a completely new facility with 22 patient examination rooms compared to the existing seven rooms.

Mississippi requires a certificate of need for the project in a process designed to avoid duplication of health care services and control costs.

Baptist administrator Walter Grace tells the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal (http://bit.ly/12b5z1D ) that the hospital expects 25,000 emergency room visits this year. He says the number of patients grows about 7 percent to 10 percent a year.

Grace says plans haven't been made yet for using the existing ER space.

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Information from: Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, http://djournal.com