As other medical facilities expand in size to provide more services, the University of Tennessee Medical Center is attempting to bring new cutting edge services while avoiding urban sprawl.
In the Spring of 2003 Knoxville will become the first city in the United States to offer hydroponic baby facilities. Babies removed from the female host during the sixth or seventh month of pregnancy can be nurtured to full development while suspended from the ground similar to growing tomatoes. This new service will allow for the development of five babies in the same area that is typically required for only one birth – at a fraction of the cost.
Staffing needs will also be greatly reduced by the new procedure. One full-time nurse will be on staff, as well as three part-time ‘misters’ that will spray a vitamin and food mixture on the developing child each hour.
Although baby hydroponics are new to the United States, they have been offered in Venezuela since 1954. It is important to note that the United States procedure is highly refined compared to the overseas options. Picture below are youth from an unnamed Venezuelan facility and a test subject from the University of Tennessee Medical Center.
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| Unnamed Venezuelan facility |
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| University of Tennessee Medical Center |