Northeast Georgia Health System (NGHS) has committed to spend more than a half-billion dollars to expand its hospital facilities in Braselton. The expansion plan, announced this week, will double the size of the hospital’s emergency department and more than double the number of inpatient beds.
Under the plan unveiled Tuesday, Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) Braselton will add 235,000 square feet of new clinical space. That space includes two new patient care floors which will allow the hospital to add 150 licensed acute care beds, bringing the hospital’s total licensed bed count to 284.
The expansion plan also includes:
- Increasing the number of treatment rooms in the emergency department from 23 to 46.
- Creating a new helipad.
- Adding more than 200 new parking spaces for patients and visitors.
- Expanding the pharmacy, laboratory, kitchen and other support spaces.
Hospital officials say the changes will allow NGMC Braselton to meet the growing needs of surrounding communities. A larger emergency department is expected to allow them to deliver faster, more efficient care and a new helipad should speed up access to life-saving heart, stroke and surgical care.
The hospital has also filed a Certificate of Need (CON) application with the state to add more operating rooms to expand available surgeries and procedures. Plans also include construction of an endovascular operating room for complex vascular and cardiac procedures and expanded pre- and post-op areas.
“We began planning for the Braselton campus almost 20 years ago, working with community leaders who shared our vision for what this hospital could become,” says NGMC Braselton President Anthony Williamson. “This expansion is not only a reflection of the growth of the Braselton area, but also of our original plan to continue to add timely, comprehensive, much needed health-related services for the community.”
The expansion is scheduled to begin in late November, with new patient care floors completed in summer 2025. The emergency department expansion is expected to be complete in 2026. The total estimated cost of the entire planned expansion is nearly $565 million.
“This is another of our many projects we refer to as ‘Growing the Greater Good,’” says NGHS President and CEO Carol Burrell. “That phrase is a reminder that, when we grow to care for more patients and expand our clinical services, we’re ultimately reinvesting in the overall health of our region.”
Northeast Georgia Health System serves more than one million people across more than 19 Georgia counties. The health system has hospitals in Gainesville, Braselton, Winder and Dahlonega.
