GAINESVILLE – Northeast Georgia Health System today announced plans to expand Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville. The local healthcare system is the largest in North Georgia. It says it’s expanding its flagship hospital to meet the growing healthcare needs of the surrounding region.
The expansion plan calls for the construction of a new, multi-story tower by 2024. “Any time we add a new building, it’s a new place where we are helping people in many ways – whether it’s providing a new service, creating new jobs, or simply lifting the spirits of a community. These projects go way beyond brick and mortar,” says NGHS President and CEO Carol Burrell.
Northeast Georgia Medical Center’s new tower will be located next to the existing North Patient Tower. The addition includes plans to add more than 150 new inpatient beds, expand and move the Emergency Department to the ground floor of the new tower, and create a new helipad for more efficient access to trauma patients. In addition, hospital administrators say the new facility will allow them to expand heart care services, add more operating rooms, add a parking deck with hundreds of new spaces for patients and visitors, and care for more patients while simultaneously renovating the South Tower
As a Level II Trauma Center, Northeast Georgia Medical Center has one of the busiest emergency departments in the state. Expanding its ED will support training opportunities for an Emergency Medicine physician residency program, which the hospital hopes to add in the coming year.
Northeast Georgia Health System serves more than one million people across northern Georgia through four hospitals and a variety of outpatient locations. Its hospitals in Gainesville, Braselton, Winder, and Dahlonega have a combined total of more than 700 beds. The system is now in the second year of a five-year agreement to possibly acquire Habersham Medical Center in Demorest.
As the area’s largest healthcare provider, NGHS employs more than 800 medical staff representing over 50 specialties. The health system calls the future tower in Gainesville part of Northeast Georgia Medical Center’s continued evolution into one of the largest and most advanced community-based, non-profit hospitals in the state.
“We’ve started referring to our future expansion and improvement projects as ‘Growing the Greater Good,’” says Burrell. “That phrase is a reminder that when we grow facilities to care for more patients and expand our clinical services, we’re ultimately reinvesting in the overall health of our region.”
Between 700 to 2,000 workers are expected to be on-site for planning and construction at any given time as the project progresses, says hospital spokesperson Sean Couch. He adds timelines may shift depending on potential changes in the overall healthcare needs of the community.
As NGHS moves forward with its construction plans, hospital officials continue to look at ways to improve existing systems within current facilities. One of the areas they’re focused on is reducing patient wait times. NGHS Chief Operating Officer Michael Covert says, “We have a team that’s evaluating ways to improve how we move patients through the hospital more efficiently while maintaining high-quality care that will get them back home to their loved ones as quickly as possible.”
NGHS released the announcement of its expansion plans in Gainesville, one day after breaking ground for a new medical plaza in Buford. The facility will be located at the corner of Buford Highway and South Lee Street.
