The future of healthcare in Lumpkin County and the anchor of the Gateway Corridor is now officially under construction. Hundreds of people, community leaders, healthcare workers and project members gathered Thursday to break and bless the ground at the future campus of Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) Lumpkin.
“This hospital is a big win for rural healthcare, in a time when many other communities are not sure they can rely on a local hospital,” said Senator Steve Gooch. “Today is a historic one for our community, and it’s also sacred in its significance.”
The future hospital campus sits along Georgia 400, just south of the Highway 60 intersection, and has been in the planning phase since 2019. That’s when the current NGMC Lumpkin hospital opened in Dahlonega. Northeast Georgia Health System (NGHS), local leaders and state officials collaborated to keep the hospital’s doors open after the previous hospital owner closed its doors.
Sights were immediately set on how to move the hospital to the future campus and grow its services to care for more people, but the COVID-19 pandemic caused delays.
“If things had gone according to the original plan, we’d be opening this year, not just breaking ground,” said Carol Burrell, NGHS president & CEO. “We appreciate this community’s patience, understanding and support – and we look forward to the future NGMC Lumpkin opening in 2024.”
NGMC Lumpkin provides emergency and inpatient care to Dahlonega and surrounding communities. The hospital also provides imaging, lab and pharmacy services. Plans call for the future 66,000-square-foot building off GA 400 to house:
- 16 private inpatient rooms
- 10 state-of-the-art emergency treatment rooms, four dedicated observation rooms, a fast-track area and separate entrance and exit
- 3 operating rooms and one procedural suite to support Orthopedics, Sports Medicine, General Surgery and other services
- Café and Dining Area
“As we prepare to put shovels in the earth, it’s hard not to draw the parallel to the miners who came here two centuries ago – or even the indigenous people before them – who came to hunt, fish and reap from the soil the bounty of this region,” said NGHS Board Chair Spence Price. “We are acutely aware of the profound significance of what we are doing here today and what it will mean for generations.”
NGMC Lumpkin is an economic driver for the North Georgia county and surrounding area. According to a study by the Georgia Hospital Association in 2020, the hospital employed nearly 150 people, supported another 500+ jobs across the state, and generated an overall economic impact of more than $66 million.
In addition to Lumpkin County, Northeast Georgia Health System operates hospitals in Gainesville, Braselton, and Winder. The four NGMC campuses have a total of more than 750 beds and more than 1,200 medical staff members representing more than 60 specialties. NGHS provides healthcare services to more than one million people in over 19 counties.
