Another hospital saved
♦ A closed rural hospital has reopened with a new name and a plan for a bigger development.
The former Chestatee Regional Hospital in Dahlonega, the seat of Lumpkin County, is now Northeast Georgia Medical Center Lumpkin. It’s a scaled-down facility that offers an emergency department, inpatient care and other services. It’s part of the Northeast Georgia Health System, based in Gainesville.
Looking forward, the system is developing plans to replace the reopened facility with a new hospital 5 miles outside Dahlonega. The site of this planned hospital is at the end point of Ga. 400, a highway that connects Atlanta and some of its suburbs to Georgia’s Appalachian region.
Dahlonega, known for mountain scenery and historic sites, is little more than 20 miles north of Gainesville, and Northeast Georgia Health System has been interested for years in expanding into Lumpkin County. In 2015, the system bought the land at Ga. 400, calling the 57-acre property a site for a future complex.
The Northeast Georgia project in Dahlonega has potential rewards and risks, said Chris Kane, a consultant with Progressive Healthcare.
“The upside is an expanded geographic presence that affords local access to care yet incremental referrals to the flagship medical center in Gainesville,’’ he said. “The potential risk is the return on investment for the capital invested.’’
There are precedents for successful replacement hospitals in Georgia, Kane said, citing Polk Medical Center in Cedartown and St. Mary’s Good Samaritan Hospital in Greensboro.
“Too often, health care is highlighted for billion-dollar massive projects,’’ he said. “For a change, this proposal reflects the noteworthy goals of community access, innovation and collaboration.’’
The reopening of the Northeast Georgia Medical Center — Lumpkin Polk Medical Center, Cedartown
Dahlonega facility is the we lost an invaluable health result of a transaction that care resource. I’m overjoyed took shape last year, when to see it open again, and so Northeast Georgia agreed are my patients. People in to buy Chestatee Regional’s Lumpkin County and the property and some equipment surrounding areas now have from hospital owner a hospital they can be proud DL Investment Holdings. of and trust again.”
That deal came at a time Northeast Georgia also of unfavorable publicity, runs facilities in Gaineswith CBS News reporting ville, Braselton and Winder, lab billing problems at the and it recently invested in Dahlonega hospital as well Habersham Medical Center as other rural facilities. The in Demorest.
CEO of DL Investment HoldSeven rural hospitals in ings, who was also Chestatee’s Georgia have closed since CEO at the time, denied 2010. That’s the third-highest the report, calling it “flatly total in the United States, wrong.’’ according to a report by Deloitte,
The details of the hospital which is developing deal were somewhat complicated. proposals for federal health Northeast Georgia care waivers for Georgia. bought the Dahlonega hospital “It took close partnership last year for an undisclosed between Northeast Georgia amount, then sold it Health System, the Board of to the University System of Regents, the University of Georgia Board of Regents, North Georgia and our local which is now leasing it back elected officials to save to Northeast Georgia. this hospital from the fate of
Eventually, the University other rural hospitals across of North Georgia, which has the nation,” state Sen. Steve campuses in Dahlonega and Gooch, R-dahlonega, a forGainesville, is expected to remer executive director of locate some health sciences Lumpkin County’s Development programs and services to the Authority, said in current hospital property. a statement.
“This hospital first opened The future Lumpkin County in 1976 and experienced ups hospital is tentatively schedand downs throughout the uled to open in 2022. years,’’ Dr. Donna Whitfield, chief of medical staff at North Georgia Medical
Center Lumpkin, said in a statement last week. “When it closed last year, however,