Walker doubles down on new hospital in Catoosa Sen. Jon Ossoff working to open new hospital
Proposed new hospital would increase access to health care in NW Ga.; patients in and around Ringgold often travel into Tenn. for care, Ossoff says.
The Walker County Board of Commissioners has submitted a second letter to the Georgia Department of Community Health in support of CHI Memorial’s proposal to replace its existing hospital serving Northwest Georgia.
Commissioners prepared an initial letter last month as part of CHI Memorial’s application for a certificate of need to operate a 64-bed hospital, CHI Memorial Hospital Georgia, on Battlefield Parkway in Ringgold.
Since that initial letter, CHI Memorial’s proposal has received opposition from Chattanooga-based Parkridge Health System, which operates two hospitals in Hamilton County (Tenn.) on the basis that the new hospital will reduce access to care for Walker County residents.
“Walker County government strongly disagrees with this claim,” commissioners said Friday, April 8, in a press release. “The replacement hospital would be five miles from the current site in Fort Oglethorpe and any increase in drive times for Walker County residents will be negligible. In fact, some residents will actually save a couple of minutes driving to the replacement site, which already provides access to several hospital services and physician offices.
“In addition, the antiquated hospital building in Fort Oglethorpe has a number of maintenance challenges and is not capable of providing the health care services our community deserves. When maintenance issues occur, our residents are faced with the headache of canceled appointments that have to be rescheduled or relocated.
The state will decide whether to grant CHI Memorial a certificate of need to build the new hospital on April 29.
U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff (DAtlanta) is working to open a new hospital in Ringgold, his office said Wednesday,
April 6, in a press release.
In a letter, Sen. Ossoff is urging the Georgia Department of Community Health to support a proposal for a new replacement hospital facility in Ringgold.
“Opening this hospital on Battlefield Parkway will have ripple effects far beyond the immediate counties of service,” Ossoff wrote in the letter. “It will make way for more of a return of medical professionals to the community. The facility will also allow for Georgians to get care closer to their home and in their own community. I am pleased to lend my support to this project addressing urgent issues facing the Northwest Georgia communities. I ask that you lend all appropriate thought and consideration to this project.”
The new state-of-the-art hospital, CHI Memorial Hospital Georgia, would replace an older facility originally built in 1953, which is currently limited in its services offered to patients.
key to the students’ success.
What do you feel are the main concerns parents have about their children’s schools and education?
Safety and security
People who have influenced your thinking
♦ My father, Arnold Carruth
♦ Father-in-law, Aaron Dean
♦ David Plummer
♦ Renn Hise (former School Board Member)
A favorite quote or book
♦ “How Full Is Your Bucket?” by Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton, Ph.D.
How voters can contact you
mikecarruth@walkerschools.org
Tamara Wolk is a reporter for The Catoosa County News in Ringgold, Ga., and Walker County Messenger in LaFayette, Ga.