Wellstar MCG Health breaks ground for Grovetown hospital
GROVETOWN, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Wellstar hosted a groundbreaking and beam g ceremony for the long awaited Wellstar Columbia County Medical Center.
The ceremony was at the construction site on Gateway Boulevard.
Wellstar Columbia County Medical Center will expand access to the same level of world-class care from Wellstar MCG Health to the residents of Columbia County and surrounding areas. In addition to expanding access to care, the new hospital’s location near I-20 will complement the resources offered by Wellstar MCG Health in Richmond County.
It’s a process that started back in 2012 and will be the first of it’s kind in Columbia County, offering services that people in the area or more rural counties would typically have to drive farther for.
“Access to care across the state of Georgia is hard right now. This hospital in Columbia County, which is the largest county in the state, without an inpatient facility, will do wonders for opening up that access,” said Ralph Turner, Hospital President of Wellstar MCG Health.
It’s a life saving facility that’s needed in the county.
Brooks Keel, Augusta University President, said: “Columbia County is not a rural county itself, but it’s surrounded by a lot of counties that are considered rural. So especially if you get around the Clarks Hill area, that sort of thing. You had to drive all the way into Augusta to get care, especially emergency care. This is going to provide access to folks that may live in this and in the surrounding counties that just didn’t really have a hospital.”
It will also allow students and people in the area to have access to a new kind of training and care nearby.
Governor Brian Kemp said: “The partnership with MCG and educating the physicians of the future and have them being focused on practicing in rural Georgia is going to be incredible, not just for this area, but for the entire state.”
It will bring in more jobs, people and services to the state.
Keel said: “The more opportunities we can provide for students, whether it’s training opportunities for those that go into healthcare, or for just students who live in this area to know that they’re going to have a state of the art hospital right in this county.”
The new facility is set to open in 2026 but they have already broken ground and started building the new hospital, hoping to get it completed as soon as they can.
The event included the following:
- The Honorable Brian Kemp, Governor of Georgia
- First Lady of Georgia Marty Kemp
- Sonny Perdue, Chancellor of the University System of Georgia
- Dr. Brooks Keel, President of Augusta University
- Doug Duncan, Chairman of the Columbia County Board of Commissioners
- Candice L. Saunders, President and CEO of Wellstar Health System
- Ralph Turner, Hospital President, Wellstar MCG Health
Wellstar team at the Augusta campus signed the beam.
When the Wellstar Columbia County Medical Center and adjacent medical office building opens, the full-service acute care hospital will feature:
- 100 inpatient beds.
- An emergency department planned to be a Level II trauma center.
- A surgical platform that will include operating rooms, cath labs, interventional radiology and endoscopy.
- A 90,000-square-foot medical office building that will include primary care, women’s health and other specialties.
Copyright 2024 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
