Battle to build first hospital in Columbia County
Friday, December 14, 2018
News 12 at 6/NBC at 7
COLUMBIA COUNTY, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) -- AU Medical Center and Doctors Hospital have battled in court to build the first hospital in Columbia County.
Right now there is no true hospital in Columbia County but AU has just opened a care center offering heart and primary care.
AU was granted a certificate of need back in 2014 to build a hospital in Columbia County, but since then, it's been an uphill battle.
Stefanie Ray, who lives in Columbia County, is counting down the days.
"I have three more weeks,” said Ray. “Hopefully we'll bring her to the new year."
Soon Addison will have a sister, but mom says this time around it's a little different.
"We were in Bavaria back then,” said Ray. “Healthcare system is totally different over there. When I was 39 weeks I just walked into the hospital."
They just moved to Columbia County. Now, it's a haul to AU Medical Center, where she'll deliver next.
"Right now I have to go downtown all the way to 15th street, so that's about 30 minutes," said Ray.
AUMC plans to bring a hospital closer to moms like Stefanie.
They bought 82-acres of land in Grovetown and got a certificate to build a 100-bed hospital.
But construction has been on hold for years.
Doctors Hospital also wants to build in Columbia County and took AUMC to court.
"In the meantime, we are planning the site,” said Lee Ann Liska, the CEO of AU Medical Center.
“We can already put medical care on the campus, just not the 100-bed hospital."
The CEO says they're getting ready to start work on some of the other facilities that go along with the hospital.
"Civil engineering to understand where roads will be, where electricity and water and all of those infrastructures that go into the land that would a big structure for a hospital. That planning is going on," said Liska.
It's all part of their bigger plan to bring AUMC to Columbia County.
The court of appeals will make a final decision in July. At that point, doctors may choose to take it to the Supreme Court and if not, that's when AU can begin building.
