Wellstar Health System cut the ribbon Aug. 4 on Wellstar Columbia County Medical Center in Grovetown, Ga., the first dedicated hospital in Columbia County. The facility will begin receiving patients Aug. 26, more than 12 years after Augusta University first sought state permission to build it, The Augusta Chronicle reported.
Gov. Brian Kemp, Wellstar President and CEO Ketul Patel and Augusta University President Russell Keen, EdD, were among the officials attending the ceremony, according to the report. A community open house is scheduled Aug. 8 at the hospital, and the facility will begin receiving patients Aug. 26, a spokesperson confirmed to Becker’s.
The $378 million 100-bed facility includes six operating rooms, robotic surgery capabilities, catheterization laboratories, interventional radiology and endoscopy suites. Every patient room is acuity adaptable and can function as an ICU room. An adjacent 92,000-square-foot medical office building with 11 outpatient clinics is scheduled to open in November. The hospital’s ED will expand from 17 rooms to 40 in spring 2027.
“The best healthcare facilities aren’t built for a community. They’re built with a community,” Mr. Patel told the Chronicle.
The facility operates under Wellstar MCG Health, formed in 2023 through a partnership between Wellstar Health System and Augusta University Health System. The system said it plans to expand residency slots for physician training through the Medical College of Georgia, according to the Chronicle. Marietta, Ga.-based Wellstar is a nonprofit health system with 12 hospitals and more than 400 care locations across Georgia.
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