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GAINESVILLE, Ga. - Today, the Georgia Supreme Court denied a petition by Barrow Regional Medical Center (BRMC) to appeal the Georgia Court of Appeals' reinstatement of Northeast Georgia Medical Center's (NGMC) Certificate of Need (CON) for a hospital in south Hall County.
"We are extremely pleased the Georgia Supreme Court has issued this decision," said Jim Gardner, president and CEO of Northeast Georgia Health System (NGHS). "It's been a long journey since the Georgia Department of Community Health originally approved our CON application in May 2007, and we're glad it appears to be over. With the support of our community, physicians, hospital staff and board members, NGHS has created a highly regarded healthcare franchise known for superb quality and services. We can now move forward to expand our cutting-edge community based outpatient and hospital care to the South Hall community."
Earlier this year, NGMC was named by Thomson Reuters, an independent news and business organization, as one of the top 100 hospitals in the nation. NGMC also received the 100 Top Hospitals®: Everest Award, which was awarded to only 23 of the top 100 hospitals demonstrating top performance, quality and accelerated improvement.
Northeast Georgia Medical Center originally filed its CON application for a hospital in south Hall County in November 2006. The CON was granted by the Georgia Department of Community Health in May 2007, and that decision was subsequently upheld through two administrative appeals by BRMC. BRMC then filed a lawsuit in Barrow County Superior Court, which ruled in BRMC's favor in December 2008. NGMC appealed that decision to the Georgia Court of Appeals, and in March 2010, the Appeals Court reversed the Barrow Superior Court's decision and reinstated NGMC's CON. BRMC filed a petition to appeal that ruling to the Georgia Supreme Court, and today, the Court denied that petition, bringing to a close the almost four-year process.
"The Georgia Supreme Court's order upholds the sound and well reasoned decision of the Court of Appeals," said Armando Basarrate of Parker, Hudson, Rainer & Dobbs, lead attorney for NGHS in the CON proceedings. "The validity of NGMC's CON for a hospital in South Hall has been proven and tested through multiple venues, and we are pleased that the Georgia Supreme Court has agreed."
Gardner says NGMC will now enter the planning phase for the new healthcare campus, taking a focused, deliberate approach with profound respect for changes that have occurred in the local and national landscapes since the original application was filed.
"Very few healthcare teams ever get the chance to build a new campus and culture," says Gardner. "It's a privilege we'll take very seriously as we seek to continue improving both our quality and services to the region."
Until the new facilities open, NGMC anticipates continued development of the River Place campus in south Hall County, which currently houses a 100,000 square foot medical office building, Medical Plaza 1. Opened in September 2008, Medical Plaza 1 includes an urgent care center, an outpatient imaging center, outpatient lab and rehabilitation services and physician offices representing 15 medical specialties. Medical Plaza 1 is close to full occupancy, and hospital officials are already anticipating the need for a second medical office building, Medical Plaza 2, in the near term.
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