Freestanding Emergency Department Also Planned
ROME, Ga., May 26, 2022 – Floyd Emergency Medical Services (EMS) will become Chattooga County's official emergency medical service provider beginning in August 2022. County Commissioner Blake Elsberry announced the agreement Thursday, just weeks after Atrium Health Floyd gained approval from the Georgia Department of Community Health to build a freestanding emergency department (FSED) in the county.
The service represents a $1 million investment into new vehicles and equipment, which will be available on the first day of operations. Floyd EMS provides all ambulance service in Floyd County, Georgia, and Cherokee County, Alabama. It has been named the Georgia EMS Service of the Year three times and Region 1 Service of the Year five times.
“Our ability to respond in a timely manner is at the heart of our proposal," said Kurt Stuenkel, executive vice president of Atrium Health and president and CEO of Atrium Health Floyd. “We will meet regularly with Commissioner Elsberry to discuss our performance."
In addition, EMS will coordinate with a new freestanding emergency department Atrium Health Floyd will build next to Walmart, on U.S. 27. It includes six examination rooms, two observation rooms, X-ray, ultrasound, computed tomography and laboratory services. The FSED will be open 24 hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week and will employ 44 new teammates. After the facility is built, a Floyd EMS team will respond from that location.
“Chattooga County residents can expect timely, quality care from our team," said Bud Owens, executive director of Floyd EMS. “There is a reason we were just named Region 1 Service of the Year for 2022. We are excited to welcome all local paramedics and EMTs who will join our team in the provision of best-practice care for Chattooga residents."
When appropriate, Chattooga County patients will be taken by ambulance to the FSED. Further, Floyd Medical Center in Rome is also home to the region's only state-designated Level II Trauma Center and Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
“The location of the emergency department and proximity of Floyd Medical Center will improve Chattooga County residents' convenient access to quality care they deserve and expect," Stuenkel said. “
Floyd will also provide on-site EMS for all home football games at Chattooga High School and Trion High School. These first-responder teams will also serve as support for Atrium Health Floyd's school-based certified athletic trainers. Ambulance coverage will be provided to other community sporting events throughout the year, if requested. Floyd's partnership with first responders in Chattooga County will provide training for rescue and lifesaving procedures.
About Atrium Health Floyd
Since 1942, Floyd, now Atrium Health Floyd, has worked to provide affordable, accessible care in northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama. Today, Atrium Health Floyd is a leading medical provider and economic force. As part of the largest, integrated, nonprofit health system in the Southeast, it is also able to tap into some of the nation's leading medical experts and specialists with Atrium Health, allowing it to provide the best care close to home – including advanced innovations in virtual medicine and care. At the hub of these services is Floyd Medical Center, a 304-bed full-service, acute care hospital and regional referral center. Atrium Health Floyd employs more than 3,400 teammates who provide care in over 40 medical specialties at three hospitals: Floyd Medical Center in Rome, Georgia; Floyd Cherokee Medical Center in Centre, Alabama; Floyd Polk Medical Center in Cedartown, Georgia, as well as Floyd Behavioral Health Center, a freestanding 53-bed behavioral health facility, also in Rome; and a primary care and urgent care network with locations throughout the service area of northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama.
About Atrium Health
Atrium Health is a nationally recognized leader in shaping health outcomes through innovative research, education and compassionate patient care. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Atrium Health is an integrated, nonprofit health system with more than 70,000 teammates serving patients at 40 hospitals and more than 1,400 care locations. It provides care under the Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist name in the Winston-Salem, North Carolina, region, as well as Atrium Health Navicent and Atrium Health Floyd in Georgia and Alabama. Atrium Health is renowned for its top-ranked pediatric, cancer and heart care, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs. A recognized leader in experiential medical education and groundbreaking research, Wake Forest University School of Medicine is the academic core of the enterprise, including Wake Forest Innovations, which is advancing new medical technologies and biomedical discoveries. Atrium Health is also a leading-edge innovator in virtual care and mobile medicine, providing care close to home and in the home. Ranked nationally among U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals in eight pediatric specialties and for rehabilitation, Atrium Health has also received the American Hospital Association's Quest for Quality Prize and its 2021 Carolyn Boone Lewis Equity of Care Award, as well as the 2020 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Health Equity Award for its efforts to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in care. With a commitment to every community it serves, Atrium Health seeks to improve health, elevate hope and advance healing – for all, providing more than $2 billion per year in free and uncompensated care and other community benefits.