Atrium Health Floyd Facility Expected to Open This Fall
TRION, Ga., May 11, 2023 – Atrium Health Floyd officials have gotten their first in-person look inside what will become a freestanding emergency department (FSED) under construction in Chattooga County. The site was specifically chosen to provide important services for residents in rural areas who have limited access to health care.
When completed, the $18.4 million FSED, located next to Walmart on U.S. Highway 27, will serve residents in Chattooga County and portions of Walker County and northeast Alabama. The facility will include six treatment rooms along with onsite laboratory and imaging services, including x-ray and a computed tomography (CT) scanner.
The 10,884-square-foot facility will also be home to a new mobile mammography unit to ensure more women have convenient access to lifesaving breast cancer screenings. A helipad will also be located on-site, providing quick access to Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center, the only Level II trauma center in northwest Georgia.
It will be the first freestanding emergency department to be built from the ground up in the state of Georgia. Atrium Health has 9 free-standing emergency departments with two more planned in Charlotte, N.C. The FSED is expected to employ an estimated 44 people once open this fall.
The facility features modules pre-assembled by Bessemer, Alabama, based BLOX. Those modules began arriving onsite in Chattooga County during the first week of May.
On Monday, Atrium Health officials were able to walk through part of the structure, seeing how the facility is coming together. Atrium Health Floyd President Kurt Stuenkel was among those getting an up-close look at the building.
“This whole process is fascinating," Stuenkel said. “The specifications on how these all fit together are so exact. It is amazing to know they were built somewhere else and then assembled here. The assembled building is solid and sturdy."
In September, Atrium Health Floyd EMS became the official ambulance service provider in Chattooga County, positioning five ambulances across the county with 35 teammates. The service represents more than a $1 million investment in new vehicles and equipment.
When appropriate, Atrium Health Floyd EMS will take Chattooga County patients to the FSED. Also, Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center in Rome is home to the region's only state-designated Level II Trauma Center and Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. In June 2022, the hospital officially opened a helipad at the hospital that will help trauma patients receive lifesaving treatment more quickly.
Quick facts about the project:
- Project consists of 14 modules and 5 roof racks, with each module fitting on one tractor trailer and delivered to the site.
- 450 yards of concrete was placed in the foundation weighing 67,500 pounds.
- Single-story building will include 10,884 square feet single with 1 triage, 1 rapid medical exam (with a total of 3 beds), 6 exam rooms including 1 trauma room, 1 patient of size room, 1 ligature resistant room, and 1 isolation room.
- Site work and linking modules performed by Brasfield & Gorrie.
- 93 exterior panels for the exterior of the building are also prefabricated.
- 8,000 yards of topsoil required. Excess topsoil donated to city of Summerville for youth ballfields.
About Atrium Health Floyd
The Atrium Health Floyd family of health care services is a leading medical provider and economic force in northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama. Atrium Health Floyd is part of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Advocate Health, the fifth-largest nonprofit health system in the United States, created from the combination of Atrium Health and Advocate Aurora Health. Atrium Health Floyd employs more than 3,5 00 teammates who provide care in over 40 medical specialties at three hospitals: Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center – a 304-bed full-service, acute care hospital and regional referral center in Rome, Georgia; Atrium Health Floyd Polk Medical Center in Cedartown, Georgia; and Atrium Health Floyd Cherokee Medical Center in Centre, Alabama; as well as Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center Behavioral Health – a freestanding 53-bed behavioral health facility in Rome – and also primary care and urgent care network locations throughout northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama.
About Advocate Health
Advocate Health is the fifth-largest nonprofit integrated health system in the United States – created from the combination of Advocate Aurora Health and Atrium Health. Providing care under the names Advocate Health Care in Illinois, Atrium Health in the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama, and Aurora Health Care in Wisconsin, Advocate Health is a national leader in clinical innovation, health outcomes, consumer experience and value-based care, with Wake Forest University School of Medicine serving as the academic core of the enterprise. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Advocate Health serves nearly 6 million patients and is engaged in hundreds of clinical trials and research studies. It is nationally recognized for its expertise in cardiology, neurosciences, oncology, pediatrics and rehabilitation, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs. Advocate Health employs nearly 150,000 team members across 67 hospitals and over 1,000 care locations and offers one of the nation's largest graduate medical education programs with over 2,000 residents and fellows across more than 200 programs. Committed to equitable care for all, Advocate Health provides nearly $5 billion in annual community benefits.