Privacy Breach Notice Update, 8/11/23
December 21, 2022 - After months of delay, CHI Memorial now has the certificate of need (CON) to build a new hospital in Ringgold, Ga.
The Georgia Department of Community Health approved the CON application in April 2022, but an appeal resulted in the suspension of the CON and delayed the project from advancing. That appeal was withdrawn earlier this month allowing the original approval process to be completed.
“This is wonderful news for the people of Northwest Georgia! We can now work on finalizing the plans necessary to begin construction on this long-awaited hospital”, shared Andrew McGill, CHI Memorial chief strategist. “CHI Memorial has been on the ground with a variety of services and clinics in partnership with the people of Northwest Georgia for nearly 30 years, and this is the next step to ensure the residents have convenient access to hospital care close to home.”
CHI Memorial acquired the license to operate the current hospital in Fort Oglethorpe, Ga, in December 2017. At that time, hospital leadership committed to build a new hospital facility better designed and capable of accommodating the equipment and technology standards of today. CHI Memorial was required to file a CON because the new hospital campus is more than three and a half miles from the current location.
With the CON now in hand, CHI Memorial can restart the work that was halted in April to complete the project plans and ultimately begin construction on the new facility. This work will determine the definitive timeline for the project, including the opening anticipated for sometime in 2025.
The new hospital in Ringgold will feature 64 inpatient beds including an intensive care unit (ICU), as well as a full service emergency department, operating rooms, comprehensive imaging services and non-invasive cardiac imaging. The new building will connect to the current CHI Memorial Parkway building creating a single campus geared toward establishing a central location for inpatient and outpatient services.
In December 2017, CHI Memorial acquired what is now CHI Memorial Hospital Georgia and CHI Memorial Parkway (formerly known as Hutcheson Medical Center) to provide greater access to care for those who live and work in north Georgia. By fall 2018, the second floor of the current hospital had been renovated, a fast track was added to the emergency department for patients with minor illness and injuries, and additional services such as nuclear medicine capabilities and stress echocardiography were added. In December 2018, the Rees Skillern Cancer Institute at CHI Memorial Parkway opened. Cancer patients from Catoosa, Walker and Dade Counties who previously traveled to Chattanooga for radiation therapy were able to receive treatment closer to home. Since 2018, the following additional healthcare services have been added in north Georgia by CHI Memorial.
The following physician offices are conveniently located in north Georgia to better serve local residents.
Artist rendering of the new CHI Memorial Hospital Georgia
