News Releases

April 17, 2006
WGHS Board approves next step to proceed with $64.5 million building project

The West Georgia Health System Board of Trustees today gave the go ahead for the Health System to spend up to $1 million in additional funds to continue working toward implementing its new building project. In addition, board members approved a resolution to request that the Troup County Health Department relocate its operations to allow for the construction.

Specifically, the Board approved a motion to move forward with the necessary steps to implement the $64.5 million construction project, which includes developing more detailed construction documents, preparing a financial package to fund the project and taking initial steps to prepare a Certificate of Need to submit to the Department of Community Health for its consideration of the project.

In addition, the Board approved a resolution to formally request from Troup County’s Board of Commissioners and Board of Health that the Health Department move its operations by October 1, 2006. The current Troup County Health Department is located on land that will be affected by the new construction. The proposed project will expand the hospital by 120,000 square feet and will include a new Emergency Department, new Women’s Center, a Cardiology Center and a new 24-bed Intensive Care Unit.

“Two years ago, we started developing our strategic and facility master plans. For the past nine months, our architectural, project management and construction management teams have been working together to develop our concepts into reality,” says WGHS President/CEO Jerry Fulks. “Tonight, our Board came together and voted for us to take the next steps associated with this project so we can build a better, more comprehensive health system that will provide care for generations to come.”

To proceed with the current proposed project, the plans call for creating new entrances with easier access to WGHS’ building and services. “To achieve this goal, we will change our main entrance orientation from the south to the west,” Fulks points out. “For this transition, we plan to utilize land adjacent to our western entrances including our physician parking lot, the Georgia Heart Clinic, and hopefully the Troup County Health Department.”

If everything goes according to plan, construction of the new building is expected to break ground early next year and be complete in the spring of 2009