Time is critical when it comes to emergency health care, and a new emergency care facility in Chattooga County, Georgia, will save lives and offer valuable services to the community, said Kurt Stuenkel, executive vice president of Atrium Health and president and CEO of Atrium Health Floyd.
Set to open in 2023, the facility will be located on 27 acres near the Walmart on U.S. 27, south of Trion. The facility will be open around the clock, Stuenkel said in a phone interview, have six exam rooms, two observation rooms, lab services, diagnostic machines including X-ray, ultrasound, CT scanner and a staff of 44.
Stuenkel said it will be the first such freestanding rural emergency facility in Georgia.
"Chattooga County is just to the north of us (Atrium Health Floyd) and has long been in our traditional service area," Stuenkel said. "We have an urgent care center, we have primary care physician offices, and we have a relationship with their school system. And so we have long been not only their neighbor but a significant provider for their health care needs and a partner for the community."
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Chattooga County had its own county hospital years ago, said Blake Elsberry, the sole commissioner for Chattooga County, but right now the nearest hospital is a 40- to 45-minute drive away.
"Rural health care is a big issue in the state, all the way across the state," Elsberry said, adding that he told two nearby hospital .
Atruim went "all in," Elsberry said in a phone interview, noting that the hospital network has developed free-standing ERs in other states. In Chattooga, Atrium has worked through a process with the state to establish the need for such a facility, and groundwork on the ER project is beginning this month, Elsberry said.
Atrium operates 40 hospitals, seven freestanding emergency facilities, 30-plus urgent care centers and more than 1,400 other health care locations such as imaging centers, laboratories, doctor's offices and nursing homes in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama, according to its website.
Elsberry said he thinks the Chattooga County project can be a blueprint for other small communities that need to stabilize patients and offer other emergency services. He expects to see more health care providers, as well as commercial and residential investment, locate near Atrium's new facility.
Elected officials are in the "ideas business," Elsberry said, and an emergency care facility has been a priority of his since he was elected in 2020. While some ideas aren't viable, he said he's glad to see Atrium decide to locate in Chattooga County - and down the line the facility could grow into a full-sized hospital.
Many small communities have urgent care, but Elsberry said those facilities aren't always open. Stuenkel said urgent care facilities don't have the same level of care as an actual emergency room.
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Chattooga's ER could be a model for rural health care, but Stuenkel said each one is subject to specific review. Atrium "found a rationale to develop this, and we believe it's going to be successful," he said.
Other freestanding emergency rooms have been proposed in Georgia, but they are tied up in appeals filed by potential competitors under the state certification of need process. Stuenkel said no one disputed the need for a Chattooga County facility, and Stuenkel said he believes that's because it's in a rural county.
Even though the certificate of need system has caused delays for other projects in the state, Stuenkel said it still serves an important public purpose. Atrium is a member of the Georgia Hospital Association and Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals, and Stuenkel said his organization supports the state process.
Some people "naively" think health care services should be subject to the free market, but Stuenkel said health care is complex, and "nobody is building freestanding services and surgery centers in the poorest neighborhoods. People aren't striving to compete for the indigent and for Medicaid. That's what makes health care so much different than the ordinary course of business."
Stuenkel said many patients have either no insurance or have insurance that reimburses at less than cost - like Medicare and Medicaid. The state process takes all that into consideration, he said, and tries to create a rational plan on where services should be offered.
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Chattooga County has some "very interesting" geography with ridges and mountains, and Stuenkel said when people need emergency care and face bad weather or traffic delays, minutes "can be critical." The new facility will be located in the middle of the county, and Stuenkel said the facility will also serve some residents of southern Walker County.
"I know we're going to save lives as a result of this," Stuenkel said.
Contact Andrew Wilkins at awilkins@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659. Follow him on Twitter @tweetatwilkins.