Barrow hospital files lawsuit against Braselton hospital
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
Barrow Regional Medical Center has filed a lawsuit against Northeast Georgia Health System’s plans to open a new hospital in Braselton.
The Winder-based medical center filed the lawsuit on Monday in Barrow County, according to Linda Easterly, chief nursing officer for Barrow Regional Medical Center.
The Northeast Georgia Health System, Gainesville, is planning to open a 100-bed hospital in South Hall off Thompson Mill Road, near Ga. Hwy. 211 in Braselton. The hospital will provide emergency services, medical and surgical care, and some specialty services.
Barrow Regional Medical Center had filed two appeals with the Georgia Department of Community Health against the Northeast Georgia Health System’s proposed hospital in Braselton.
The state agency is responsible for reviewing proposals for new or expanded healthcare services in Georgia through a “certificate of need” (CON) process. During that process, other area healthcare providers can appeal the application.
Northeast Georgia received state approval for its Braselton hospital in April 2007. Barrow Regional filed an appeal with the state in May 2007.
A hearing officer and a review board later backed the state’s original approval for the Braselton hospital.
Barrow Regional had 30 days from the review board’s hearing on Feb. 22 to file a final option — a lawsuit. That lawsuit was filed on Monday, according to Easterly.
Barrow Regional isn’t against the proposed facility in Braselton, but rather the state CON process used to approve the hospital.
Easterly said Northeast Georgia initially claimed the Braselton hospital would provide “replacement beds,” but later changed the status during the CON process to “new beds.”
“We’re not appealing the beds, but the process,” Easterly said, while adding that the CON process wasn’t properly followed for the proposed Braselton hospital.
Barrow Regional believes that there are plenty of patients in the Braselton area that can be served by both medical centers, Easterly said.
“This whole area is growing so much,” she said on Tuesday. “It’s not like there’s not going to be enough patients.”
And like Northeast Georgia, Barrow Regional will expand its facilities someday, Easterly said.
Chad Bolton, director of planning for Northeast Georgia Health System, said on Friday that Barrow Regional’s appeal isn’t impacting construction of the Braselton hospital.
Instead, the opening of the hospital has been tied to another timeline — the re-alignment and widening of Thompson Mill Road (S.R. 347). The Georgia Department of Transportation is expected to complete the project in 2011-2012.
“We plan on starting (construction) as soon as we’re free and clear on the CON issue,” Bolton said on Friday, before Barrow Regional filed its lawsuit. “We’re waiting for all of this to be finished and then we can start. But we can certainly keep on our original timeline.”
In September 2007, Northeast Georgia started construction of its first building on the 119-acre Braselton medical complex called River Place.
Medical Plaza I is a 105,000 square foot facility that will include medical offices, imaging services and an urgent care center. The building, which is slated to be completed in the fall, will also include the new location for the Braselton Clinic.
