The North Patient Tower Progress

Construction is underway on a new North Patient Tower (NPT) on the Main Campus of Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC). The Tower is being constructed on the north side of the hospital near the Surgery Pavilion. The seven-story Tower will house 32 ICU beds and 96 Medical/Surgical beds and will enable NGMC to provide care more efficiently to more patients. The Tower also will include a new surgery suite and provide new space for endoscopy, imaging and other support services.

The Tower will also include a new imaging department that will allow for more efficient layout for patient care and state-of-the-art design to support the latest innovations in CT, MRI and PET, with a focus on all digital modalities.

Also included in the Tower will be a new chapel and an education and resource center, both made possible by signature gifts to The Medical Center Foundation.

The NPT solves one of the most critical problems facing NGMC by giving the hospital room for future expansion. The Tower’s configuration allows for a second tower to be developed alongside the initial Tower, and a conceptual design for a connecting medical office building has been developed. The Tower represents a construction investment of over $190 million is projected to be completed in 2009.

“The North Patient Tower is our most ambitious project yet and will help us modernize our facilities and upgrade the efficiency of services to meet the present and future healthcare needs of our growing community,” says Jim Gardner, NGHS President and CEO.

The design of clinical space housed in the Tower provides a unique opportunity in the history of the organization to design highly efficient work and patient care areas, says Carol Burrell, NGHS’ Chief Operating Officer.

“Patient rooms in the tower are private and designed with dedicated zones for the staff, patient and family,” says Burrell. “Private baths are located along the exterior walls of patient rooms to minimize the ‘cramped’ feeling that occurs when baths are placed near the room entrance. A family zone also is located on the exterior wall and includes a window bench for sitting or sleeping with extra storage, a recliner chair, a reading lamp and a fold down surface for writing or laptop computer use. Large windows provide for plenty of natural light and outside views from the patient bed.”

The construction of the new Tower also will reorient the layout of the campus with the addition of a new entrance off of Downey Boulevard to improve campus circulation and wayfinding. A new patient-visitor parking deck will be built in close proximity to the Tower.

Click here to see detailed plans of the North Patient Tower

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Click the links below for a virtual tour of what the main campus will look like with completion of the new North Patient Tower:

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