ATLANTA (Nov. 18, 2010) Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, a not-for-profit organization and one of the country’s top pediatric health care systems, recently received approval from the state for a new pediatric facility in Forsyth County. The Georgia Department of Community Health approved the organization's certificate of need, indicating the 20,000-square-foot facility is needed to address the increasing need for pediatric health services in Forsyth County.
"There's a real need for this type of service," said Linda Cole, vice president of ambulatory services at Children’s who is leading the implementation of the new location. “We underwent a thorough evaluation, which included talking with pediatricians and family practitioners in the Forsyth area, to determine which services are most needed. We listened to the physicians in this community and heard from them which services they really wanted Children’s to offer to kids in the Forsyth community.”
The approximately $5.7 million pediatric neighborhood location will provide outpatient services including immediate care, rehabilitation, sports medicine, orthotics and prosthetics, specialty physician care, and X-ray and laboratory among other areas.
The new neighborhood location will be located in leased space at The Avenue Forsyth off Peachtree Parkway just east of Exit 13 off of GA-400. Construction is set to begin Dec. 8 and open June 2011. The new location is located near a 28-acre parcel Children's bought about two years ago for $17.6 million.
“Our initial plans for a neighborhood location in leased space is a way for us to provide some of those much-needed services immediately,” said Cole, who is also a Forsyth County resident. “However, we are working on plans for the future that will include a new facility on the 28 acres of land. This facility will allow us to provide even more services right here in the Forsyth community.
Between 50 and 60 jobs will be advertised beginning in early 2011, including nurses, radiology technicians, doctors and front desk employees. The new Forsyth County location is expected to attract and serve patients from neighboring counties as well, including Gwinnett, Cherokee, Lumpkin, Dawson and Hall.
Visit www.choa.org/forsyth for more information.
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