Barrow Regional Medical Center has formally filed a request to have the Georgia Supreme Court consider making a decision in a pending legal battle for a proposed hospital in Braselton.
Winder HMA — which owns Barrow Regional – filed a petition on Friday to have the state’s highest court review a March decision by the Georgia Court of Appeals allowing Northeast Georgia Medical Center to build a hospital in Braselton.
Barrow Regional had initially filed a notice to appeal the latest decision and officially submitted a petition with the state supreme court on Friday.
The Georgia Supreme Court will now have to decide if it will consider hearing the case.
Northeast Georgia plans to build a 100-bed hospital on Thompson Mill Road, next to The Village at Deaton Creek, in South Hall. The first of at least two, planned medical office buildings on the medical campus opened in 2008.
The Gainesville-based medical center initially received a state-approved Certificate of Need (CON) from the Georgia Department of Community Health for the hospital in 2007.
Barrow Regional has opposed the proposed hospital through the CON process and through a lawsuit filed in 2008.
A Barrow County Superior Court Judge ruled in favor of Barrow Regional in January 2009, but the court of appeals reversed that decision with its ruling last month.
Barrow Regional has contended in court documents that the Department of Community Health “recklessly” abused its discretion to the detriment of the Winder hospital in granting Northeast Georgia state approval for a new hospital in Braselton.
The state agency didn’t conduct an independent review of the adverse impact of Northeast Georgia’s proposed project on Barrow Regional, according to court documents filed on Friday.
Barrow Regional also says a Braselton hospital 11 miles from its Winder hospital would clearly decrease its patient volume and cause a negative financial impact.
Barrow Regional contends that the supreme court should review the court of appeals’ decision to protect the balance of power between judicial and executive branches of government.
Jim Gardner, CEO of Northeast Georgia, recently said officials with the Gainesville-based health system were disappointed in Barrow Regional’s decision to continue the court battle and were confident it would win the legal appeals for the proposed Braselton hospital.
The facility is expected to open in 2014.
Besides, there are plenty people, I bet, in their right mind who go there. At least the parking lot is full.
My family and I will not go to Barrow Regional.... we will drive to Gwinnett or Athens. To many times someone has ended up there, only to be treated and not fixed. My poor (at the time 4 year old) daughter was tortured by a staff member trying to get blood from her arm...... a nurse that was in training made the staff member leave and leave her alone.....It Was BAD!!!!!
Nurses are rude, the layout is basic, security is lax, ER staff is under "Caring" and it's a Dirty Hospital.
The only thing positive about Barrow Regional are the volunteers, and that is if you can get them to stop chatting amongst themselves long enough to get them to help you.
I'd travel to Braselton!!!!!!