Residents discuss ideas with architects, engineers for new hospital in Braselton

“I wish to see gardens, water fountains (and) maybe walking trails that you can view from the patient’s room, especially from the intensive care unit and things like that, to promote a sense of well-being,” said one man from the audience.

One woman said she didn’t think that a hospital designed with modern architecture would fit in well with the character of the area, which is predominately rural with older architectural features.

Another woman asked architects working on the healthcare campus plans to preserve as much of the land as possible, while a man suggested that it reflect the history of Georgia — including its colonial and confederate past. Parking arrangements and even detailed suggestions for lighting in patient rooms were also tossed around by the audience members.

The wide-ranging comments were enough for one man to joke that it sounded like area residents were planning a resort.

“So, everything we’re asking for — all of these amenities, valet parking, Starbucks and everything else — ultimately, we’re the customer and we’re going to be paying for it,” he said.

Lora Strigens, an architect in urban design working on the campus plans, said the meeting was intended to be a “blue sky” discussion of the possibilities for the property.

“At the end of the day, just as you evaluate what you’d spend your money on, the hospital system, as well, is going to evaluate what will bring the most value to you as a healthcare consumer,” she said.

The Gainesville-based health system is in the process of planning its healthcare campus in Braselton, according to Tracy Vardeman, vice president of strategic planning and marketing for Northeast Georgia Health System.

To support that effort, the health system has scheduled a series of forums in January that will garner public comments about its plans for the Braselton property. It is also seeking feedback through an online survey at www.nghs.com/riverplace.

Northeast Georgia Health System plans to make its property located on Thompson Mill Road (Ga. Hwy. 347), next to The Village at Deaton Creek, a “healthcare destination.”

The 119-acre campus is called River Place in Braselton and the new 100-bed Northeast Georgia Medical Center hospital will be just one part of that complex.

The first building on the campus — Medical Plaza 1 — opened in 2008 and includes 22 physician offices, an imaging center, a pharmacy, a laboratory, rehabilitation services and Urgent Care. A second medical office building is expected to open before the hospital.

Northeast Georgia Health System officials plan to break ground on the new hospital next fall with it opening possibly in early 2015.

Meanwhile, the Georgia Department of Transportation plans to start construction to widen and realign Thompson Mill Road next summer. The portion of that road project by the hospital is expected to be finished by opening day at the facility, but health system officials are eyeing potential alternatives for traffic in the area.

The health system selected HGA Architects and Engineers is its architect for the Braselton campus. The HGA team working on the Northeast Georgia Health System project is based in Milwaukee and has previously worked on new hospital plans in Texas, New Jersey and Missouri.

“A big component that drew us to HGA was the focus on the patient,” Vardeman said.

The design team will have the opportunity to work on a “pioneer site” — one that is largely vacant, according to Vardeman. The architects and engineers are talking to patients, physicians, staff and community members about possibilities for the Braselton campus.

Strigens, of HGA, said she will focus on how the site relates to the community and develop a long-term vision. She pointed to a lakefront amphitheater that she helped design for a children’s museum that has been a big community draw in Milwaukee.

Health system officials have said that the campus in Braselton may include non-medical amenities, such as gardens, trails and retail shops.

For its medical-based services in Braselton, the health system is still studying the possibilities, according to Vardeman. It is unlikely that the South Hall campus will open with open-heart surgery — a service that has earned Northeast Georgia top honors in the state at its hospital in Gainesville.

“That’s the type of service that you really want to consolidate in an area where you’re going to have to scale the volume of patients so that you can be as efficient as we’ve proven ourselves to be,” Vardeman said. “Now that doesn’t mean that we can’t have a very strong center of excellence in cardiology. Many of our same providers are in Braselton. They are committed to growing their practices there, too. We’re really looking at what kinds of services that we can have and we’re exploring it right now.”

Upcoming Hospital Forums
Northeast Georgia Medical Center will hold community forums on its new hospital campus plans in Braselton, called River Place, on the following dates:

•Tuesday, Jan. 24: Town Hall Community Room, Braselton

•Wednesday, Jan. 25: Jackson EMC, Jefferson.

•Thursday, Jan. 26: Hamilton Mill United Methodist Church, Dacula.

All forums will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Light refreshments will be served.

Those unable to attend the forums may provide their comments through an online survey at www.nghs.com/riverplace. For more information, call 770-219-3840.