Atlanta Hospital Will Open Expansion Early: GA Coronavirus

ATLANTA, GA — Piedmont Atlanta Hospital is preparing for an increase in intensive care unit patients. Georgia officials believe that the state will see a peak around April 23 that will overwhelm hospitals.

The hospital tells WSB that it has received a certificate to speed up the opening of its new Buckhead patient tower. As Georgia’s coronavirus cases increase, the hospital says it wants to be prepared.

Piedmont Hospital was originally scheduled to open in August, but now it will open five months earlier than planned. There will be 400 beds and 10 operating rooms in Marcus Tower, the new high rise hospital.

The opening date depends on how quickly they can get crucial supplies and equipment, a spokeswoman tells the news station. There’s a shortage across the country.

In 2016, Piedmont Hospital announced the Buckhead expansion, saying that phase one of the $603 million project would be complete around September 2020. Phase two of the tower up-fit will begin in 2022 and one patient floor will be completed per year, except for 2026 when the final two floors will be built out. The total project duration will be 10 years.

"The tower will offer a patient-centric, integrated healthcare experience that will improve all aspects of patient care at Piedmont Atlanta, both in the new tower and the existing campus, so that we can continue our 110+ year tradition of serving this community," said Patrick Battey, CEO of Piedmont Atlanta Hospital.

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More than 1 million COVID-19 cases are confirmed worldwide and more than 60,000 people have died, Johns Hopkins reported Saturday morning. The U.S. has over 278,000 cases, the most of any country as of Saturday.

Of Georgia's coronavirus cases, 58 percent are between ages 18 and 59, while those above the age of 60 make up 36 percent, according to a Georgia Department of Health report. People up to age 17 represent 1 percent of cases, and the remaining percentage of cases have unknown ages.

As of Saturday morning, Fulton County's 910 cases are the most of any Georgia locality. The next highest totals are 607 in Dougherty County, DeKalb with 483 cases, Cobb with 422 cases, Gwinnett with 353 cases, Bartow with 159 cases, Carroll with 147 cases and Clayton with 206 cases.

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