DeKalb Medical to build first hospital in Lithonia

LITHONIA - DeKalb Medical Center has been granted state approval to build the first hospital in Lithonia, a rapidly growing suburb east of Atlanta. <br> <br> The Department of Community Health awarded a certificate of need to nonprofit DeKalb Medical on Wednesday, selecting the company over California-based Tenet Healthcare Corp., which operates five hospitals in the Atlanta region. <br> <br> DeKalb Medical, which operates the county&#39;s largest hospital, plans to build a $65 million, 100-bed facility with only private rooms, an emergency room, a maternity center and a neonatal intensive care unit. <br> <br> The hospital will serve an area with about 450,000 residents. It is expected to open in 2005 on a 40-acre medical campus near Interstate 20. <br> <br> Tenet officials said they have not decided whether to appeal the DCH ruling. <br> <br> Tenet shares fell $1.69 to $62.05 Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange.