Groundbreaking for $23 million NGMC outpatient testing facility

GAINESVILLE - Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) broke ground on a new facility, Medical Park 1, Thursday morning. The new three-story building will be constructed adjacent to and connected to NGMC's Imaging Center, located on Jesse Jewell Parkway.

Medical Park 1 will include a new Imaging Center as well as medical office space. The 90,000 square foot (SF) Medical Park 1 will feature a three-story atrium. The new Imaging Center will be on the ground floor, with more than 26,000 SF of space. The upper two floors will provide space for physician offices or other medical, office and support needs. Construction is expected to begin next month with completion in February 2009.

"One of the greatest aspects of combining the new Imaging Center with a medical office building will be the convenience," says Lee Martin Jr., MD, an NGMC radiologist and president of the Gainesville Radiology Group, PC. "The physicians leasing space in Medical Park 1 will have convenient, on-site access to imaging services that their patients need."

In the new Imaging Center, there will be a separate Women's Center providing one location for women's imaging needs, including digital mammography, breast MRI, breast MRI biopsy, ultrasound, stereotactic breast biopsy and bone density studies. Funding from The Medical Center Foundation's Healthy Journey II campaign will be used to create a spa-like environment in the Women's Center that meets the comprehensive imaging needs of female patients in a comfortable, attractive surrounding, while maintaining a high level of privacy.

Woody Stewart, chairman of the Development Council of The Medical Center Foundation, said, "We were pleased and grateful that the Medical Center Auxiliary identified the Women's Center as one of the primary beneficiaries of 2007 and 2008 Marketplace proceeds." Marketplace is the annual festive holiday shopping event held each November, presented by The Medical Center Auxiliary, Inc.

To enhance customer service at The Imaging Center, all of the outpatient imaging services will be consolidated to this single location, including MRI (1.5T, 3T, and .7 high field open MRI), CT, PET/CT, nuclear medicine, plain films, fluroscopy, x-ray and stereotactic biopsy rooms. Other specialty labs and clinics may also be included.

The building's architectural design is in keeping with the branding concepts of NGMC's new North Patient Tower, which is under construction now and set to open in early 2009. These concepts utilize a combination of glass, metal panels and stacked stone. The existing Imaging Center building will receive a complete facelift to complement the three-story addition.

During construction, NGMC's Imaging Center will continue to be open and provide outpatient imaging services including digital mammography, breast MRI, ultrasound, bone density studies, MRI, CT, PET/CT, x-ray and stereotactic biopsy rooms.

"Northeast Georgia Health System (NGHS) is rapidly growing to meet the increasing healthcare needs of our community," says Jim Gardner, CEO of NGHS. "We are excited to continue to provide our region with state-of-the-art facilities that meet their healthcare needs close to home."