Northeast Georgia Health System has expanded its operations for patients in the Buford area with the opening of Medical Plaza Buford.
The new 90,000-square-foot building, located at the corner of Buford Drive and South Lee Street, opened Monday.
Daniel Tuffy, chief administrative officer of Northeast Georgia Physicians Group, said the new facility has been long anticipated.
"We've been waiting a long time for this to open, it's been probably in the planning for six years or more," Tuffy said. "We clearly have outgrown the old building. It couldn't meet our demands of volume or technology or space."
NGPG previously had a presence in Buford at an older brick building which is next to the new medical plaza. Tuffy said the old building had about 6,000 square feet of space, while the new medical plaza is a major expansion at 90,000 square feet.
Medical Plaza Buford currently offers an imaging center, Healthlink lab, the Georgia Heart Institute, NGPG Buford Family Medicine, NGPG Family Medicine and NGPG Behavioral Health. However, more services are set to open at the site in the coming months. An urgent care division will open on July 25. NGPG OB/GYN, orthopedic surgery, sports medicine, general surgery, neurology and urology will all open at the site in August.
Sandy Smith, administrative director of Urgent Care and Occupation Medicine with NGPG, said she was excited for the move into the new facility.
"It's going to be a fantastic area, they have laid it out, amazingly, for us to be able to support the community in a better way than we were even before," Smith said.
Medical Plaza Buford consists of large spaces with a great amount of natural lighting. Angel Whitaker, site manager with Buford imaging center, said they are excited to show the space off to the public.
"We have such a beautiful facility," Whitaker said. "It's definitely more spacious."
