Northeast Georgia Medical Center named as best COVID-19 care hospital

Healthgrades has named Gainesville’s Northeast Georgia Medical Center campus as one of the country’s best hospitals for COVID-19 care.

 

Healthgrades is a third-party database with comprehensive information about hospitals and physicians. The database selected Northeast Georgia Medical Center after analyzing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ data from January through September of 2020.

 

Northeast Georgia Medical Center’s Gainesville campus is one of 24 hospitals in the nation to receive this distinction. According to a press release, this hospital provided exceptional care despite a high volume of COVID-19 patients. 

 

Dr. Deepak Aggarwal, Northeast Georgia Medical Center’s chief of medical staff, said that Hall County had many COVID-19 cases at the beginning of the pandemic.

 

“During the beginning peaks of the pandemic, Hall County experienced numbers of cases and positivity rates that were among the highest in the nation,” Dr. Aggarwal said in a press release. “Despite these high numbers of COVID-positive patients, our clinical staff adapted quickly to follow the latest treatment guidelines to provide the best possible care to our patients.”

 

Dr. John E. Delzell Jr., the vice president and incident commander for Northeast Georgia Medical Center’s COVID-19 response, praised hospital physicians and staff for their innovative care approach.

 

“In early 2020, none of us knew what to expect each day when we came to work in the hospital,” Delzell said in a press release. “Even amidst the uncertainty, our physicians and staff stepped up to the plate to create new processes and procedures – from converting patient rooms to negative pressure rooms and setting up mobile units for COVID-positive patients to organizing testing events and educating the community – our staff went above and beyond to provide exceptional care.” 

 

Northeast Georgia Medical Center’s president and CEO Carol Burrell thanked Gainesville community residents for following COVID-19 protocols.

 

“Our success as a health system would not be possible without the support of our community members who have shown up for us in so many ways – by doing their part to limit the spread of the virus, providing meals, sending prayers, sharing encouragement and so much more,” Burrell said in a press release. “We are so grateful for the way our community has rallied around us during such a challenging time.”