The owners of an aging northwest Georgia hospital want to replace it with a smaller state-of-the-art facility about 5 miles away and closer to I-75. Under the state’s regulatory certificate-of-need (CON) system, other hospitals can contest CHI Memorial Hospital Georgia’s bid to get state approval for the replacement hospital, which would be located in Ringgold….
By Ariel Hart and Andy Miller Facing the looming closure of a hospital in East Point, Fulton County officials and Grady Health System representatives are discussing ways to continue providing for emergency and hospitalization needs in the underserved south county area. Among the options: Raising the amount of money Fulton County taxpayers provide to the…
Wellstar Health System in recent years has been exploring options – including a sale or partnership — for its Atlanta Medical Center and an affiliate hospital in East Point. A different option unfolded Wednesday: Wellstar announced that it’s converting the 200-bed East Point hospital into a primary care, outpatient and rehabilitation center. The ER and…
Bills on vaping, lead poisoning, school recess, and post-pregnancy Medicaid coverage all hung in the balance Monday as the Georgia General Assembly convened for its final day. As usual, dozens of health care bills were filed and debated in the 2022 legislative session. But the highest-profile proposal again took the spotlight early Monday afternoon, when…
Illegal drugs laced with fentanyl have caused a surge of overdoses recently in Georgia, state health officials say. Over the last two months, at least 66 emergency room visits in the state involved the use of cocaine, methamphetamines, counterfeit pills or other drugs likely containing fentanyl, a dangerous synthetic opioid that can be up to…
The Georgia House on Wednesday approved a bill that would allow an individual to carry a concealed handgun without first getting a license from the state. Senate Bill 319 is one of a handful of gun proposals introduced in the Georgia General Assembly this year. Georgia pediatricians have concerns about the potential effects of these bills…
By Andy Miller and Rebecca Grapevine The state Senate unanimously approved landmark legislation Wednesday that aims to improve services for Georgians who have mental health and addiction problems. The Senate version of House Bill 1013 closely mirrored major provisions originally contained in the legislation, sponsored by House Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge), who took an…
By Rebecca Grapevine and Andy Miller The state insurance department has levied a $5 million fine against health insurer Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, the largest such penalty in the agency’s history, for violations of state law involving medical providers and consumers. Insurance Commissioner John King, at a Tuesday news conference at the State Capitol,…
A Senate committee Monday unanimously approved a rewrite of key provisions in the House’s mental health bill championed by powerful Georgia House Speaker David Ralston. The revised version of the legislation, passed by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, backs off the House’s stronger language on determining “medical necessity’’ of treatment, and on involuntary…
In operating rooms, the smoke created by surgery can be a health hazard for those breathing it in. Such “surgical smoke’’ is a byproduct of the thermal destruction of human tissue by the use of lasers or other devices. According to the CDC, the smoke has been shown to contain toxic gases, vapors and particulates,…