It was a way for one hospital to help another. Newnan Hospital, Inc., the previous owner of Piedmont Newnan Hospital, has provided Piedmont Healthcare with a $5.1 million donation to enhance services at the Piedmont Newnan replacement hospital now under construction on Poplar Road near I-85.
Piedmont Healthcare officials said the donation was the largest ever received in the company’s 105-year history. The millions in funding will enable the new hospital to offer enhanced services in the areas of interventional radiology, surgery, emergency care and women’s and neonatal services.
“We are building a new hospital today because of the vision and perseverance of the Newnan Hospital Inc. Board of Directors,” said Michael Bass, president and CEO of Piedmont Newnan Hospital. “This transformational gift demonstrates loud and clear Newnan Hospital Inc.’s long-standing commitment to improving healthcare for all citizens of Coweta County. We sincerely thank the board for this most generous gift.”
Included in the donation is $4 million in enhancements and additions, previously not programmed into the scope of the replacement hospital, said Piedmont Healthcare spokesperson Kelly Hines. A major portion of the funds will purchase medical equipment in interventional radiology services and will enable the build-out of two additional surgical suites, including one with enhanced capabilities for urological procedures. The additional rooms will improve scheduling and availability of surgery and other procedures for patients and doctors, Hines said.
”In addition, it will provide further enhancements to the emergency department, including multi-purpose, ceiling equipment booms in the trauma rooms to keep the floors clear of diagnostic equipment; a faster, 64-slice CT scanner; and critical care monitors compatible with future technology,” said Hines. ”Additionally, pediatric and infant resuscitation equipment and infant warmers will be purchased for exclusive use in the emergency department, rather than be shared with the labor and delivery unit. For women’s and neonatal services, the donation will allow the provision of dedicated NICU incubators with resuscitation capability in all rooms, including delivery rooms.”
Commenting on the donation, Newnan Hospital, Inc. president Tom Moat noted the significance of NHI’s support of healthcare for Coweta’s residents.
“Piedmont is going to provide our community with a new, state-of-the-art hospital, and we believe it is important for Newnan Hospital Inc. to take the lead in helping augment vital services in the new facility. We can help provide enhanced services that will benefit all of us for many years,” Moat said. “Having been in the hospital business for almost 90 years, our board recognizes that community support includes both using services available at our local hospital and supporting it financially,” added Moat. “We are grateful to Piedmont Healthcare for all they are doing by building a new hospital facility. We want to help through these donations and hope this will encourage others to support further development of the new hospital and advance healthcare in our community.”
A portion of the donation includes the property on the court square in downtown Newnan, which serves as the Piedmont Newnan Hospital Wellness Center. Valued at $840,000, Piedmont Newnan Hospital will continue operating the downtown Newnan Wellness Center for the community.
A third component of the donation includes a $260,000 set aside for the utilization of the original Newnan Hospital campus, located at 80 Jackson Street. This campus currently houses both the Piedmont Newnan Hospital Ambulatory Surgery Center and the Piedmont Heartburn Treatment Center.
“This gift from Newnan Hospital Inc. represents the largest one-time gift in Piedmont’s history and sets the stage for fundraising efforts to support the new hospital,” said R. Timothy Stack, president and CEO of Piedmont Healthcare. “To the 500-plus annual donors who already support Piedmont Newnan Hospital, as well as our Auxilians and our community, this contribution makes a bold statement that through philanthropy, we have the ability to make a tremendous impact on the quality of local healthcare in the communities we serve.”
Hines said the gift by Newnan Hospital, Inc. is the largest in a series of recent gifts made by NHI to benefit healthcare in Coweta County. Earlier this fall, NHI announced a $2 million gift to University of West Georgia’s School of Nursing; a $1 million gift to West Georgia Technical College, benefiting the allied health sciences programs; and another $1 million contribution to the new Coweta Samaritan Clinic, Hines said.
The eight-story replacement Piedmont Newnan Hospital on Poplar Road is expected to open in spring 2012.
