NGHS reaches agreement to sell Chestatee Regional to University of North Georgia

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DAHLONEGA, Ga. — The Northeast Georgia Health System (NGHS) purchase of Chestatee Regional Hospital (CRH) has opened up an opportunity for the University of North Georgia (UNG) to meet the school’s growing educational needs.

NGHS officials announced Friday an agreement to sell the facility to UNG. While the school will not be able to occupy the building for a couple of years, it plans to house nursing, physical therapy, and counseling education programs, as well as two existing, outreach clinics from the counseling and physical therapy departments designed to serve specialized health needs of the community.

UNG President Bonita Jacobs said, “UNG has been exploring opportunities to add academic space for the Dahlonega Campus, and this acquisition will have a transformative impact across multiple academic programs. The healthcare sector is a broad-reaching, high-demand career area, and the facility could serve as a catalyst for interdisciplinary opportunities and collaborations to support workforce development needs, such as advanced technologies, informatics, and analytics.”

Jacobs thanked Gov. Nathan Deal and State Sen. Steve Gooch and the Board of Regents for their leadership in facilitating the purchase that will ensure healthcare for this rural community long-term, while also improving healthcare education opportunities.

State legislators have earmarked dollars in the state’s 2019 fiscal year budget for the University System of Georgia Board of Regents to purchase the property. Acquisition will require final approval by the Board of Regents later this year. If approved, the Board of Regents initially would lease the property to NGHS.

Meanwhile, NGHS officials will conduct an assessment of the community’s healthcare needs, including evaluating the possibility of a new facility in Lumpkin County, just south of the intersection of Georgia Highways 400 and 60.

“Chestatee Regional Hospital has been a vital resource for Lumpkin County and an integral part of healthcare in the region for more than 40 years,” said Carol Burrell, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of NGHS. “We look forward to working with the community to better understand what care it needs and collaborating to create a plan to meet those needs in the future.”

CRH is required to notify federal regulators of plans to close the hospital later this year, which would help assure existing liabilities are not tied to future owners or operators. A specific date will be set for the hospital closing during a required due diligence period.

“Our immediate goal is to assess what is needed to re-establish high-quality healthcare services in Lumpkin County after the hospital closes,” Louis Smith, president of Acute and Post-Acute Operations for NGHS, said. “Given what information we’ve received about existing resources, we estimate it may take as many as 12 months to complete that assessment.”

Gooch, who also serves as executive director of Lumpkin County’s Development Authority, said the deal would both stabilize the future of healthcare for Northeast Georgia and allow UNG expanded academic space.

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