Cumming hospital to broaden cardiac services

Northside Hospital-Forsyth has the green light from the state Department of Community Health to establish an adult cardiac catheterization lab.

The lab is slated to open in the first quarter of 2009 at a cost of about $2 million.

Russ Davis, a spokesman for the Cumming hospital, said the lab “will greatly enhance our already existing, comprehensive cardiac diagnostic services.

“Forsyth County is currently the largest county in Georgia without a cardiac cath lab within its borders,” Davis said. “Each year, more than 1,125 Forsyth and Dawson County residents have had to travel more than 20 miles to access cardiac cath services.”

Hospital officials expect to perform more than 750 procedures at the lab in its first year of operation.

The lab will be located near the hospital’s existing Radiology Department.