Board earmarks $3.5 million for Piedmont Henry

Piedmont Henry Hospital will be the beneficiary of $3.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for the construction of a new observation unit, as the Henry County Board of Commissioners voted at its Nov. 1 regular meeting to approve a measure designated that money for the project.

About $2.4 million will go toward construction, and that is expected to take about six months once it starts, according to Dr. Lily Henson, the hospital’s chief executive officer.

She said the new unit would be for observation patients, who are deemed by insurance companies to require less than 23 hours in the hospital and undergo tests to determine whether they meet criteria for full admission.