Northside Hospital is starting work on a $57 million expansion of the Lawrenceville emergency room of the former Gwinnett Medical Center.
Gwinnett Medical Center and Northside merged in 2019, with Gwinnett Medical Center facilities falling under the Northside name. The Lawrenceville hospital is now Northside Hospital Gwinnett.
The emergency room expansion was approved by the Georgia Department of Community Health on Aug. 10, clearing the way for work to begin. The emergency department will nearly double in size, exceeding 75,000 square feet, according to a Northside press release.
The expansion will include a two-story addition next to the south tower of the hospital. The new space will have 27 exam rooms and 30 observation beds, according to Northside.
The hospital system is working to keep up with Gwinnett’s rapidly growing population. As more people move to the county, more patients are seeking out care at Northside Hospital, according to Debbie Mitcham, president and CEO of Northside Hospital in Gwinnett and Duluth.
“This major expansion will greatly enhance Northside’s patient care resources in this rapidly growing region, where we want to make a real difference in people’s lives,” Mitcham said in the release. “While this year has presented significant challenges to the health care industry, Northside has not wavered from its commitment for quality health care in Gwinnett. This project is transformative and will be a huge asset for our community.”
Northside’s Gwinnett and Duluth hospitals are two of the three in Gwinnett County that have treated COVID-19 patients since March. Gwinnett County has recorded more than 20,000 confirmed cases, the second highest of any Georgia county, and nearly 2,200 hospitalizations, the most in the state.
Northside anticipates the emergency room expansion will be complete in fall 2021.
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