This story has been updated. 

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta announced today it is closing its inpatient facility at Egleston campus at Emory and opening a new hospital across the street from Executive Park, located off of I-85 and North Druid Hills Road.

It will be several years before Egleston’s inpatient facility closes, a spokesperson for CHOA said. A future use for the property has not been decided. The new hospital will be located across the street from the Atlanta Hawks sports medicine center and training facility.

“Based on studies of future demand and facility capacity, Children’s determined a new campus at the northeastern corner of North Druid Hills Road and I-85 – along with sustained growth of other facilities and programs – provides the ability to meet forecasted patient care and space needs through 2026 and projected demand to 2036 and beyond,” the press release from CHOA says.

[adsanity id=34994 align=aligncenter /]

Donna Hyland, CHOA’s president and CEO, told Decaturish on Feb. 9 that the hospital needs more room to grow than the Egleston campus provides.

“We just don’t have the capacity to care for all the children that need to get to us,” she said.

CHOA’s press release says the new hospital will be a “major pediatric medical campus that will be a leader in care.”

It will be the home of the Center for Advanced Pediatrics, CHOA says. “With easy access from I-85, the new campus will give our hospital system room to grow decades into the future.”

CHOA says as a result it will no longer operate an inpatient facility at Egleston.

“The long-term purpose of Egleston’s campus will be determined during the planning process over the next several years,” the press release says.

CHOA will continue to work with Emory, the press release says.

“Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University School of Medicine have a long-standing partnership and will continue to work together to provide high-quality pediatric care, conduct groundbreaking research, and train the next generation of physicians,” the press release says. “Faculty/physicians from Emory University School of Medicine will continue to provide clinical care at all Children’s campuses, and Children’s will remain a primary training site for Emory’s pediatric medical students, residents and fellows.”

Science research will remain at Emory. Decaturish obtained an email sent to Emory faculty and staff by Jonathan Lewin, President, CEO, and Chair of the Board of Emory Healthcare.

“Although this Children’s announcement of new facilities and a new location may be viewed as a change for Emory pediatrics – at least geographically – we are extremely optimistic about the ongoing strength of our partnership with Children’s and our ability to continue our excellence in the top ranks of pediatrics departments nationally,” the email said. “We will continue to update you about these plans as they progress.”

Hyland, CHOA’s CEO, said the announcement did not come as a surprise to Emory officials.

“We’ve been working with our Emory colleagues all along,” she said. ” … We keep all of our colleagues at Emory very involved and informed.”

CHOA’s press release says it may take as long as eight years to build the new hospital. This fact sheet was also attached to the press release:

Breaking-New-Ground-Fact-Sheet

To see a site map of the new facility, click here.

Here is the full email from Jonathan Lewin to Emory faculty and staff.

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta today announced they will build a new full-service hospital for inpatient medical care at their campus at North Druid Hills Road/I-85. This location is across the road from Emory facilities within Executive Park. Children’s is choosing to build the new facility following studies of future demand and facility capacity. A specific timeline has not been developed, but we have been told that the hospital could take as long as eight years to plan, permit, design and build.

During construction of the new hospital, Children’s will add temporary beds at Egleston to meet demand. After construction of the hospital is complete, however, Children’s will no longer operate an inpatient facility at Egleston. Children’s will determine the long-term purpose of the Egleston campus during the planning process over the next several years. As you can imagine, we at Emory will have great interest in how the Egleston campus is used in the future.

In addition, Children’s is building a new 260,000 sq. ft. Center for Advanced Pediatrics at the North Druid Hills campus. This center will be a pediatric outpatient care center including advanced technology and research capabilities.

Additional information can be found at www.choabreakingnewground.org.

Emory University School of Medicine and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta have had a productive partnership for more than 60 years, providing high-quality pediatric care, conducting groundbreaking research, and training the next generation of physicians.  Our faculty from the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, the Rollins School of Public Health, and the Winship Cancer Institute have also been closely involved with our pediatric initiatives.  We do not expect this relationship to change, rather to continue to expand and accelerate.

Emory School of Medicine faculty physicians will continue to provide specialty and sub-specialty care at Children’s facilities. The Emory Department of Pediatrics ranks #4 in the U.S. in research funding from the NIH, and our researchers will continue to collaborate within the Atlanta Pediatric Research Consortium. Our research teams will continue their groundbreaking research in laboratories in the Health Sciences Research Building and the Emory Children’s Center. Our pediatric residency programs will continue to train highly skilled physicians.

Although this Children’s announcement of new facilities and a new location may be viewed as a change for Emory pediatrics – at least geographically – we are extremely optimistic about the ongoing strength of our partnership with Children’s and our ability to continue our excellence in the top ranks of pediatrics departments nationally. We will continue to update you about these plans as they progress.

Thank you to all our Emory pediatric physicians, physician scientists, basic science researchers, and other faculty from across the Woodruff Health Sciences Center schools for your tremendous contributions that are so very integral to the accomplishments of Children’s. We expect these new facilities to provide exciting new opportunities for pediatric care, research, and training – all for the benefit of improving the lives of children and their families in Atlanta and beyond.

Sincerely,

Jon

Jonathan S. Lewin, MD

Executive Vice President, Emory University

Executive Director, Woodruff Health Sciences Center

President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board, Emory Healthcare

Here is the full press release from CHOA:

ATLANTA (Feb. 9, 2017) – Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta announced today major developments in its strategy for expanding to serve more children. The not-for-profit organization’s plans include a new pediatric hospital at its campus at North Druid Hills Road.

“As the only freestanding pediatric healthcare system in Georgia, we need to ensure that we are able to serve the children in our state,” said Donna Hyland, President and CEO, Children’s. “To meet growing demand, we must find more ways to provide access to those who need Children’s unique specialized care by improving and expanding our facilities.”

Based on studies of future demand and facility capacity, Children’s determined a new campus at the northeastern corner of North Druid Hills Road and I-85 – along with sustained growth of other facilities and programs – provides the ability to meet forecasted patient care and space needs through 2026 and projected demand to 2036 and beyond.

“The health of Georgia’s children has consistently been one of my top priorities,” said Governor Nathan Deal. “Children’s Healthcare provides vital care for children from across the state, and its plans for a new hospital and continued statewide growth will help ensure that Georgia’s kids have a healthy future.”

Jonathan Goldman, Chairman of the Children’s Board of Trustees, said the decision was the result of careful planning and a long-term perspective.

“After analyzing numerous options, we determined building a new pediatric healthcare campus is the best way to effectively serve our community’s expanding needs,” said Goldman. “This furthers our mission to provide access to the best possible care for generations to come and strengthens our commitment to patients, families, physicians and community members.”

In addition to the North Druid Hills Campus, Children’s is investing in its facilities across its system as a part of its “Every Child Deserves Children’s” strategic plan to expand access. Additional 2017 initiatives include:

• Opening of 46 new licensed beds and 14 observation beds at Scottish Rite hospital in 2017
• Expansion of the emergency department at Hughes Spalding hospital by summer 2017
• Planning for additional beds at Egleston to meet demand until the new hospital opens
• Construction of the Center for Advanced Pediatrics, a 260,000-square-foot facility that will put complex care specialists, state-of-the-art technology and leading-edge research for outpatient care under one roof
• Construction of an outpatient facility at Town Center
•  Addition of a new urgent care center in Hamilton Creek in 2017
• Expansion of specialty services and urgent care at Hudson Bridge
• Expansion of specialty services in Cherokee
• Construction of a new urgent care center in the Chamblee/Brookhaven area

“As careful stewards of resources, we are building responsibly and thinking boldly as we determine the best ways to deliver specialized care for kids and teens, as only Children’s can,” said Hyland. “We intend to plan and grow deliberately in a way that best serves Georgia.”

After construction of the new hospital at North Druid Hills is complete, Children’s will no longer operate an inpatient facility at Egleston. Future plans for the use of the Egleston campus have not been determined. Children’s Scottish Rite and Hughes Spalding hospitals will continue to grow to meet the needs of families and children.

In addition to the new hospital, the North Druid Hills Campus will be home to the Center for Advanced Pediatrics, which broke ground last month. The site currently houses a single story office complex occupied by Children’s. Children’s currently owns more than 45 acres at the site.

Today’s announcement is the kickoff to the public phase of the planning process.  Children’s has engaged top architects and land planners and anticipates significant planning and permitting work through the remainder of 2017 as it works through various regulatory processes. Specific transportation, site and building plans for the North Druid Hills Campus will be developed over the next 18 months. Children’s total investment in the new hospital will likely be in the range of $1 billion to $1.3 billion.

[adsanity id=34581 align=aligncenter /]