The new emergency room at Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) Gainesville, which opened a week ago, saw nearly 1,500 patients in less than a week.
Hospital officials announced Friday that 1,400 had come through the new facility since it opened Feb. 8. They had said earlier that the first patient arrived at 6:47 that morning. EARLIER STORY. POSTED FEB. 8: NGMC Gainesville’s new tower now open
Also Friday, they said that the first surgery performed in The Green Tower, the designation for the 11-story structure which houses the new ER, was performed Monday. Patsy Lance of Blairsville (pictured) needed coronary artery bypass grafting surgery, which improves blood flow to the heart by bypassing narrowed or blocked arteries. Matthew Janko, MD, a cardiothoracic surgeon, completed the procedure.
In addition, and also on Monday, Darrell Farmer of Clermont became the first patient in the procedural area. He needed a left atrial appendage closure. The procedure, which is also called a WATCHMAN procedure – thanks to the name of the device that’s implanted in the patient’s heart – helps prevent strokes in patients with an irregular heartbeat. Joon Ahn, MD, an electrophysiologist with Georgia Heart Institute, completed the procedure.