Hosptial Expansion Set to Start in December

Local officials broke ground Tuesday on the first phase of a near $30 million project to expand Cartersville Medical Center, and construction is slated to begin in December, according to the Construction Journal.

Plans call for doubling the size of the hospital's Emergency Department, adding a new patient floor and new equipment, converting existing semi-private rooms into private rooms, and refurbishing both the building's facade and patient rooms.

With 18 beds, CMC services about 50,000 patients in its emergency room each year. In 2010, it treated more than 106,000 people—thousands more than Bartow County's population—and admitted more than 6,000.

The expansion, a $26 million capital investment that will create jobs and increase the property tax base, will allow the hospital's 700 employees to better care for patients in a more conformatable facility, said CEO Keith Sandlin, according to The Daily Tribune News. Up to 100 temporary jobs will be available for the 16- to 18-month construction period and about 45 permanent positions will result from the expansion, which is expected to be complete in the spring of 2014.

Tell us what you think in the comments below and don’t miss any of the local news you care about—subscribe to Cartersville Patch's newsletter, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.