FORSYTH, Ga. — Tuesday morning, Monroe County community members gathered together to celebrate the reopening of the Monroe County Hospital's emergency department.
The emergency room is part of a hospital-wide construction project that has been in the works since February 2019.
Before the renovation, the hospital emergency room had six patient beds split among four rooms, oftentimes depriving patients of privacy.
"It just didn't lend to the things that we hold in high regard in healthcare, which is privacy and dignity," says hospital CEO Lorraine Smith. "The new facility will definitely lend to that."
The updated emergency room has seven beds each in their own room, in addition to improved lighting and additional space.
Now that the emergency room is up and running, attention is moving towards updating two more patient wings.
The Navicent Health-partnered hospital has been in operation at its current location since 1976.
"We wanted to go ahead and let people know that the emergency room has been expanded and can accept the capacity," says Smith. "Folks don't have to leave their hometown, they can get emergency services right here."
Smith hopes to have the hospital completely renovated by this January.
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