Baptist Medical Center, Cumming                                                     Page 2
"He who says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked"
(John 2:6)

 

The timing was impeccable, perhaps divine. As Baptist Medical Center in Cumming, Georgia first opened its doors in a ribbon cutting ceremony March 12, 1999, the U.S. Census Bureau declared Forsyth County the fastest growing county in the United States. Seven years earlier, the Georgia Baptist Health Care System had purchased the old Lakeside Hospital and renamed it Baptist North Hospital. Within days of the purchase, renovations began on the existing hospital and plans began for a state-of-the-art replacement facility.

Meanwhile, the county was in the midst of a staggering population growth that would increase 78 percent between 1990 and 1998. The county’s population of 86,130 inhabitants is projected to increase to 275,000 in the next 20 years.

The 148-acre campus of Baptist Medical Center is right on target to handle the influx. "We purposely planned the medical center so we can expand along with area growth and continue to meet the health care needs of the community," said John M. Herron, Vice President of Planning and Business Development. "Eventually, we’ll become a regional medical center." The medical center’s main building can be increased from three stories to eight stories and has the capacity to eventually provide 150 beds. By the end of 2001, the full-service hospital plans to add 14 more beds for a total of 55.


For now, Baptist Medical Center is capable of handling the current patient load with a staff of 300 and more than 175 admitting physicians. The medical center serves Forsyth, Dawson, north Fulton, west Gwinnett, east Cherokee and parts of Hall counties in addition to 20 million annual visitors to nearby Lake Lanier. Its annual economic impact to Forsyth County is $85 million.

Becoming a regional medical center will take steady growth and improvement. Baptist Medical Center takes its destiny seriously. Since 1992, renovations and upgrades have been constant. The hospital’s first addition was a fully staffed emergency department open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Within two years, clinical services expanded and a new emergency room with nine treatment suites and one trauma suite was constructed. Inpatient load soared. Last year, 16,243 patients were treated at the emergency room, and this year’s average was more than 20,000 in the first quarter.

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