This Level 1 Trauma Center in northern Georgia has a new helipad atop an 11-story tower

Caption

Ribbon cutting ceremony outside the Northeast Georgia Medical Center Gainesville Green Tower.

Credit: Robert Morgan/Northeast Georgia Health System

Northeast Georgia Medical Center Gainesville can shave more than 10 minutes off the time it takes to get a trauma patient from helicopter to emergency room now that its Green Tower is open, president and CEO Carol Burrell said.

"We have a helipad that's in a parking lot on the campus, but we have to get our ambulances, put the patients in that and transport them over," she said. "That can take anywhere from 10 to 12 minutes on a best case."

Now, the rooftop helipad connects to an elevator that goes directly to the cardiac floor or the emergency room, sometimes, in 30 seconds.

"Our emergency room is one of the busiest in the state and we are the only trauma center north of Atlanta," she said. "We have a great trauma team, we provide great services, but it's been in cramped space."

When the Level I Trauma Center opened what is now known as its Blue Tower 15 years ago, Burrell said staff quickly realized they needed more rooms for sick people.

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The Green Tower at Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville, Georgia.

Credit: Robert Morgan/Northeast Georgia Health System

The Georgia Heart Institute is also located in the Green Tower, offering cardiac care from expert catheterization and other procedures to open-heart surgery.

Northeast Georgia Health System started planning for increased capacity years before COVID-19 came to the state.

"In fact, that pandemic actually helped inform us of what were the things that we needed to put in place in the event, Lord help us, that there should be another pandemic in the future," Burrell said.

The community's investment in expanding the campus paid off with 96 beds on opening day, Feb. 8, 2025, and close to an additional 200 beds planned for the future.

The 200-foot Green Tower has 11 stories and 927,000 square feet, which is a third of the 2.5 million square foot campus. 

Burrell said she thinks people in the community will also be excited about the new 450-car parking deck.

"Parking is always an issue when you're growing, of course," Burrell said.

And it was built locally, Burrell said, with 80% of the $566 million going to contractors in Georgia, and 60% of that paid contractors in the health system's 23-county service area.

"We remain independent," she said. "We believe that health care is close to home and this will just be able to help us further our mission of improving the health of our community and all that we do."