A new chapter in healthcare in Cherokee County.
A replacement hospital opened its doors at 5 a.m. Saturday morning unveiling a brand new emergency sign at Northside Hospital - Cherokee.
"We started at 5 a.m. moving patients and we hope that by 2 o'clock this afternoon to have the last patient safely moved from the old campus to the new campus. So we are officially open for business at the new campus," said Billy Hayes, CEO.
Staff members have spent countless hours of time and training and doing mock drills to prepare for the move. Each patient will be transported by ambulance.
"We'll have to run two hospitals for about a 10 to 12 hour period. If a patient comes to the old hospital, we will transfer that patient to the new campus," Hayes said.
The vision to get build the new state of the art hospital started about 12 years ago with the current CEO Bob Quattrocchi of Northside Hospital. Hayes said it took about 4 years to get it built.
"This is not your typical hospital. When you come in it looks like a 5-star resort. We want people to feel like they are at home," Hayes said.
As for few cutting edge technology, the hospital has a robotics system in the pharmacy, operating room, and emergency room.
"We still have a pharmacist check things to make sure that the robot is doing what we want it to," Hayes said.
The new hospital is located at 450 Northside Cherokee Blvd. in Canton.
A new Northside Hospital Cherokee opens its doors
