Certificate of Need for new nursing home is denied

Grady General Hospital’s application to the Georgia Department of Community Health’s Office of Health Planning for a proposed new 75-bed skilled nursing center was denied Tuesday.
The local hospital was seeking a Certificate of Need to construct the new $19 million facility adjacent to Grady General Hospital.
Originally, a 108-bed, $24 million facility was proposed, but plans were scaled down once the application was filed on May 29, 2018.
The proposed nursing home was to be constructed on a vacant block north of the hospital, which is located at 1155 Fifth St., S.E. in Cairo.
Officials said they had applied for the Certificate of Need because of the limited resources in the surrounding area that focus on short-term and long-term subacute services including rehabilitation therapies, wound management and skilled nursing.
Grady General Hospital Administrator Crystal Wells could not be reached Tuesday night to comment on the Office of Health Planning’s decision.
The Messenger will follow up on this story to determine if local officials can appeal or if they will reapply.