In a surprising twist, the state has changed its plans to challenge Grady General Hospital’s application for a Certificate of Need to build a skilled nursing center in Cairo. “This now makes it possible to create a facility that will meet a real need for the citizens of Grady County and the surrounding area,” states Crystal Wells, administrator of Grady General. Last week, the hospital was notified that the Georgia Department of Community Health had filed an appeal of a hearing officer’s ruling in July that stated the hospital should be granted a certificate of need. Since the state has now withdrawn its objections the hospital and the Grady County Hospital Authority can move forward with its plans to build a 75-bed $19 million nursing home. “There is much work to be done to develop detailed architectural plans for the facility, and it will likely be as much as two years before the new facility would be completed. Today’s announcement from the State clears the way, though, for that work to begin,” Wells concluded.
The original application for a Certificate of Need was submitted on May 29, 2018, but that application was denied by the Georgia Department of Community Health on Sept. 25, 2018. The hospital appealed that decision on Oct. 23, 2018. A hearing officer heard that appeal on April 15 and on July 23 overturned the state’s original denial. The state had 30 days to appeal the hearing officer’s ruling, which they did on Aug. 22.
The proposed $19 million facility, which would be built adjacent to Grady General, would create approximately 89 jobs in the community. The nursing home would provide short-term and long-term subacute services including rehabilitation therapies, wound management and skilled nursing.
