From staff reports

Hutcheson Medical Center will expand with construction of a new outpatient imaging center and physicians office building in Fort Oglethorpe.

Hutcheson officials on July 5 announced the facility will be built on Battlefield Parkway, or state Route 2. They said they expect blue prints for the center to be completed in three to six months and construction to be completed within the next 18 to 24 months.

“We have experienced continuous and significant growth in our inpatient volumes at Hutcheson,” said Dr. Ralph E. Nipp, Hutcheson’s president and chief executive officer. “In order to continue to meet the needs of the rapidly growing North Georgia area, the expansion for Hutcheson’s outpatient imaging services is essential.”

“Hutcheson has been blessed with a strong and long-lasting relationship with some of the finest radiologists in the United States,” Nipp said.

The hospital’s imaging services have garnered numerous accolades, and Hutcheson has frequently been recognized as the first U.S. hospital to provide the latest imaging technology, he said. Nipp believes the new facilities will enable the hospital continue its tradition of excellence.

Jerry Jeffers, director of Hutcheson’s imaging services, said the new facility will feature a wide range of imaging services.

Many physicians also plan to relocate to the physicians office building.

“In the past, numerous physicians have wanted to move their offices near the hospital, but have been unable to do so due to space constraints,” Jeffers said. “The new office building will give the physicians a new option for serving their patients while being near our outpatient facilities.”

“We envision this new center becoming immensely successful in a short time,” Jeffers said. “It is a huge move to serve the medical needs in our community.”

Hutcheson Medical Center is licensed for 179 beds and has served the residents of Walker, Dade, and Catoosa counties for 48 years.

In 1997, the Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals and the Healthcare Management Advisors Inc. named Hutcheson the “1997 Hospital of the Year.” Two years later, the organization voted Hutcheson one of Georgia’s Top Three hospitals