On Friday, the Georgia Department of Community Health announced it has approved CHI Memorial’s certificate of need to build a new hospital on Battlefield Parkway in Ringgold.

CHI Memorial was required to file for a certificate of need, because the new hospital campus is more than three and a half miles from the current location in Fort Oglethorpe. They will now finalize the project plans and prepare for the groundbreaking, which will take place this fall. The new hospital is scheduled to open in fall 2024.

The new hospital will feature 64 inpatient beds including an intensive care unit, as well as a full service emergency department, operating rooms, and an endoscopy lab. It will also include a comprehensive imaging center with x-ray, CT, MRI, and ultrasound, and non-invasive cardiac imaging. The new building will connect to the current CHI Memorial Parkway building.

Competitor Parkridge Hospital had contested the certificate of need application, which has now been officially approved. The new CHI Memorial at Ringgold will replace their present location… which was formerly known as Hutcheson Medical Center in Fort Oglethorpe.