Piedmont Newnan Hospital's South Tower opens Wednesday

COWETA COUNTY, Ga. - Healthcare in south metro Atlanta is expected to improve with the opening this week of a new $65-million South Tower at Piedmont Newnan Hospital 

Piedmont Newnan is a medium-sized hospital that operates at full capacity, meaning its current 167 licensed beds stay occupied, and new patients must wait for space.

"Currently this morning, we were holding about 20 patients in the ER, waiting, no beds. If we were to open the new tower today, it would be almost half full. That's how much of a need we have in this community," said Vicki Kaiser, Piedmont Newnan Hospital Chief Operating Officer.

The hospital's new South Tower opens on May 1 and will give Piedmont Newnan an additional 50 beds. Roughly half will be for incoming patients, the rest of the beds are for patients admitted after surgical procedures. The addition also includes a new Post Anesthesia Care Unit where patients go immediately after surgery.

The tower is 80,000 square feet and three stories. They say the architecture includes big windows allowing a flood of natural light.

"It's a good short-term fix for our capacity, but the way the county is growing, we need to go vertical in the future," Kaiser said.

Piedmont Newnan says the new tower was built so that another five stories can be added in the future with a vertical expansion.

Coweta County is currently regarded as the 18th largest population in Georgia and is growing fast.

The hospital employs 1,300 staff and 800 physicians.

Piedmont Newnan says so far it has invested a total of $300 million in Coweta County. The south tower alone is $65 million

"This is the single largest investment that Piedmont Healthcare has made since opening this hospital in 2012," Kaiser said.