Gwinnett Medical Center
Encyclopedia
Gwinnett Medical Center is a not-for-profit network of healthcare facilities and providers in Gwinnett County, Georgia
comprising the following licensed facilities:
These facilities provide a continuum of inpatient and outpatient healthcare services, including general acute care
, emergency services, physical medicine and rehabilitation
, skilled nursing services
, along with diagnostic and ambulatory surgical services
. Specialized services include a Level II Trauma Center
, a Level III NICU supporting newborn care, a Chest Pain Center
, the Center for Neuroscience, minimally invasive robotic surgery
, and comprehensive sports medicine
and orthopedic care services. In Fiscal Year 2010, Gwinnett Medical Center cared for approximately 400,000 inpatients, outpatients, emergency patients, and newborns.
GMC has more than 4,200 employees and has a medical staff of 800 affiliated physicians.
. Hull was married to Nora, daughter of General and Mrs. A.R. Glancy.
Devastated by Olin’s death, the Hulls began a community campaign to establish a clinic in Duluth, which had no physician. The townspeople, mostly cotton farmers, contributed $450 toward the clinic. Nora was so touched by their effort that she wrote a letter to her parents about the campaign.
The Glancys, who lived in Pontiac, Michigan
, knew the pain of losing a child. Only 17 years earlier, their youngest daughter, Joan, had died of pneumonia at age 4. Nora’s letter touched their hearts, so they sent a check for $500, with the promise that every year, on Joan’s birthday, they’d send another check in her memory. Heard Summerour, the town postmaster, inspired an epiphany in the Glancys when he asked if they could name the new clinic The Joan Glancy Memorial Clinic. The Glancys realized that this little clinic—in a hardscrabble hamlet in Georgia—was the perfect way to create a living memorial to their daughter that would serve many families for years to come. The Joan Glancy Memorial Clinic opened in 1941 in a three-room frame cottage on the school grounds. From the first day, the clinic was inundated with patients, so General Glancy issued a challenge to the people of Duluth: Provide land and a well, and he would build them a hospital. In 1944, the Joan Glancy Memorial Hospital opened.
. The hospital, which was located on the former county prison camp site on Scenic Highway in Lawrenceville, Georgia
, began operations in 1959 with 35 beds and was expanded to 74 beds in 1966.
By early 1969, Authority members and hospital leaders made a strong push for the central hospital, but the plans were put on hold in the mid 1970s, when President Richard Nixon
vetoed the Medical Construction and Modernization Act, cutting off the federal hospital construction funding. When the funding resumed again in 1976, the Authority gave an unanimous go-ahead for construction of a $30 million, 250-bed central hospital in Gwinnett County.
After several architectural designs and challenges with funding and site location, the reconfigured, 190-bed Gwinnett Medical Center (now Gwinnett Medical Center-Lawrenceville) opened in 1984, offering all general, medical, surgical and diagnostic services and 24-hour emergency room coverage. Button Gwinnett Hospital continued operation until the opening of the Gwinnett Medical Center in December of 1984.
was initially stabilized and treated at Button Gwinnett Hospital after he was shot in downtown Lawrenceville during a trial.
Gwinnett County, Georgia
, Gwinnett County had a population of 805,321. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 53.3% white , 23.6% black , 2.7% Korean, 2.6% Asian Indian, 2.0% Vietnamese, 3.3% other Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 8.8% some other race and 3.1% from two or more races...
comprising the following licensed facilities:
- GMC-Lawrenceville - a hospital with 353 acute care beds in Lawrenceville, GA. The Gwinnett Women's Pavilion, the first free-standing hospital for women in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area, is also located on this campus.
- GMC-Duluth - a hospital with 81 acute care beds in Duluth, GA.
- Gwinnett Extended Care Center - a nursing homeNursing homeA nursing home, convalescent home, skilled nursing unit , care home, rest home, or old people's home provides a type of care of residents: it is a place of residence for people who require constant nursing care and have significant deficiencies with activities of daily living...
facility with 89 long term care beds in Lawrenceville, Ga. - Glancy Rehabilitation Center - a rehabilitation facilityPhysical medicine and rehabilitationPhysical medicine and rehabilitation , physiatry or rehabilitation medicine, is a branch of medicine that aims to enhance and restore functional ability and quality of life to those with physical impairments or disabilities. A physician having completed training in this field is referred to as a...
with 30 acute care beds located at the Glancy Campus in Duluth, Ga.
These facilities provide a continuum of inpatient and outpatient healthcare services, including general acute care
Acute care
Acute care is a branch of secondary health care where a patient receives active but short-term treatment for a severe injury or episode of illness, an urgent medical condition, or during recovery from surgery...
, emergency services, physical medicine and rehabilitation
Physical medicine and rehabilitation
Physical medicine and rehabilitation , physiatry or rehabilitation medicine, is a branch of medicine that aims to enhance and restore functional ability and quality of life to those with physical impairments or disabilities. A physician having completed training in this field is referred to as a...
, skilled nursing services
Nursing home
A nursing home, convalescent home, skilled nursing unit , care home, rest home, or old people's home provides a type of care of residents: it is a place of residence for people who require constant nursing care and have significant deficiencies with activities of daily living...
, along with diagnostic and ambulatory surgical services
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
. Specialized services include a Level II Trauma Center
Trauma center
A trauma center is a hospital equipped to provide comprehensive emergency medical services to patients suffering traumatic injuries. Trauma centers grew into existence out of the realization that traumatic injury is a disease process unto itself requiring specialized and experienced...
, a Level III NICU supporting newborn care, a Chest Pain Center
Chest pain
Chest pain may be a symptom of a number of serious conditions and is generally considered a medical emergency. Even though it may be determined that the pain is non-cardiac in origin, this is often a diagnosis of exclusion made after ruling out more serious causes of the pain.-Differential...
, the Center for Neuroscience, minimally invasive robotic surgery
Robotic surgery
Robotic surgery, computer-assisted surgery, and robotically-assisted surgery are terms for technological developments that use robotic systems to aid in surgical procedures....
, and comprehensive sports medicine
Sports medicine
Sports medicine is a branch of medicine that deals with physical fitness, treatment and prevention of injuries related to sports and exercise...
and orthopedic care services. In Fiscal Year 2010, Gwinnett Medical Center cared for approximately 400,000 inpatients, outpatients, emergency patients, and newborns.
GMC has more than 4,200 employees and has a medical staff of 800 affiliated physicians.
Joan Glancy Memorial Hospital
Olin Burnette was six years old when he died in 1941. He was one of six children of a dairyman who worked for Dick Hull, manager of the Irvindale Farms Dairy just outside of Duluth, GeorgiaDuluth, Georgia
Duluth is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia and an increasingly more affluent and developed suburb of Atlanta. Unincorporated portions of Forsyth County also have Duluth as a mailing address, though this area is outside city limits...
. Hull was married to Nora, daughter of General and Mrs. A.R. Glancy.
Devastated by Olin’s death, the Hulls began a community campaign to establish a clinic in Duluth, which had no physician. The townspeople, mostly cotton farmers, contributed $450 toward the clinic. Nora was so touched by their effort that she wrote a letter to her parents about the campaign.
The Glancys, who lived in Pontiac, Michigan
Pontiac, Michigan
Pontiac is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan named after the Ottawa Chief Pontiac, located within the Detroit metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 59,515. It is the county seat of Oakland County...
, knew the pain of losing a child. Only 17 years earlier, their youngest daughter, Joan, had died of pneumonia at age 4. Nora’s letter touched their hearts, so they sent a check for $500, with the promise that every year, on Joan’s birthday, they’d send another check in her memory. Heard Summerour, the town postmaster, inspired an epiphany in the Glancys when he asked if they could name the new clinic The Joan Glancy Memorial Clinic. The Glancys realized that this little clinic—in a hardscrabble hamlet in Georgia—was the perfect way to create a living memorial to their daughter that would serve many families for years to come. The Joan Glancy Memorial Clinic opened in 1941 in a three-room frame cottage on the school grounds. From the first day, the clinic was inundated with patients, so General Glancy issued a challenge to the people of Duluth: Provide land and a well, and he would build them a hospital. In 1944, the Joan Glancy Memorial Hospital opened.
Button Gwinnett Hospital
When county leaders established the Hospital Authority of Gwinnett County in 1957, the county’s population had grown to about 30,000, but there were only 44 hospital beds available—27 at Joan Glancy Memorial Hospital and 17 at Hutchins Memorial Hospital, which opened in Buford in 1948. The newly chartered Authority devised a plan to build a hospital system consisting of three hospitals of 70 to 75 beds each and one large, central hospital with 200 beds. The Authority’s first facility, Button Gwinnett Hospital, was constructed under a grant by the federal Hill-Burton ActHill-Burton Act
The Hospital Survey and Construction Act is a U.S. federal law passed in 1946, during the 79th United States Congress...
. The hospital, which was located on the former county prison camp site on Scenic Highway in Lawrenceville, Georgia
Lawrenceville, Georgia
Lawrenceville is a city in and the county seat of Gwinnett County, Georgia, in the United States. The Census Bureau estimates the 2008 population at 29,258...
, began operations in 1959 with 35 beds and was expanded to 74 beds in 1966.
Buford General Hospital
In 1966, Gwinnett Hospital System’s capacity increased again with the completion of the 40-bed Buford General Hospital. Shortly after Buford General opened, Hutchins Memorial closed after 18 years of service.Gwinnett Medical Center
With a three-hospital system in place, the Hospital Authority watched as each facility quickly reached and exceeded capacity. The steady stream of new residents into Gwinnett County created a significant need for new hospital capacity. Expansion at all three hospitals was the only way to stay in line with the constantly increasing demand, so the Authority members set in motion a wave of renovation and expansion that continues today.By early 1969, Authority members and hospital leaders made a strong push for the central hospital, but the plans were put on hold in the mid 1970s, when President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
vetoed the Medical Construction and Modernization Act, cutting off the federal hospital construction funding. When the funding resumed again in 1976, the Authority gave an unanimous go-ahead for construction of a $30 million, 250-bed central hospital in Gwinnett County.
After several architectural designs and challenges with funding and site location, the reconfigured, 190-bed Gwinnett Medical Center (now Gwinnett Medical Center-Lawrenceville) opened in 1984, offering all general, medical, surgical and diagnostic services and 24-hour emergency room coverage. Button Gwinnett Hospital continued operation until the opening of the Gwinnett Medical Center in December of 1984.
SummitRidge
In 1983, Buford General was converted to an alcohol and drug rehabilitation facility. These services were transferred to the newly opened SummitRidge facility in 1993. SummitRidge, located in Lawrenceville, opened as a 76-bed behavioral health inpatient facility in the former building that housed Button Gwinnett Hospital. In 2008, SummitRidge was sold by Gwinnett Hospital System. SummitRidge continues to provide behavioral health inpatient services to Gwinnett and the surrounding communities under ownership unrelated to the Gwinnett Hospital System or the Hospital Authority of Gwinnett County.Gwinnett Women's Pavilion
In 1991, the Gwinnett Women's Pavilion was opened to provide maternity and newborn services. It was the first hospital for women in the metro Atlanta area. The building houses a labor and delivery suite, mother/baby unit, high-risk pregnancy unit, and a Level III neonatal intensive care unit.Gwinnett Extended Care Center
In 1997, the Gwinnett Extended Care Center (GECC) opened. The GECC provides care for patients that are well enough to no longer need inpatient hospital care, but not well enough to return to independent living or traditional nursing home care.Gwinnett Medical Center-Duluth
In 2006, Joan Glancy Memorial Hospital’s replacement facility opened as Gwinnett Medical Center-Duluth. The new 111-bed facility transferred most acute care and emergency services to the new location on Pleasant Hill Road within close proximity of the Joan Glancy property. The facility which formerly housed Joan Glancy Memorial Hospital continues to operate as a 30-bed inpatient physical rehabilitation program under the GMC-Duluth license with additional services that include diabetes & nutrition education and a sleep lab. This location has been renamed the Glancy Campus.Famous patients
Larry FlyntLarry Flynt
Larry Claxton Flynt, Jr. is an American publisher and the president of Larry Flynt Publications . In 2003, Arena magazine listed him as the number one on the "50 Powerful People in Porn" list....
was initially stabilized and treated at Button Gwinnett Hospital after he was shot in downtown Lawrenceville during a trial.