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Georgia’s President Mikheil Saakashvili declared Emory University “one of its best friends” on Oct. 4 during a televised dedication ceremony that launched the beginning of a $150 million renovation and eventual replacement of the country’s oldest medical center, the Republican Central Hospital. The event is a continuation of Emory’s 14-year-old partnership in supporting Georgia to advance its healthcare and to modernize its medical facilities.
The first priority for the renovation is to develop a modern emergency room, said Professor of Medicine Ken Walker, who in April received the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Outstanding Citizen Achievement Citation for his work spent improving healthcare delivery in the nation of Georgia. Walker, who attended the dedication ceremony, said the project is part of a three-year partnership with Emory Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA), Emory’s Departments of Pediatrics, Emergency Medicine, and Anesthesiology and Grady Hospital to develop emergency rooms throughout Georgia and to establish a national emergency network.
The establishment of the new emergency room began late October with a three-week visit to Emory by chief physicians, cardiologists and nurses from Georgia for observation and training. Led by Steve Lanski, assistant professor of pediatric emergency medicine and an emergency physician at CHOA, and Scott Sasser, assistant professor of emergency medicine, the project also aims to make significant improvements in the emergency department of the premier hospital in Georgia, the Central Clinical Hospital. Also participating is Associate Professor of Anesthesiology Raphael Gershon, who traveled to Tbilisi in September.
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Emory's Professor of Medicine Ken Walker attended an Oct. 4 dedication ceremony where Georgia's President Mikheil Saakashvili announced plans for extensive renovation of the nation's oldest hospital.
President Saakashvili (left) presented Walker with an honorary Georgian citizenship in 2005 for his work in improving healthcare delivery in Georgia.
 A 4-storey building was recently constructed for the front of the Republican Central Hospital in Georgia, which will ultimately be completely replaced.
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Slated to open in January, the new emergency room will be the second modern emergency facility in Georgia, the first of which opened in 2004 with help from Emory physicians, including Steve Lanski and David Goo of the pediatric department. The opening of the emergency room brought the first pediatric emergency room to any post-Soviet country. Since its opening, officials have noted a decrease in the overall patient’s length of stay in the hospital, due largely in part to the increased diagnosis and treatment initiated in the new emergency room, said Walker. As word of mouth surrounding the opening of the emergency room spread, the percentage of people in the beginning who arrived for general treatment doubled. However, as the Georgian physicians receive training to take care of outpatients more efficiently, the percentage of patients admitted to the emergency room is sharply declining. The hospital has saved $500,000 per year and Walker expects similar results for the new hospital. |
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