A group of Tanner employees, leadership, medical staff and special guests got a first-hand look at Tanner’s newest destination for health Thursday night.
More than 400 guests took advantage of their invitation to be among the first to see the new Tanner Health Pavilion, built on Dixie Street just across from Tanner Medical Center/Carrollton.
The facility opened for patients about two weeks ago, when
Tanner Healthcare for Children — formerly Carousel Pediatrics and Children’s Healthcare of West Georgia — began services in the building.
Since then, other services have relocated in the facility, including
Tanner Breast Health,
Comprehensive Breast Care Center and
Tanner Healthcare for Women — formerly West Georgia Healthcare for Women and West Georgia OB/GYN. Administrative offices for Tanner Medical Group also occupy space within the facility.
The new
Tanner Imaging Center — offering MRI, CT, ultrasound, X-ray and fluoroscopy — was also on display. The center is a convenient, outpatient destination offering more affordable, hospital-quality imaging services for those with high-deductible health plans.
The 130,000-square-foot, $35 million facility is designed to make care more convenient and accessible. It focuses on wellness, with park-like grounds around the facility, a trailhead to the
Carrollton GreenBelt and, soon, a new GreenBelt spur to downtown.
Other services will relocate to the facility in the coming weeks and months, including Tanner Heart & Vascular Specialists, the John and Barbara Tanner Cardiac Rehab Center, Tanner Primary Care of Carrollton and West Georgia Internal Medicine.
The building also features space for a pharmacy and the new Blue Bike Bistro restaurant.
Tanner President and CEO Loy Howard thanked the city for helping the health system get the facility off the ground, members of the board for supporting the vision to develop the facility, the contractors and architects who designed and built the facility, and the employees and leadership who have worked to make relocating to the facility possible while continuing to deliver patient care.
He also thanked the local artists whose original pieces are on display throughout the facility.
“We feel strongly that part of the healing process is your environment,” said Howard. “Every angle of this building is designed to encourage that — the art, the design, the greenspace — to encourage healing and wellness.”
Presently, space is being cleared next to the facility to accommodate additional greenspace and a parking deck to make the facility even more accessible.
Thursday’s event also featured a ribbon-cutting and remarks from Howard, Daniel Jackson, chair of Tanner’s board, and the Rev. Steve Davis, pastor of First Baptist Carrollton — one of the new facility’s Dixie Street neighbors.
Jackson, the board chair, recalled how Tanner has grown with the region through the y
ears.
“When we moved to Carrollton in the summer of ’72, Dixie Street looked a little different then,” said Jackson, recalling when Tanner was a small, single-story hospital. “When you think about Carrollton, you think about how the city’s grown — and when you think about Tanner, you think about how it’s grown.”
Jackson touted the community’s leadership, the generosity of the community and the vision of residents to plan for the future and understand the vital role of health care in the region.
“The people here — the staff, the board, the volunteers — are passionate about this community and this hospital,” said Jackson.