Newspaper Page Text
The Braselton News
Wednesday, August 30, 2023
Page 6A
Downtown Hoschton
Hoschton DDA looks at park options again for Oak St.
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews. com
Options for a small park
on Oak St. in downtown
Hoschton remain under con
sideration.
The Hoschton Downtown
Development Authority
(DDA) heard pitches from
three landscaping compa
nies on Monday (Aug. 14)
to convert the three-acre
tract into a park space.
The DDA had previous
ly heard from two of those
companies — FemGully
and Paramount Landscape
Group — while a third can
didate, Quiett Scapes, made
its proposal.
FemGully proposes to
install a quarter-mile, crush-
run track-walkway around
the park’s perimeter, one to
two pavilions, a shaded-ar-
ea swing and planting beds.
The company also proposes
space for recreational op
portunities, memorials and
local artwork. A project es
timate was not given.
Paramount Landscape
Group’s plan calls for a
black ornamental fence
around the property’s pe
rimeter, hedgerow along the
fence line, a walking path,
three pavilions with grill
ing stations and a hammock
area. The project would
seek to utilize local art. Par
amount’s project estimate is
$195,000. The sale of en
graved bricks could fund the
pathway.
Meanwhile, Quiett Scapes
pitched a mini-disc golf con
cept as an interactive area
with space for a hammock
area, two pavilions and
three-to-four shaded bench
es. Company representative
Korbin Quiett said the disc
golf concept is popular in
Texas and California and
would allow spots to feature
local art. Quiett did not have
a project estimate available.
All three candidates pro
posed to remove overgrown
vegetation from a stream
area on the property.
In other business, the
DDA:
•heard that the farmer’s
market has received solid at
tendance, including an esti
mated 240 people on Aug. 5,
following its recent move to
the more shaded city depot
lawn. Organizers relocated
the event from Towne Cen
ter and switched to evening
hours due to summer heat
that had caused crowds to
dwindle.
•heard that 10 volunteers
signed up dining a recent
volunteer fair at Cresswind
to assist the DDA.
•has continued discussion
with Cresswind officials
about having a Hoschton
barbecue festival coincide
with one of the subdivi
sion’s large pickleball tour
naments in 2024.
•heard from DDA mem
ber Sri Kumar that public
hearings — with the city
counciFs approval — will
be scheduled over the future
use of the former Larry’s
Garage property in down
town Hoschton. A survey
seeking public input over
the space has generated over
200 responses. The DDA
has received a proposal
from Braselton Developer
Matt Ruppel to renovate the
space.
Healthcare
Northeast
Georgia Health
System fills
leadership roles
As Northeast Georgia
Health System (NGHS)
continues to grow, it has
expanded its leadership
team. The system has wel
comed a new chief medical
officer, chief nursing ex
ecutive, administrator for
Northeast Georgia Medi
cal Center (NGMC) Bar-
row and vice president of
Georgia Heart Institute.
“I’m confident these
leaders will continue to
take NGHS into the future,
growing the greater good
for our thriving commu
nities,” said Carol Bur
rell, president and CEO of
NGHS. “Their expertise
and guidance will ensure
that we continue to hire
and retain the best health
care workers, that we re
main focused on providing
innovative healthcare solu
tions and that we’re grow
ing our services at the right
pace to both meet patients’
needs and preserve access
to care across the region.”
On July 1, NGHS wel
comed Vikram “Vik” Red
dy, MD, as its new chief
medical officer. Dr. Reddy
most recently served as
chief medical officer for
Wellstar’s Kennestone and
Windy Hill hospitals in
Marietta. Prior to that, he
served as the chief clini
cal integration and qual
ity officer at Henry Ford
Health’s Macomb Hospi
tal in Michigan. As chief
medical officer for NGHS,
Dr. Reddy will help direct
the system’s quality and
safety departments, man
age medical staff services,
help facilitate physician
leadership programs and
provide oversight of med
ical directors across the
system.
Additionally, Stuart
Downs was hired as chief
nursing executive for
NGHS on July 31. Downs
most recently served as
nursing administrator
for Northside Gwinnett
Hospital. Before that, he
worked at Wellstar as the
chief nursing officer of
Atlanta Medical Center. In
his role, Downs will have
oversight of the emergen
cy departments, inpatient
units, women and chil
dren’s services and nurs
ing central systems and
resources.
John Neidenbach also
joined in July as adminis
trator of NGMC Barrow.
Neidenbach was at Caro-
Mont Health in Gastonia,
North Carolina, before
joining NGHS, serving
as its senior director over
perioperative services, sur
gery and musculoskeletal
service lines. As adminis
trator at NGMC Barrow,
Neidenbach’s primary re
sponsibility will include
day-to-day oversight of the
hospital.
Lastly, Darlene Sweet
has been named the new
vice president for Geor
gia Heart Institute, effec
tive Oct. 1. Sweet joined
NGHS in early 2022 as
the executive director of
cardiac nursing at NGHS.
She has also served in
leadership roles at Wellstar
Cobb Hospital, Beth Israel
Deaconess Medical Cen
ter, Stamford Hospital and
Yale New Haven Health.
In her new Georgia Heart
Institute role, she’ll be re
sponsible for managing the
clinical and administrative
departments that support
the Institute’s operational
and strategic initiatives.
To learn more about how
NGHS, visit nghs.com/
growing.
Healthcare
NGMC announces new
adolescent weight loss program
Adolescent patients in
Northeast Geoigia now have
access to a new, comprehen
sive weight-loss program at
Northeast Georgia Medical
Center (NGMC). NGMC’s
Bariatric Weight Loss Center
recently earned an additional
accreditation from the Met
abolic and Bariatric Surgery
Accreditation and Quality
Improvement Program (MB-
SAQIP), making the program
one of only two programs
in Georgia to be nationally
accredited in surgery, ado
lescent surgery and obesity
medicine.
The MBSAQIP is a joint
program of the American
College of Surgeons and the
American Society for Meta
bolic and Bariatric Surgery.
NGMC has been accredited
by MBSAQIP for its adult
program since 2006. This
accreditation acknowledg
es NGMC’s commitment
to quality improvement and
patient safety in the areas of
adult and adolescent bariatric
surgery and obesity medi-
NGMC’s Bariatric Weight Loss Center recently earned an additional accred
tation from the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Irr
provement Program (MBSAQIP)
cme.
“Childhood obesity is an
epidemic plaguing our na
tion,” said Robert Richard,
MD, medical director for the
Bariatric Weight Loss Center
at NGMC. “We’ve assem
bled a collaborative team
committed to providing indi
vidualized care tailored to our
younger patients throughout
their weight-loss journey -
regardless of whether they
choose the surgical or non-
surgical route.”
Adolescent weight-loss
patients will have access
to a variety of team mem
bers through the program at
NGMC, including a pediat
ric medical advisor, bariatric
surgeon, dietician, pediatric
psychologist and athletic
trainer. Surgical weight-loss
options are available for pa
tients ages 15 and older and
medical weight-loss options
are available for patients ages
seven and older.
For more information on
adolescent weight-loss ser
vices at NGMC, visit nghs.
com/adolescent-weight-loss.
Purchase continued from lA
Rd. and house the depart
ment’s training facility.
Plans also call for space
to allow for potential col
laborations with Jackson
County Emergency Med
ical Services, Jackson
County Emergency Man
agement Agency or the
Jackson County Sheriff’s
Office.
Stephens noted that the
department’s 2024 budget
included the first of three
firefighters needed to staff
the future station. He said
the fire board asked the
department to increase its
daily staffing by one fire-
fighter/EMT every other
budget year to have per
sonnel available to move
into Station 3 upon the fa
cility’s completion. These
firefighters will work out
of Station No. 1 until then.
According to its web
site, the West Jackson Fire
Department, established in
1968, built its West Jack-
son Rd. location (Station
No. 1) in 1974 and opened
Station No. 2 in 2021.
The West Jackson Fire
District covers 30 square
miles.
Council
continued from lA
sign my current council
seat effective today, Aug.
25, 2023,” she wrote. “Al
though I will not be seated,
I will absolutely continue
to do my part in leading
Hoschton to become the
city we want and need.”
Hoschton is slated to hold
five municipal elections in
November. Eleven candi
dates qualified last week for
those races (see related story
on 1A).
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