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PROGRESS <|<l
A Supplement of the Forsyth County News • Sunday, March 28,1999
Baptist Medical
Center opens to
serve community
By Therese Allen
Staff Writer
Forsyth County now houses the most
state-of-the-art hospital facility in northern
Georgia. Baptist Medical Center •
Cumming opened on March 12.
Patients are now scheduled to be relo
cated to the new facility on March 31.
The new medical center is triple the
size of Baptist North Hospital on
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Sheriff’s Office is dealing with a growing population
Photo/Tom Brooks
fiwsonnel from the Sheriff's Office were on the scene where a murder victim’s body was
ijund in her vehicle. Robin Turan’s husband, who faces charges in the case, awaits trial.
I .IEALTII & SAFETY IN FORSYTH COUNTY: A TIMELINE OF PROGRESS
••o • •
1945 - Mary Alice 1973 - The volun- 1997-98 - Health- 1998 -Dr. Leila Now - Georgia
-Hospital, the county’s teer fire department • related uses are Denmark is hon- Baptist Lifefflight
first, was established added its sixth and investigated for the ored for her life- stations a unit in
by Dr. Marcus Mash- seventh vehicles. Samaritan Drive time of service to Forsyth County,
burn Sr. and sons. facility. children’s health.
ri957~-~ Forsyth County] - Mental pfW-The BealtK
Hospitalisestablished.lt career as director of Civil Defense Center department building
, later becomes Lakeside in Forsyth County, now the opens its new is renovated.
Hospital. Emergency Management Agency. facility.
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Samaritan Drive. Dr. Robert Dunn, who
cut the ribbon at the grand opening cele
bration said, “I’m am very, very pleased to
be able to practice here (Baptist Medical
Center).”
The first hospital in Forsyth County
opened in 1945. Mary Alice Hospital,
located on the town square in Cumming,
was named for the grandmother and great
grandmother of Drs. Marcus and Jim
Mashburn. The facility had previously
been a hotel. This hospital served Forsyth
County and surrounding residents into the
late 19505.
From there, Forsyth County Hospital
was constructed in 1957.
In the mid-1980s, the hospital was sold
and the name changed to Lakeside
Community Hospital. It was then that dis
agreements among doctors and administra
tors eventually lead to the downfall of
Lakeside.
At the urging of Forsyth County native
Everett Bennett, Baptist Health Care
Systems acquired the then-floundering
facility in 1992. It was described as a hos
pital with “no patients, no doctors and no
See CENTER, Page 12F
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Photo/Tom Brooks
Final touches are being put on the new Baptist Medical Center facility into which patients from Baptist North
Hospital will be relocated on the morning on Wednesday, March 31, accoiding to plans as of print time.
By Colby Jones
Staff Writer '
Sheriff Denny Hendrix said he intends to keep a
close eye on department finances during 1999 while
continuing to improve the level of law enforcement in
Forsyth County.
In order to supplement its $6.9 mil
lion budget, the department applied for
and received more than $2.8 million in
grant money over the past two years.
That money has allowed the Sheriff’s
Office to establish a Community
Oriented Police Services (COPS) pro
gram. The 21 COPS officers currently in
place provide residents with many ser
vices including an anti-robbery class for
local businesses, drug and alcohol awareness courses for
the school system and safety programs for the elderly
and latchkey kids. A new grant, if approved, would fully
fund placement of an additional officer in the school
system for the next three years.
“That’s one program we implemented and we are
committed to keep it going,” Hendrix said.
A federal grant also allowed the Sheriff’s Office to
start a DUI task force, which consists of three officers
. and three patrol cars dedicated to getting drunken dri
. vers off county roads. Each of the patrol cars is
equipped with video cameras, which aids prosecutors in
getting DUI convictions. The traffic and enforcement
divisions arrested 902 people last year for driving under
the influence. Many of the accidents resulted in serious
injuries, including the deaths of Heidi Flye and her two
young children in July 1998. The tragedy prompted state
senators to unanimously pass legislation to stiffen DUI
penalties. Representatives were expected to take up the
Each of the four
murders in 1998
were domestic
related
responsibilities, Hendrix implemented a new Standard
Operating Procedures (SOP) manual last year. The man
ual was modeled after one in-Cherokee County that has
won national recognition,
The Sheriff also intends to target domestic violence
in 1999. Each of the four murders committed in the
county during 1998 were classified as family or domes
tic related. The Sheriff’s Office received a total of 2,617
domestic calls last year, compared to 878 in 1997.
See SHERIFF, Page 2F
bill, named “Heidi’s Law,” before
the session ended this year.
Another grant, if approved,
would provide the department with
an environmental officer, a position
Hendrix said is sorely needed in a
county experiencing such explosive
growth.
To make sure all his officers
have a clear understanding of their