About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 2, 2024)
Braselton resident plans to participate in New Orleans barbecue contest, life, ib Weekend Edition - FEBRUARY2-3,20241 $2.00 I GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA I gainesvilletimes.com Cherokee Bluff boys, Chestatee girls locked up subregion basketball titles with Tuesday’s wins, sports, ic Honestly Local Carol Burrell retiring as NGHS president, CEO BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com Longtime health care leader Carol Burrell is retiring from Northeast Georgia Health System. Burrell, 67, will continue serv ing as president and CEO “until a successor is identified and there's a clean handoff,” she said in a press release. “It will be business as usual for me and our team while the board starts its succession planning process." Burrell, who has been NGHS' top leader since 2011, started her career as a medi cal technologist in the late 1970s and later received her master's degree in health care administra tion from Central Michigan University. After serving as a vice president at St. Vincent's Health System in Jacksonville, Fla., the Barrow County native returned to Georgia in 1999 to lead NGHS' network of primary care clinics. She was named chief operating officer in 2004. Under Burrell's leadership, NGHS has grown from one hos pital in Hall County — Northeast Georgia Medical Center — to five hospitals across the region, includ ing Northeast Georgia Medical Center Braselton, which opened in 2015. The system now includes one of the state's five Level 1 trauma centers; the sixth largest multi specialty physician group in the state, Northeast Georgia Physi cians Group; a heart and vascular program, Georgia Heart Institute; and a graduate medical education program. The system has more than 850 beds and 1,300 medical staff mem bers representing more than 60 spe cialties, according to the release. NGHS' estimated annual impact on the state and local economy has grown from around $1 billion in 2011 to more than $4 billion in 2021, the release states. Burrell also closely monitors political issues that impact health care, such as the certificate of need issue now in the Georgia legislature. “We're responsible for provid ing services that are not profitable — going to the emergency room, trauma, graduate medical educa tion,” she said Tuesday, Jan. 30, at the Greater Hall Chamber of Com merce's Annual Small Business Economic & Political Forecast. See Burrell 13A Burrell Man sentenced in New Year’s Eve robbery BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com ‘Best birthday present we could give her’ Scott Rogers The Times Former Governor Nathan Deals reads a book to Riverbend Elementary fourth-graders Thursday, Feb. 1, on his late wife Sandra’s birthday. Former Georgia Gov. Deal reads to Hall students on late wife’s birthday BY BEN ANDERSON banderson@gainesvilletimes.com Former Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal spent Thursday morning reading to students at Riverbend Elementary and White Sulphur Elementary as a way of honoring his late wife's love of literacy on what would have been her 82nd birthday. Former first lady Sandra Deal died at age 80 on Aug. 23, 2022, after a battle with breast cancer that metastasized to her brain. An elementary school named in her honor will open in August. Riverbend and White Sulphur will consolidate, and students will transfer to the new $41.8 million school. At 133,000 square feet, Sandra Dunagan Deal Elementary will have 66 classrooms and enough room for 1,025 students. It is located near the inter section of White Sulphur and Ramsey roads. As first lady, Sandra Deal earned a rep utation as a tireless advocate of children's literacy, having read to more than 250,000 students at more than 1,000 schools in all 159 of Georgia's counties. “Literacy was her primary project as the first lady of Georgia,” Nathan Deal told The Times after reading to a class at Riverbend Elementary. “We're reading at the two elementary schools that will be consolidated... into the new Sandra Dun agan Deal Elementary School that will open for the next school year. So that's the reason we're doing it. She believed in literacy, and I think it was one of the most important things that any first lady could ever do.” “It is emotional, it really is,” he said. “But to do what she would do herself on her birthday, I think, is certainly the best birthday present we could ever give her.” Sandra Deal was a Gainesville native and a pillar of the Hall County commu nity. She graduated from East Hall High School and taught in the county school district for 15 years, including at Tadmore Elementary, North Hall High School and North Hall Middle School. See Deal 13A A Gainesville man pleaded guilty to two dif ferent armed robberies, including his part in stealing phones, jewelry and money at a 2022 New Year's Eve party. Daniel Tamayo, 18, entered a plea Tuesday, Jan. 30, on two cases charging him with armed robbery and other offenses. He was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Jason Deal to 40 years with the first 15 years in prison and remainder on probation. See Election 13A Scott Rogers The Times Daniel Tamayo was sentenced Tuesday, Jan. 30, in Hall County Superior Court for two armed robberies. BY BRIAN WELLMEIER bwellmeier@gainesvilletimes.com Seven locations throughout the county will be open for early voting in the upcoming presidential primary from Feb. 19-March 8. See Election 13A Dates, times, locations set for early voting ONLINE INSIDE gainesvilletimes.com/newsletters: Sign up to receive email newsletters from The Times gainesvilletimes.com/apps: Download The Times’ app for a user-friendly online experience and app notifications for big stories Calendar 2A Life Classified 7C Opinion Comics 1D Region Fun+Games 4C Sports 1B 6A 8C 1C 40901 06825 NOW OFFERING ’ ROBOTIC HEART SURGERY GEORGIAHEARTINSTITUTE.ORG/ROBOTICS GEORGIA HEART INSTITUTE
