Union General Hospital

Union County Clinic was established in 1959 as an outpatient treatment center. After an expansion in 1961 it was renamed Union General Hospital. In 1972 the hospital faced competition from Blairsville General Hospital.{{cite web |url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/gainesvilletimes/name/george-d-gowder-jr-obituary?id=10532018 |title=George D. Gowder Jr. |work=Legacy.com |publisher=GainesvilleTimes.com |date=2017-01-14 }} Union General struggled to remain open and took a loan from Union County Bank to meet payroll.{{cite news |last=Dyer |first=Rebecca T. |last2=Hood |first2=Kathy |url=https://www.nganews.com/pdf/ngn10-15-14OpEd1.pdf |title=Loving Dr. George |work=The North Georgia News |location=Blairsville, Ga. |date=2014-10-15}} [https://www.nganews.com/pdf/ngn10-15-14OpEd2.pdf (continued).] When Blairsville General closed in 1976 the Union General Hospital Authority obtained the building and reopened it in 1980 as Union General Hospital.

In 2006 Union General added a $30-million, {{convert|80000|sqft|m2|abbr=on}} expansion with an additional $4 million in new equipment.{{cite web|url=http://www.unionsentinel.com/news/2006/0824/Front_Page/002.html| title=Union Sentinel story on hospital expansion| publisher=unionsentinel.com| access-date=2006-08-30}} The addition included new clinical laboratory, critical care, emergency, and diagnostic imaging departments, plus four operating

rooms and 45 in-patient rooms.{{cite news |url=https://gach.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/2008.pdf |title=What if a rural hospital delivered big-city healthcare? |work=what if |location=Tifton, Ga. |publisher=Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals |date=2007 }} A Cardio-Pulmonary Rehabilitation Unit opened in December 2014.{{cite news |last=Jarrard |first=Shawn |title=Gowder honored as one of 130 CEOs to know |work=North Georgia News |date=2015-01-21 |url=https://www.nganews.com/pdf/ngn1-21-15Front1.pdf }} The hospital opened a new orthopedic wing in 2018.{{cite news |last=Beck |first=Jason |url=https://towns.fetchyournews.com/2018/03/02/expansions-viewed-accomplishments-discussed-at-union-general-board-meeting/ |title=Expansions viewed, accomplishments discussed at Union General board meeting |work=FYN |publisher=FetchYourNews.com |date=2018-03-02 }} In 2023, Union General Hospital completed a {{convert|41000|sqft|m2|abbr=on}}, three-story medical office building for orthopedics, sports medicine, and women’s health.{{cite web |url=https://uniongeneralhealthsystem.com/videos/union-general-health-systems-new-medical-office-building/ |title=Union General Health System’s New Medical Office Building |publisher=Union General Health System |date=2023-02-20 }}

File:A new three-story medical office building opened at Union General Hospital in 2023.jpg

Union General Hospital also operates the 150-bed, {{convert|50000|sqft|m2|abbr=on}} Union County Nursing Home and a clinic in nearby Young Harris. In 1999, Union General acquired the 13-bed Chatuge Regional Hospital in neighboring Hiawassee and its 112-bed nursing home.{{cite web |title=Our Facilities |url=https://uniongeneralhealthsystem.com/our-facilities/ |publisher=Union General Health System}} That hospital opened in 1951 as Lee M. Happ Jr. Memorial Hospital. It became Towns County Hospital in 1960 and received its current name in 1994.{{Cite web |title=Chatuge Regional Hospital |url=https://uniongeneralhealthsystem.com/facility/chatuge-regional-hospital/ |access-date=2025-02-21 |website=Union General Health System}}{{Cite news |date=2017-05-17 |title=Nicholson |url=https://www.townscountyherald.net/pdf/tch%2005-17-17%20Front%202.pdf |access-date=2025-02-21 |work=Towns County Herald |pages=6A}} Union General opened a $2 million primary care facility in Hayesville, North Carolina in 2020.{{cite web |url=https://www.claync.us/post/groundbreaking-for-new-union-general-primary-care-facility |title=Groundbreaking for new Union General primary care facility |publisher=Clay County, North Carolina |date=2020-12-15 }} As of 2023, the hospital had approximately 1,200 employees across all of its facilities.{{cite web |url=https://www.ucda.net/community-healthcare.php |title=Live, Grow Care in Union County |publisher=Union County Development Authority }}

In 2016, Union General’s CEO, John Michael Gowder, Emergency Room Director David Gowder and family practice doctor James Heaton were arrested on federal charges of illegally prescribing thousands of prescription pain medicines between 2011 and 2015.{{cite news |url=https://newschannel9.com/news/local/ceo-of-union-general-hospital-arrested |title=Sheriff: CEO of local hospital arrested in prescription fraud ring |work=News Channel 9 |location=Chattanooga, Tennessee |publisher=ABC |date=2016-02-04 }}{{cite news |last=Sanborn |first=Beth Jones |url=https://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/georgia-hospital-ceo-ed-director-family-physician-accused-running-pill-mill |title=Georgia hospital CEO, ED director, family physician accused of running pill mill |work=Healthcare Finance News |publisher=HIMSS Media |date=2018-04-10 }} They were found guilty in 2019.{{cite news |url=https://www.claycountyprogress.com/regional/georgia-doctors-found-guilty |title=Georgia doctors found guilty |work=Clay County Progress |location=Hayesville, N.C. |publisher=Community Newspapers, Inc. |date=2019-11-07 }}

Union General Hospital has thrice been named Georgia Rural Hospital of the Year. In 1994 it was named one of the top 10 rural hospitals in the United States.{{cite news |last=Hudgins |first=Phil |url=https://www.georgiatrend.com/2007/01/01/blairsville-union-county/ |title=Blairsville-Union County |work=GeorgiaTrend |location=Norcross, Ga. |date=2007-01-01 }} Union General was named the 2016 Hospital of the Year by HomeTown Health. In 2018, Union General ranked among the top 1 percent of facilities in the United States for hospital safety. It was the only hospital in Georgia ranked in the nation’s top 100. Women's Choice Award named Union General one of "America's 100 Best Hospitals for Patient Experience" four years in a row. In 2024, Union General was named one of the top 100 community hospitals in the U.S. by the Chartis Center for Rural Health.{{Cite web |last=Gooch |first=Kelly |date=2024-02-16 |title=100 top rural and community hospitals, by state |url=https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/rankings-and-ratings/100-top-rural-and-community-hospitals-by-state-3.html |access-date=2024-03-15 |website=www.beckershospitalreview.com |language=en-gb}}

1. Leon Davenport (1972-1993)
2. Rebecca Dyer (c. 2008)
3. John Michael Gowder (c. 2014-2016)
4. Lewis Kelley (2016-2019)
5. Kevin Bierschenk (2019–present)

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• [http://www.uniongeneralhospital.com Union General Hospital official homepage]

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{{Hospitals in Georgia (U.S. state)}}

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Category:Hospital buildings completed in 1959

Category:Hospitals in Georgia (U.S. state)

Category:Buildings and structures in Union County, Georgia

Category:1959 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)