Construction of the Wellstar Columbia County Medical Center is well on schedule, said Wellstar officials. Friday morning, they showed it as well, inviting local leaders and media for a hard hat tour of the hospital.
A few among the many amenities in the 254,000-square foot facility, which broke ground spring of last year, will include six operating rooms, a 19-room emergency department and an on-site pharmacy. Of its 100 inpatient beds, 84 will be medical-surgical and 16 for intensive care.
“Since 1987 the community has been asking for a hospital, and we’re going to finally deliver that in 2026,” said Nelson So, chief operating officer of the hospital, after surveying the intricate history of its development. “It’s going to deliver on the community need, and we’re here to support the growing community here in not only Columbia County, but the CSRA.”
The emergency department is expected to become a Level II trauma center — which would provide 24-hour care for all injured patients, which would require years of data collection, noted Freda Lyon, vice president of emergency services for the Wellstar health system.
The onsite pharmacy will include both an inpatient pharmacy and an open door retail pharmacy for the public.
“We will be focusing on discharging patients, but any patient—like a family member of a patient, an employee, or family of an employee, or even a local resident that needs services, will be able to get that get that from our pharmacy,” said Rashad Darby, community pharmacy manager at Wellstar MCG.
The infusion center, connected to the pharmacy, will be a wide space designed with windows on the wall to welcome natural light, specialized ergonomic lounge chairs for chemotherapy patients, and 14 infusion bays that include two private rooms.
The six operating rooms will be large spaces, also designed to infuse natural lighting for calming effect, with adaptable layouts to accommodate the installation of new tech.
“A lot of older hospitals… as they grow, it’s very obvious what was part of the original operating room and what was part of an expansion, and so we have already taken that into consideration, we know that we’re going to be able to grow with the community,” said Tim Minton, Wellstar MCG’s director of perioperative services.
Dr. Brett Cannon, chief medical officer of the upcoming facility, explained that Wellstar will be recruiting a full crew of doctors for the hospital, who will likely have privileges at MCG as there will also be residents rotating.
“Additionally, some of the physicians that we start here will likely have been with us for several months and will be credentialed at other milestone facilities,” said Cannon.
The hospital is expected to bring some 1,200 jobs. The facility has already begun seeking leaders among its staff, So said, with roles at all staff positions opening up “in the next couple months,” with hiring fairs in mid-January and mid-March.
Construction is projected to be complete on the hospital at the end of April 2026. The hospital is slated to open in August 2026.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering general reporting for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com
