Federal funding brings big upgrades to Emory Hillandale Hospital in DeKalb County

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — DeKalb County leaders and federal officials are celebrating a partnership that’s brought better healthcare to the community.

Emory Hillandale Hospital in Stonecrest recently expanded and upgraded using millions of dollars in federal funding.

Since all of the renovations and expansion to the ER and ICU were completed around the first of the year, they say patients, loved ones, and all who work there are seeing a difference in better services and shorter wait times.

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Emory Hillandale says their hospital serving South DeKalb and the east metro area is proof that a relatively small amount of federal dollars can do big things when put into the right hands locally.

Representatives from the Biden administration toured the hospital with the DeKalb County leaders who approved the $12 million from the American Rescue Plan.

“Our tour here this morning was eye-opening, inspiring,” Tom Perez, Senior Advisor to President Biden said.

The goal was to expand and renovate, to help close the gap left by the closing of Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center in 2022.

“But I’m so proud of our partners here at Emory and the resources and funding provided by President Biden and our Congress. We didn’t just curse the darkness. What we did was, we lit a candle. A candle of hope, a candle of care,” Michael Thurmond, DeKalb County CEO said.

Emory Hillandale took that money and renovated the intensive care unit, added new critical imaging equipment with a new CT scanner, and added three treatment rooms in the ER, and redesigned the space to make the emergency apartment more efficient.

“That’s allowed us to cut our waiting room times, overall time in the emergency room is down by nearly 30 minutes. And that’s huge,” Jen Schuck, Emory Hillandale Hospital CEO said.

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Overall, they’re able to serve patients and the community better.

“It’s about investing in every community, it’s understanding that equity is the north star and healthcare equity means that every community should have access to quality, affordable healthcare. Zip codes should never determine your destiny,” Perez said.

$1 million of the $12 million in federal funds went to create a first-of-its-kind violence prevention program based at the hospital to deal not only with the trauma, but to get to some of the causes and be proactive.

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