The health care industry is one of Augusta's largest employment sectors. The area is steadily gaining a reputation as a regional health care and medical research center. Wherever you go in the Aiken-Augusta area, sophisticated medical care is nearby. Here is a brief guide to area hospitals.
Aiken Regional Medical Centers, 302 University Parkway, Aiken, (803) 641-5000. Aiken Regional Medical Centers offers a 225-bed acute care facility with a variety of specialties and services. Aiken Regional Medical Centers is owned and operated by Universal Health Services Inc. The medical campus is expanding. In July, it opened a new cardiovascular floor on the previously unoccupied fifth floor of the main hospital building, featuring 34 private rooms. One wing of the new cardiac floor is a step-down unit for critically ill patients once they leave the Intensive Care Unit after heart surgery. Every room is equipped with up-to-date telemetry so each patient can be constantly monitored from the central nursing station.
Doctors Hospital, 3651 Wheeler Road, Augusta, (706) 651-3232. Celebrating its 30th anniversary, Doctors Hospital is a 350-bed full-service facility and home to the nationally acclaimed Joseph M. Still Burn Center.
Located in west Augusta, Doctors Hospital offers a wide variety of medical services including a 24-hour emergency department, day surgery services, outpatient diagnostic and therapeutic services, physical and occupational therapy, cardiopulmonary services, radiology and nuclear medicine.
Services also extend beyond the traditional inpatient setting. Additional facilities operated by Doctors Hospital include a Breast Diagnostic Center (diagnostic testing for breast cancer) and the West Augusta Radiation Oncology Center, providing therapeutic treatment for cancer patients. Doctors Hospital Surgery Center in Evans offers day surgery services to the growing Columbia County area.
Dwight David Eisenhower Army Medical Center, Fort Gordon, (706) 787-5811. Eisenhower is the military medical center of the Southeastern United States.
The 300-bed facility also is the specialized treatment center for the Defense Department's Region 3 TRICARE. The Southeast Regional Medical Command, a headquarters facility for the Southeastern United States, is part of Fort Gordon's medical complex. The medical center is a medical teaching facility for residents in both surgical and primary care specialties with emphasis on research and state-of-the-art specialty care.
MCG Health System, 1120 15th St., Augusta, (706) 721-CARE (2273). MCG Health System, the clinical arm of the Medical College of Georgia, delivers the most advanced medical care available and leads a team of physicians, nurses, therapists, pharmacists and others who are highly trained in their specialty and in patient- and family-centered care. All of its physicians are board-certified or board-eligible. MCG Health System includes a 483-bed adult hospital, a 149-bed Children's Medical Center, an Ambulatory Care Center with more than 80 outpatient clinics in one convenient setting, the Georgia Radiation Therapy Center, a Specialized Care Center housing a 13-county Level I regional trauma center and the Sports Medicine Center.
In addition to providing care in the Augusta area, MCG Health System's physicians travel to more than 90 satellite clinics across the state and region.
St. Joseph Hospital, 2260 Wrightsboro Road, Augusta, (706) 481-7000. Established in 1952, St. Joseph Hospital serves the community with medical, surgical, pediatric, rehabilitative, and inpatient hospice services. In addition, the facility offers home and hospice care to residents in 19 counties. St. Joseph is known for its comprehensive diagnostic services, including cardiac catheterization, magnetic resonance imaging, an endoscopic unit, and an Osteoporosis-Bone Center.
University Health Care System,, 1350 Walton Way, Augusta, (706) 722-9011. As a community, nonprofit health care system, University offers a range of services to people living throughout the Augusta-Aiken area.
The cornerstone of University Health Care System is the 612-bed University Hospital. University also offers specialty centers, including the University Breast Health Center; Georgia Heart Institute; W.G. Watson, M.D., Women's Center; and Harry W. Jernigan Jr. Cancer Center.
More than 21,000 patients are admitted to University Hospital each year, and 10,000 more are observed on a 23-hour outpatient basis. About 3,000 of these visits are in the Observation Stay Unit.
Walton Rehabilitation Hospital, 1355 Independence Way, Augusta, (706) 724-7746. Walton Rehabilitation Hospital exists to improve the health status and enhance the quality of life for people with physical disabilities. This inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation hospital offers a complete continuum of care for individuals with disabilities. Walton Rehabilitation Hospital offers acute and subacute medical rehabilitation programs, in addition to physical, occupational and speech therapy, as appropriate. Walton has daily admissions and 24-hour referral intake services. Therapy is available daily. In 1988, Walton Rehabilitation Hospital opened its doors to treat individuals for strokes, head and spinal cord injuries, and other disabilities.
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