Georgia World Congress Center Reopens For Coronavirus Patients

ATLANTA, GA — The Georgia World Congress Center opened Monday as a temporary hospital for COVID-19 patients. Gov. Brian Kemp ordered the facility be used to treat the patients.

Kemp made the announcement Friday to reopen the GWCC.

“These additional hospital beds will provide relief to surrounding healthcare facilities while providing top notch care for patients. My administration is laser-focused on expanding hospital surge capacity while working to stop the spread of COVID-19 in Georgia,” Kemp said in a news release Monday.

The GWCC was turned into a temporary hospital earlier this year when the pandemic first began.

Grady Memorial Hospital will serve as the lead hospital for clinical oversight for the 120 bed facility. The GWCC facility will also have the staffing and equipment necessary to treat a higher level of acuity in patients than the previous configuration during the months of May and June, enabling hospitals to focus their staff and resources on the most critical patients in their facilities.

Grady is part of the Regional Coordinating Center, which was set up after an internal flood in December of 2019 destroyed hundreds of beds. Grady had to transfer patients to different hospitals.

On Dec. 7, a pipe burst and water damaged several floors of the hospital and its electrical system. Flooding on the sixth floor and two other floors must be repaired, along with electrical issues, which could take up to three months, Grady officials had said. Kemp declared a state of emergency as a result of damage at Grady following the burst 24-inch water pipe.