Wellstar Paulding Hospital Doubles Its Bed Space

DALLAS, GA — WellStar Paulding Hospital got twice as big on Monday.

Reacting to popular demand, the hospital doubled its number of beds from 56 to 112. By adding two floors, the hospital expanded by nearly 50,000 square feet.

All patient beds are in private rooms.

"Paulding County continues to be one of the fastest growing counties in Georgia," Mark Haney, president of WellStar Paulding Hospital, said in a news release. "As a not-for-profit, WellStar is committed to meeting our community’s needs with an excellent team, a healing environment and innovative technology. And of course, our team does it all with a neighborly touch."

The 295,000-square foot Wellstar Paulding opened on April 1, 2014. It quickly exceeded projections for patients served in its first year and its leadership started planning and fundraising for a $14 million expansion.

Since opening in its current location, the hospital has had more than 244,000 patient visits to the emergency department, in-patient floors, operating rooms and its imagine department, the hospital said in the release.

The new addition was designed in part by committees of employees, which made minor tweaks to improve efficiency, safety and comfort on the new floors.

For example, nurses gave input to ensure a better ergonomic position when reaching for the bar on the patient room doors. Also, patients in hospital gowns helped test recliners to ensure comfort.

The expansion has created the equivalent of 100 new full-time jobs, allowing the hospital to hire 124 new employees.

Photo courtesy Wellstar Paulding Hospital