Largest Georgia Hospitals by Beds in Service

There are many different metrics by which we can measure the size of a hospital. Today, I would like to take a look at the largest 20 hospitals in Georgia based on beds in service.

If you look at the websites of these hospitals, you might find a different bed count. This is because hospitals report licensed beds in their marketing materials. Licensed beds are the total number of beds the hospital is licensed to operate. The data I am using comes from the hospital’s Medicare Cost Report. On the cost report, the hospital reports beds in service, which is the number of beds that are being staffed.

Grady Memorial is the largest hospital in Georgia based on bed count. Grady opened their doors in 1892 and performed Georgia’s first open-heart surgery in the 1921. ¹

Gee whiz. I had no idea anyone was performing open-heart surgery in the 1920’s. That’s mind blowing.

If you want to read more on Grady’s history, check out this article here: https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/science-medicine/grady-health-system.
I could try quoting some of it, but I wouldn’t be able to do it any justice.

The second largest hospital based on in-service beds is Kennestone Hospital in Marietta, GA. Kennestone opened in June of 1950 and is named after Kennesaw Mountain and Stone Mountain. On June 22, 1988, the nation’s first laparoscopic gall bladder removal took place here.²

The third largest hospital is the Medical Center of Central Georgia, which is located in Macon. Medical Center was initially called the Macon Hospital and opened in March of 1895.³ They are a Level I trauma center and they serve as the primary teaching hospital for Mercer University School of Medicine.⁴

The fourth largest hospital is Emory University Hospital, which is located in Atlanta. Emory opened in March of 1904 and was first known as Wesley Memorial Hospital. Emory is the only multiple organ transplant center in the state of Georgia. The first corneal transplant was performed here in 1947. They perform more than 320 organ transplants yearly. ⁵

To read more on Emory University Hospital and learn about about some revolutionary procedures performed here, read this article: https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/science-medicine/emory-university-hospital

The last hospital I want to look further into is the fifth hospital on the list, which is University Health Services, which is also known as University Hospital. University Hospital opened in 1818 and is the second oldest hospital in Georgia. University Hospital has the largest Heart & Vascular center in the region. The Heart & Vascular Institute is 188,000 square feet and has 72 inpatient suites.⁶

Check out this historical picture of University Hospital: https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/file/5369

Musing Revelation

The history of these hospitals fascinate me. So much progress has been made in the medical industry in a short period of time. Open-heart surgeries in the 1920’s. Corneal transplants in the 1940’s. It’s a great time to be alive.