Piedmont Healthcare is building a freestanding emergency department in Locust Grove, a $26.8 million project that just cleared its first major state regulatory hurdle. The facility will sit about a mile from Interstate 75 in southern Henry County, giving residents in one of metro Atlanta's fastest-growing suburbs a new option for emergency care without driving all the way to Stockbridge.
The Georgia Department of Community Health granted initial Certificate of Need approval for the project in September, according to Piedmont Healthcare. That approval is a mandatory regulatory threshold in Georgia before any new health facility can break ground, and it clears the way for a site that will include 12 treatment rooms, one trauma room, one secure holding room, a CT scanner, digital X-ray, ultrasound, and emergency laboratory services. FOX 5 Atlanta also covered Piedmont's announcement. Piedmont's announcement also discusses the patient tower.
A Stockbridge ER Stretched Thin
The push for a second emergency access point in Henry County traces directly back to overcrowding at Piedmont Henry Hospital's main campus in Stockbridge. That emergency department recorded 97,329 patient encounters in 2025, making it not just the busiest ER in the entire Piedmont system but the sixth-busiest in Georgia, per the same Piedmont release relayed by Metro Atlanta CEO. Heavy interstate traffic along the I-75 south corridor has long been blamed for driving that volume higher every year.
The strain is not new. Piedmont Henry CEO David Kent said back in September 2023 that post-pandemic patient surges routinely pushed the Stockbridge hospital to full capacity, forcing staff to convert emergency room space into temporary inpatient holding areas, according to reporting from FOX 5 Atlanta. Regional hospital closures have also been noted in coverage of metro Atlanta. Piedmont Henry also holds the area's Level III trauma center designation, making it the only designated trauma facility along the I-75 corridor between Atlanta and Macon — meaning advanced trauma or surgical care will continue at the Stockbridge hospital.
Growth Outpacing Capacity
Census figures help explain why Piedmont is investing further south. Henry County's population grew 10.1% between 2020 and 2025, leading growth across south metro Atlanta, while Locust Grove itself expanded by 30% over the same stretch, according to CBS Atlanta. The outlet also notes Henry County has become one of the fastest-growing Black-majority suburban counties in the nation.
Piedmont has been building toward this moment in phases. In May, the health system opened a $212 million, five-story East Tower at the Stockbridge hospital, adding 96 inpatient rooms and three operating suites and pushing total hospital capacity to 355 beds, as Hoodline reported at the time. That tower was built in part to absorb acute transfers coming from area emergency rooms. Before that, in October 2025, Piedmont opened a joint-venture urgent care center at 3366 Highway 42 South in Locust Grove, operated in partnership with WellStreet Urgent Care, according to WellStreet's own announcement.
Regulatory Path Still Ahead
Certificate of Need approval doesn't guarantee smooth sailing. Georgia's freestanding ER proposals have faced serious legal pushback elsewhere in the state — in March, the Georgia Court of Appeals upheld a decision denying a Certificate of Need for a separate freestanding emergency department proposed by Piedmont Augusta, a case Hoodline covered in detail in its report on the appellate ruling. The process can involve legal challenges, and the Locust Grove project's initial approval will likely be watched closely as construction moves forward.
Piedmont Healthcare operates hospitals and immediate care locations statewide. The Locust Grove facility adds another piece to the health system's presence in Henry County, with Piedmont saying it will reduce emergency-room wait times while advanced care continues at the Stockbridge hospital.
