Atlanta Cardiology Group in Blairsville joins Piedmont Heart Institute

Dr. Kelley

The Atlanta Cardiology Group (ACG) with offices on Hospital Circle and Deep South Farm Road in Blairsville has signed an agreement formalizing an affiliation with Piedmont Healthcare as part of the Piedmont Heart Institute, effective November 15. The 25- member cardiovascular physician practice will become a new group practice under the Piedmont Heart Institute and open a new main office on the Piedmont Hospital campus in December, while maintaining offices across Georgia. With the addition of ACG, more than 80 cardiovascular physicians will be available at Piedmont.

"This is an exciting time for Piedmont. Our affiliation with ACG will enable us to more effectively provide our quality services to patients in the many communities we serve," said Michele M. Molden, CEO of the Piedmont Heart Institute. "ACG will complement the existing cardiovascular expertise at Piedmont, a tradition that started over 50 years ago. We are proud that they've chosen Piedmont for their home."

The Piedmont Heart Institute (PHI) is the first of its kind affiliated with a community hospital system in greater Atlanta. It will bring prominent cardiovascular physician groups together with one of the premier cardiac centers in the region. The Institute's express purpose is to provide a new and innovative model to facilitate and enhance the quality of cardiovascular care for the community.

Since the mid-1960's, Piedmont Hospital has continued to earn recognition as a leader in the prevention and treatment of heart disease. Piedmont was one of Georgia's first hospitals to establish a dedicated coronary care unit (CCU), the first to hire a fulltime director of a community CCU, and one of the first in the country to use telemetry monitors throughout the hospital. Piedmont has successfully developed cardiac catheterization, interventional cardiology, comprehensive electrophysiology and arrhythmia services, advanced heart failure management, open-heart surgery, and peripheral vascular services. This expertise culminated in 1994 with the centralization of services at the Fuqua Heart Center of Atlanta at Piedmont Hospital.