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This story has been updated.

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta announced today it is closing its inpatient facility at Egleston campus at Emory and opening a new hospital across the street from Executive Park, located off of I-85 and North Druid Hills Road.

It will be several years before Egleston’s inpatient facility closes, a spokesperson for CHOA said. A future use for the property has not been decided. The new hospital will be located across the street from the Atlanta Hawks sports medicine center and training facility.

“Based on studies of future demand and facility capacity, Children’s determined a new campus at the northeastern corner of North Druid Hills Road and I-85 – along with sustained growth of other facilities and programs – provides the ability to meet forecasted patient care and space needs through 2026 and projected demand to 2036 and beyond,” the press release from CHOA says.

Donna Hyland, CHOA’s president and CEO, told Decaturish on Feb. 9 that the hospital needs more room to grow than the Egleston campus provides.

“We just don’t have the capacity to care for all the children that need to get to us,” she said.

CHOA’s press release says the new hospital will be a “major pediatric medical campus that will be a leader in care.”

It will be the home of the Center for Advanced Pediatrics, CHOA says. “With easy access from I-85, the new campus will give our hospital system room to grow decades into the future.”

CHOA says as a result it will no longer operate an inpatient facility at Egleston.

“The long-term purpose of Egleston’s campus will be determined during the planning process over the next several years,” the press release says.

CHOA will continue to work with Emory, the press release says.

“Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University School of Medicine have a long-standing partnership and will continue to work together to provide high-quality pediatric care, conduct groundbreaking research, and train the next generation of physicians,” the press release says. “Faculty/physicians from Emory University School of Medicine will continue to provide clinical care at all Children’s campuses, and Children’s will remain a primary training site for Emory’s pediatric medical students, residents and fellows.”

Science research will remain at Emory. Decaturish obtained an email sent to Emory faculty and staff by Jonathan Lewin, President, CEO, and Chair of the Board of Emory Healthcare.

“Although this Children’s announcement of new facilities and a new location may be viewed as a change for Emory pediatrics – at least geographically – we are extremely optimistic about the ongoing strength of our partnership with Children’s and our ability to continue our excellence in the top ranks of pediatrics departments nationally,” the email said. “We will continue to update you about these plans as they progress.”

Hyland, CHOA’s CEO, said the announcement did not come as a surprise to Emory officials.

“We’ve been working with our Emory colleagues all along,” she said. ” … We keep all of our colleagues at Emory very involved and informed.”

CHOA’s press release says it may take as long as eight years to build the new hospital. This fact sheet was also attached to the press release:

To see a site map of the new facility, click here.

Here is the full email from Jonathan Lewin to Emory faculty and staff.

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta today announced they will build a new full-service hospital for inpatient medical care at their campus at North Druid Hills Road/I-85. This location is across the road from Emory facilities within Executive Park. Children’s is choosing to build the new facility following studies of future demand and facility capacity. A specific timeline has not been developed, but we have been told that the hospital could take as long as eight years to plan, permit, design and build. During construction of the new hospital, Children’s will add temporary beds at Egleston to meet demand. After construction of the hospital is complete, however, Children’s will no longer operate an inpatient facility at Egleston. Children’s will determine the long-term purpose of the Egleston campus during the planning process over the next several years. As you can imagine, we at Emory will have great interest in how the Egleston campus is used in the future. In addition, Children’s is building a new 260,000 sq. ft. Center for Advanced Pediatrics at the North Druid Hills campus. This center will be a pediatric outpatient care center including advanced technology and research capabilities. Additional information can be found at www.choabreakingnewground.org. Emory University School of Medicine and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta have had a productive partnership for more than 60 years, providing high-quality pediatric care, conducting groundbreaking research, and training the next generation of physicians. Our faculty from the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, the Rollins School of Public Health, and the Winship Cancer Institute have also been closely involved with our pediatric initiatives. We do not expect this relationship to change, rather to continue to expand and accelerate. Emory School of Medicine faculty physicians will continue to provide specialty and sub-specialty care at Children’s facilities. The Emory Department of Pediatrics ranks #4 in the U.S. in research funding from the NIH, and our researchers will continue to collaborate within the Atlanta Pediatric Research Consortium. Our research teams will continue their groundbreaking research in laboratories in the Health Sciences Research Building and the Emory Children’s Center. Our pediatric residency programs will continue to train highly skilled physicians. Although this Children’s announcement of new facilities and a new location may be viewed as a change for Emory pediatrics – at least geographically – we are extremely optimistic about the ongoing strength of our partnership with Children’s and our ability to continue our excellence in the top ranks of pediatrics departments nationally. We will continue to update you about these plans as they progress. Thank you to all our Emory pediatric physicians, physician scientists, basic science researchers, and other faculty from across the Woodruff Health Sciences Center schools for your tremendous contributions that are so very integral to the accomplishments of Children’s. We expect these new facilities to provide exciting new opportunities for pediatric care, research, and training – all for the benefit of improving the lives of children and their families in Atlanta and beyond. Sincerely, Jon Jonathan S. Lewin, MD Executive Vice President, Emory University Executive Director, Woodruff Health Sciences Center President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board, Emory Healthcare

Here is the full press release from CHOA: