This month, Piedmont Henry Hospital celebrates five years of service to the community as a member of the Piedmont Healthcare family. Before joining Piedmont on January 1, 2012, Piedmont Henry operated as Henry Medical Center, which opened in July 1979. To mark this occasion, here are five of Piedmont Henry's accomplishments over the past five years.

• The once-struggling community hospital now is financially sound and has evolved into a growing community hospital known for its patient-centered care. Today, Piedmont Henry has more than 1,400 employees, 660 physicians and 160 volunteers. On average, the 215-bed facility serves close to 90,000 patients in the emergency department in addition to approximately 13,000 inpatient and 60,000 outpatient visitors each year. Physicians at the hospital perform more than 9,400 surgeries yearly. In addition to providing advanced medical care, Piedmont Henry continues to extend its healthcare mission beyond the walls of the hospital through its community benefit grant program, which offers financial support to local nonprofit, community-based organizations that provide health-related services and programs for at-risk and underserved populations in Henry County.

• In the past five years, Piedmont Henry has provided more specialized services closer to home, including advanced cardiac and cancer care. The hospital now is a certified Stroke and Chest Pain Center, a certified member of the MD Anderson Cancer Center Network and home to the only breast health center in Henry County to offer a continuum of care for newly-diagnosed patients. Free programs and services also are offered to cancer patients, survivors and caregivers at the hospital, thanks to the partnership with Piedmont.

• In 2015, the women’s services department, which delivers more than 2,100 babies each year, became the fifth hospital in Georgia to achieve designation as a Baby-Friendly hospital by Baby-Friendly USA for promoting safe infant feeding and mother-baby bonding. As a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Piedmont Henry’s NICU offers the most advanced neonatal care and services for infants born before 32-weeks’ gestation, as well as babies born with critical illnesses, including a full range of respiratory support and advanced imaging.

• Recognizing the need for expanded emergency care access, Piedmont Henry’s emergency department, the busiest in the Piedmont Healthcare system, was renovated last year to improve patient flow and lower patient wait times. Improvements made to the newly expanded department include doubling the number of triage rooms; enlarging nursing stations; upgrading the entrances for better access; adding more parking spaces; and expanding the minor emergency area and waiting areas.

Over the past five years, Piedmont Henry has been a recipient of multiple awards and designations including Top Hospital by the Leapfrog Group in 2015 for its commitment to providing the safest, highest quality health care, the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award (2015-2016) and Hospitals & Health Networks magazine’s Most Wired (2015-2016).

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“I’m proud of what we have accomplished together over the last five years since becoming a Piedmont facility,” said Deborah Armstrong, CEO of Piedmont Henry Hospital. “We are so grateful to our community for their ongoing support and look forward to continuing to collaborate as we work to provide high-quality, patient-centered care to Henry County and surrounding communities for many years to come.”