Father and Son Physicians Fill Shifts at New Chattooga ED

October 26, 2023

ROME, Ga., Oct.26, 2023 – A father-and-son team provided tag team medical care at the new stand-alone emergency department in Chattooga County on Wednesday and Thursday.

George Edward Malcom III, M.D., took the 24-hour shift from 7 a.m. Wednesday to 7 a.m. Thursday at the facility, which opened its doors Monday morning. His dad, George Edward Malcom Jr., M.D., relieved him Thursday morning, taking a 12-hour shift. That was a first and purely coincidental.

“It just kind of happened that I relieved him. It wasn't planned or anything," the elder Dr. Malcom said.

He might be a familiar sight to anyone visiting the Emergency Care Center at Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center in Rome or the Emergency Department at Atrium Health Floyd Polk Medical Center in Cedartown.

The elder Dr. Malcom usually provides care at those locations as a member of ApolloMD, which staffs emergency room physicians for all of Atrium Health Floyd's hospitals. The younger Dr. Malcom is also an ApolloMD physician but does not practice regularly in northwest Georgia.

“This is a great emergency department," the elder Dr. Malcom said of the new facility. “They are definitely going to serve a lot of patients in this region." Thirty-six people received treatment at the facility from midnight Tuesday to midnight Wednesday, topping projected expectations.

The $18.4 million emergency department serves residents in Chattooga County and portions of Walker County and northeast Alabama. It features six treatment rooms, an onsite laboratory and imaging services, including X-ray and computed tomography.

An on-site helipad can provide quick access to Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center, the only ACS-verified, Level II Trauma Center in northwest Georgia.

A second Atrium Health Floyd Mobile Mammography Coach eventually will be headquartered at the 10,884-square-foot site to ensure more women have convenient access to lifesaving breast cancer screenings.

“I think this building is just beautiful and a great addition to the community," the younger Dr. Malcom said. “To have an emergency department with a doctor present 24/7 is definitely a good thing for area residents."

Both men live in the metro Atlanta area. That means the elder Dr. Malcom regularly drives well over an hour to either Polk County or Floyd County.

About Atrium Health Floyd

The Atrium Health Floyd family of health care services is a leading medical provider and economic force in northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama. Atrium Health Floyd is part of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Advocate Health, the third-largest nonprofit health system in the United States, created from the combination of Atrium Health and Advocate Aurora Health. Atrium Health Floyd strategically combined with Harbin Clinic in 2024 and employs more than 5,200 teammates who provide care in over 40 medical specialties at four facilities: Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center – a 361-bed full-service, acute care hospital and regional referral center in Rome, Georgia; Atrium Health Floyd Polk Medical Center in Cedartown, Georgia; and Atrium Health Floyd Cherokee Medical Center in Centre, Alabama; and Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center Behavioral Health, also in Rome. Together, Atrium Health Floyd and Harbin Clinic provide primary care, specialty care and urgent care throughout northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama. Atrium Health Floyd also operates a stand-alone emergency department in Chattooga County, the first such facility to be built from the ground-up in Georgia.

About Advocate Health

Advocate Health is the third-largest nonprofit, integrated health system in the United States, created from the combination of Advocate Aurora Health and Atrium Health. Providing care under the names Advocate Health Care in Illinois; Atrium Health in the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama; and Aurora Health Care in Wisconsin, Advocate Health is a national leader in clinical innovation, health outcomes, consumer experience and value-based care. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Advocate Health services nearly 6 million patients and is engaged in hundreds of clinical trials and research studies, with Wake Forest University School of Medicine serving as the academic core of the enterprise. Advocate Health is nationally recognized for its expertise in heart and vascular, neurosciences, oncology, pediatrics and rehabilitation, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs. Advocate Health employs more than 160,000 teammates across 69 hospitals and over 1,000 care locations and offers one of the nation's largest graduate medical education programs with over 2,000 residents and fellows across more than 200 programs. Committed to redefining care for all, Advocate Health provides more than $6 billion in annual community benefits.