RINGGOLD—Community members and clergy gathered March 5 to celebrate the opening of a Catholic hospital in North Georgia, fulfilling a vision decade in the making.

CommonSpirit – Memorial Hospital – North Georgia officially opened Jan. 11. As a 180,000-square-foot facility, it has expanded access to medical care for residents in the region.   

The hospital, built in just 20 months after breaking ground in March 2024, represents what Angie Stiggins, administrator for the hospital, said was a 25-year vision for the community.

Bishop John N. Tran blesses the exterior walls of the new Catholic hospital in Ringgold, sprinkling holy water across the medical facility. Photo by Julianna Leopold

“This hospital for this community means everything,” said Stiggins. “It’s a community working hand in hand, and this hospital will provide access to quality healthcare. “

Auxiliary bishop John N. Tran began the dedication ceremony with a prayer for the hospital, its staff and the patients who will receive care there. After the prayer, Bishop Tran blessed the exterior walls of the hospital, sprinkling holy water across the budling’s windows, walls and doors.

Father Mike Thomas, pastor of Our Lady of the Mount Church in Lookout Mountain, blessed the intensive care unit with holy water. He prayed for and thanked staff members he met along the floor.

Father Mike Nolan of the Diocese of Knoxville and the hospital’s pastor, Father Mike Creson, blessed the other hospital floors.

For father Thomas, the new hospital’s proximity to residents will make a tangible difference in emergencies.

“Last June, I had a kidney stone and ultimately needed to be transported to Chattanooga,” he said. “Now there’s an emergency room and a hospital right here, together. It would have been a big help to me, and now it’s going to help a lot of people. It’s pretty great.”

According to CommonSpirit, the hospital includes 64 patient rooms, a 24-bed emergency department and an eight-bed intensive care unit. The hospital replaced CHI Memorial Hospital owned by Catoosa County in Fort Oglethorpe.

The facility also features five operating rooms and two endoscopy suites, expanding surgical and diagnostic services for the area. Doctors at the facility performed the first surgery there on Jan. 12. The hospital also features advanced diagnostic imaging, a full-service laboratory and patient-centered amenities such as a dining bistro and chapel.

Designed as a “smart hospital,” according to CommonSpirit, the building integrates artificial intelligence and virtual care technology to provide healthcare workers with data that will improve accuracy and overall care.

For Stiggins, the hospital’s opening is both personal and historic.

“I live in this community, and have been here my entire life,” she said. “This is exactly what the community nodded. This hospital will help this community enjoy a quality of life that they may or may not have not had prior to us being here.”

Sister Judy Raley, a member of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. Her order founded Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga in 1952.

Following the dedication ceremony, Bishop Tran celebrated Mass in new the chapel, named in honor of Sister Judy Raley, a member of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. Her order founded Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga in 1952.

Sister Judy has been a board member of the St. Vincent Health System for more than 10 years and served as a missionary in the Cayo district of Belize.

She spent years at the Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga serving in her ministry and mentoring associates before returning to the Siters of Charity of Nazareth motherhouse in Nazareth, Kentucky.

Now open to patients, the hospitals stands as a new hub of care in North Georgia. For residents, the opening of CommonSpirit – Memorial Hospital – North Georgia signified a long-waited answer to the need for accessible and quality care close to home.