Hundreds of patients move into new Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta - Arthur M. Blank Hospital

Children's Healthcare of Atlanta is undertaking a massive move today.

Their new facility, the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Arthur M. Blank Hospital opened at 7 a.m. and the Egleston Emergency Department is now closed.

At 7:30 a.m., ambulances carrying hundreds of patients will transport them from the old hospital to the new one.

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"We have planned that day literally minute by minute," Chief Nursing Officer Linda Cole said of the move.

The move is being orchestrated by 1,200 team members and another 1,000 support staff volunteers to help with patient and family needs.

They're driving about 340 patients from Egleston Hospital near Emory to the new Arthur M. Blank Hospital on North Druid Hills Road.

Using 56 ambulances, the move should take 10 to 12 hours.

"We will have ambulances coming in from all our neighboring states, so truly been a lot of community involvement to make sure we can do this safely," Cole said.

The nearly four-mile route from Egleston will go out to Clairmont Road to the I-85 frontage road.

There will be a lot of activity and movement around both hospitals.

Hospital leaders are asking the public to avoid those areas today, including Sunday churchgoers.

"Multiple of those churches are doing either virtual services that day, or using back parking lots so they are not exiting out to our move route," Cole said.

There are no plans to block off streets, but police and Georgia State Patrol Troopers will be along the route to limit traffic.

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