RINGGOLD, Ga. — A Georgia lawmaker is pushing to revamp a hospital in Northwest Georgia

Sen. Jon Ossoff is urging the Georgia Department of Community Health to support a proposal to replace CHI Memorial Hospital Georgia in Fort Oglethorpe by the Georgia and Tennessee border and place it closer to Ringgold, according to his office.

Ossoff sent a letter to the organization, expressing the importance of accessible medical care.

"Opening this hospital on Battlefield Parkway will have ripple effects far beyond the immediate counties of service. It will make way for more of a return of medical professionals to the community," he wrote. "The facility will also allow for Georgians to get care closer to their home and in their own community."

The full letter can be read here.

Ossoff said details of the proposal include building a new hospital that would replace the older facility that was built in 1953. The redesigned facility would offer 64 beds and be able to offer preventative, primary and hospital care to residents in Northwest Georgia who often have to travel into Tennessee to receive critical and surgical care, according to Ossoff's office.

If approved, the new CHI Memorial Hospital would open in late 2024 and serve residents in Catoosa, Dade and Walker counties.