Full-Time
Surgical Technologist
Northeast Georgia Health System
1,001-5,000 employees
Non-profit health system delivering regional care
No salary listed
Gainesville, GA, USA
In Person
Associate's
 Medical, Clinical & Veterinary (1) |
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- Certified Surgical Technologist certification is required.
- A high school diploma or GED is required.
- Graduation from an accredited surgical technology program is required.
- At least one year of experience as a Surgical Technologist is required.
- Demonstrated competency and skill proficiency in preparing and assisting patients undergoing surgical procedures and collecting specimens.
- Demonstrated competency and skill proficiency in operating patient care equipment.
- Ability to complete patient case assignments with appropriate turnover averages through effective time management.
- Ability to read, write, reason, talk, and use a keyboard.
- Ability to lift and carry up to 50 pounds frequently.
- Ability to kneel, stoop, bend, stand, walk, push, and pull as required by the role.
- Function as the scrub person in operating rooms and perform other assigned duties.
- Set up cases with proper instrumentation and supplies before the case begins.
- Follow hospital policy for hand asepsis.
- Perform accurate sponge, needle, and instrument counts with the registered nurse circulator.
- Maintain an organized sterile field and return instruments safely to the correct trays.
- Prepare specimens accurately, deliver them to the collection area with correct identifying labels and cards, and sign the pathology log accurately.
- Monitor and maintain the integrity of the sterile field.
- Monitor room equipment, temperature, and humidity, and notify the circulating nurse when escalation is indicated.
- Ensure proper patient body alignment during the intraoperative phase through position-monitoring checks.
- Precept new staff as assigned and demonstrate sound clinical and positive interpersonal skills.
- Adhere to infection-control practices and safety policies and procedures.
- Expedite safe case turnover by assisting with cleanup and setup of new cases.
- Report supplies used to ensure proper charging.
- Report problems or necessary changes to the supervisor.
- Meet overtime, call-change, and holiday-coverage requirements.
- Accept assigned call and remain available within 30 minutes or less.
- Perform special assignments and routine cleanup of operating rooms, workrooms, and the central core.
- An associate degree is preferred.
- Experience in a hospital setting is preferred.
Northeast Georgia Health System provides medical care to over 1 million people through a network of five hospitals, a large multi-specialty physician group, and a dedicated heart and vascular institute. The system operates by coordinating more than 1,500 medical staff members across 50 locations to offer services ranging from routine outpatient visits to complex surgeries and national research trials. Unlike many regional providers, this organization integrates a massive employed physician network with a specialized heart institute to ensure patients can access advanced specialty care without leaving their local area. The organization's primary goal is to improve the health of the community by providing accessible, high-quality medical treatment across more than 60 different specialties.
Company Size
1,001-5,000
Company Stage
N/A
Total Funding
N/A
Headquarters
Gainesville, Florida
Founded
1980
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- Braselton opened its expanded 180,000-square-foot emergency department on July 25, 2026.
- NGHS and Flow Therapy opened a June 2026 ECP clinic in Gainesville.
- The August 2026 nursing-AI pilot could reduce documentation burden and improve bedside time.
What critics are saying
- The August 11, 2026 bomb threat forced sweeps across all NGHS campuses.
- Aetna's July 28, 2026 deal shows payer leverage can threaten patient access.
- NGHS's physician integration and expansion strain execution; integration failures would damage margins and retention.
What makes Northeast Georgia Health System unique
- NGHS runs five hospitals across Gainesville, Braselton, Winder, Dahlonega, and Demorest.
- Longstreet Clinic joined NGHS on February 1, 2026, deepening regional physician integration.
- NGHS became Epic's fifth nursing Chart with Art adopter on August 10, 2026.
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Benefits
Professional Development Budget
Company News
Northeast Georgia launches Epic nurse AI tool. Table of contents. Northeast Georgia Health System has become the fifth health system in the country to deploy Epic's Chart with Art ambient AI tool for nursing documentation, marking the Northeast Georgia Chart with Art rollout as part of an exclusive early-adopter cohort testing this emerging technology. How the Northeast Georgia Chart with Art pilot is structured. A pilot group of 15 nurses and two patient care technicians is testing the technology across all five NGMC hospitals. This system-wide distribution, rather than concentrating the pilot at a single facility, gives Northeast Georgia Health System the ability to gather feedback across varied clinical settings and patient populations simultaneously. How Chart with Art actually works. Chart with Art records real-time conversations between nurses and patients and drafts assessments, care plans, patient education notes and other documentation for the nurse to review before it enters the medical record. This workflow mirrors the ambient AI documentation model already common among physician-facing tools, now extended specifically to nursing. Why Northeast Georgia Health System is deploying Chart with Art. "Our goal is to give nurses more time at the bedside," said Marie DiFrancesco, BSN, RN, chief nursing informatics officer for NGHS, in an Aug. 10 news release. This stated objective directly addresses one of the most persistent complaints in nursing: that administrative documentation burden pulls time away from direct patient interaction. Patient consent and clinician oversight built into the tool. Patients are told when Chart with Art is being used and can decline participation at any time, the health system said. Every AI-generated entry requires clinician review and confirmation before it becomes part of the permanent record, ensuring nurses retain final authority over what actually enters a patient's chart. Why being the fifth Health System to deploy Chart with Art matters. Joining a small group of only five health systems nationally testing this specific Epic tool positions Northeast Georgia Health System among the earliest adopters of ambient AI documentation extended specifically to nursing workflows, a category that has generally lagged physician-facing ambient scribe tools in broader deployment. How this fits Epic's broader 2026 AI strategy. This pilot adds to a growing list of health systems testing pieces of Epic's expanding AI portfolio throughout 2026, part of the vendor's stated plan to roll out more than 150 AI features this year under its "Healthcare Intelligence" strategy spanning ambient charting, patient chatbots, agentic AI, and operational tools. What this Northeast Georgia Chart with Art pilot means going forward. With the pilot spanning all five NGMC hospitals and including both nurses and patient care technicians, Northeast Georgia Health System appears positioned to generate meaningful early feedback on how ambient nursing documentation performs across a full multi-hospital system rather than a single test site. Given the explicit built-in consent and clinician review safeguards, this deployment may offer a useful model for other health systems considering similar ambient AI tools for nursing staff. What to watch going forward. As the pilot continues, industry observers will likely watch whether Northeast Georgia Health System reports measurable reductions in nursing documentation time or increases in bedside patient interaction, outcomes that have become standard benchmarks for evaluating ambient AI tools elsewhere in healthcare. Given that only four other health systems nationally have deployed Chart with Art, this Northeast Georgia Chart with Art rollout may help establish early best practices for nursing-focused ambient AI adoption as more health systems consider similar tools in the months ahead.
Northeast Georgia Health System expands access to advanced noninvasive cardiovascular care. July 16, 2026 Northeast Georgia Health System (NGHS) and Flow Therapy have established a joint venture to expand access to advanced noninvasive cardiovascular care in Gainesville and the surrounding region. The partnership introduces counterpulsation therapy (also known as external counterpulsation, ECP), a noninvasive outpatient treatment for patients living with persistent symptoms of ischemic heart disease, including those who continue to experience angina, shortness of breath, or fatigue despite standard therapies. This joint venture brings together Flow Therapy's specialized delivery model with NGHS' cardiovascular platform, establishing a structured pathway for symptomatic patients to access high-quality care. The model reflects a growing emphasis on physiologic approaches that complement existing cardiovascular therapies and expand options for appropriate patients. "This partnership with Flow Therapy adds an important option for appropriate patients and strengthens the management of chronic cardiovascular symptoms across the continuum of care," said Mudassar Ahmed, MD, chief cardiology officer at NGHS. "There is a meaningful population of patients who continue to experience symptoms despite current care. This model is designed to meet that need in a way that is accessible, coordinated, aligned with the broader care team, "said Michael Gratch, CEO and founder of Flow Therapy. The new clinic, located at 1650 Jesse Jewell Parkway in Gainesville, opened in June. Initial patient onboarding began in coordination with the NGHS cardiology team.
Lung cancer surgeon Dr. Matthew Schuchert joins Northeast Georgia Physicians Group. July 16, 2026 The lung cancer treatment program at Northeast Georgia Health System (NGHS) has added renowned expert thoracic surgeon Matthew Schuchert, MD, who recently joined Northeast Georgia Physicians Group (NGPG) Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery to see patients in Gainesville. Dr. Schuchert joins NGPG after a distinguished career in academic and clinical practice at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he served as a tenured Associate Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery and as Program Director of the Cardiothoracic Surgery residency and fellowship program. A native of Pittsburgh, he completed his own extensive training at UPMC, including residency and research fellowship in General Surgery, a fellowship in Minimally Invasive Thoracic and Foregut Surgery, and a residency in Cardiothoracic Surgery. He earned his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University and received his bachelor's degree in Biology from Yale University. "The incidence and mortality associated with lung cancer in Georgia are well above national averages," said Dr. Schuchert. "This highlights the importance of ongoing efforts in screening, diagnosis and therapy. I'm really excited about applying my time and energy to save lives and improve people's quality of life in this area." Dr. Schuchert completed his surgical training during a time of innovation in minimally invasive chest surgery. He specializes in thoracoscopic and laparoscopic approaches, which use "keyhole" incisions that heal more quickly and with less pain than traditional surgery. He has published hundreds of articles, abstracts, reviews, and book chapters about lung and esophageal cancer. He has also been the Principal Investigator in numerous research projects and clinical trials investigating lung cancer immunology and surgical outcomes following surgical resection of early-stage lung cancer. The NGHS lung cancer surgery program recently achieved top ratings in a survey conducted by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, placing it among an elite tier of thoracic surgery centers in the U.S. Dr. Schuchert hopes to build on the reputation of excellence established under the leadership of fellow NGPG surgeon Karen Gersch, MD, whom he mentored during her training at UPMC.
AORN26: OR-SPD collaboration reduces Instrument Contamination and improves surgical efficiency. AORN26 highlights how collaboration between the operating room and sterile processing department (SPD) reduced instrument contamination, minimized case delays, and improved patient safety, reinforcing the critical role of SPD partnerships in perioperative infection prevention. Instrument contamination remains a persistent and often underrecognized risk in perioperative care, with implications that extend beyond infection prevention to operational efficiency and patient satisfaction. At the 2026 (Association of periOperative Registered Nurses) AORN Global Surgical Conference & Expo (AORN26), a poster presentation, "Decreasing Instrument Contamination Rates Through SPD Partnership and Collaboration" from Northeast Georgia Health System (NGHS) highlighted how intentional collaboration between the operating room (OR) and sterile processing department (SPD) can significantly reduce contamination rates and improve outcomes. Presented by Jade O. Boyd, MSN, RN, CNOR, nurse manager at NGHS, and coauthored by Lily Cantu, BSN, RN, charge nurse and coordinator at NGHS, the initiative focused on addressing contamination in surgical trays through strengthened interdisciplinary partnerships. A Risk That Impacts Both Safety and Efficiency Contaminated instruments pose an immediate threat to patient safety. When contaminated trays are identified, cases may be delayed or canceled, increasing the risk of infection and disrupting surgical workflows. These disruptions have cascading effects. Surgical delays reduce OR efficiency, limit the number of patients who can be treated, and contribute to dissatisfaction among both patients and surgeons. In a high-demand environment, even small inefficiencies can quickly escalate into broader operational challenges. The NGHS team recognized that reducing contamination required more than procedural fixes. It required alignment between the teams responsible for instrument preparation and those using them in the OR. Moving Beyond Silos Historically, SPD and OR teams have operated in parallel, with limited visibility into each other's workflows. This separation can create gaps in communication, expectations, and accountability. The NGHS initiative sought to bridge that divide by prioritizing collaboration between perioperative leaders and SPD staff. By working together, both teams were better able to identify sources of contamination, address inconsistencies, and standardize processes. This partnership model reflects a broader shift in perioperative practice, where success depends on shared ownership of outcomes rather than isolated responsibilities. Collaboration as a Core Strategy At the center of the initiative was a simple but powerful concept: meaningful reductions in contamination require active collaboration with SPD leadership. Rather than approaching contamination as a downstream issue, the team engaged SPD partners early in the process. This allowed for a more comprehensive understanding of how instruments are cleaned, assembled, transported, and handled in the OR. Through this collaboration, opportunities for improvement became clearer. Teams were able to align expectations, reinforce best practices, and create more consistent workflows across departments. Impact on Patient Safety and Workflow Reducing instrument contamination has direct implications for infection prevention. Clean, properly processed instruments are fundamental to maintaining sterile technique and preventing surgical site infections. At the same time, improvements in contamination rates contribute to smoother surgical operations. Fewer delays mean more predictable schedules, better resource utilization, and improved patient flow. For patients, this translates into shorter wait times and greater confidence in the safety and reliability of their care. For clinicians, it reduces frustration and supports more efficient practice. Implications for Infection Prevention Professionals For infection preventionists, this initiative reinforces the importance of collaboration across departments. Surveillance and policy development are essential, but they must be paired with strong relationships and communication at the operational level. SPD professionals are critical partners in this work. Their expertise in cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization is central to preventing contamination before instruments ever reach the OR. By engaging SPD teams as equal stakeholders, infection prevention programs can strengthen adherence, improve outcomes, and address risks more effectively. A Model for System-Wide Improvement The NGHS initiative offers a practical model for other health systems facing similar challenges. By focusing on partnership, communication, and shared accountability, organizations can address both clinical and operational risks associated with instrument contamination. As perioperative environments become increasingly complex, the need for integrated approaches will continue to grow. The work presented at AORN26 highlights a key takeaway for infection prevention and perioperative leaders alike: Meaningful improvement is not achieved in isolation. It is built through collaboration, alignment, and a shared commitment to patient safety. 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NGHS simulation center lands on national top list again. Here's what makes it stand out. The Times Published: Apr 6, 2026, 11:58 AM The Center for Simulation and Innovation at Northeast Georgia Health System has been named one of the top hospital and health system simulation centers in the United States by Becker's Hospital Review for the third consecutive year. Read this subscriber-exclusive story Keep reading this and other subscriber-exclusive stories! Click the button below to choose your plan. If you believe you have reached this message in error, ensure you have logged in and then contact its customer care team.