Children's Healthcare of Atlanta has purchased land in Sandy Springs as part of a broader push to put a pediatric clinic within 30 minutes of every family in metro Atlanta.

The nonprofit health system disclosed the purchase on Monday, Aug. 31, weeks after Dr. Patrick Frias's Aug. 17 start as CEO, Appen Media reported. The organization has not revealed the site's address, acreage, price or specific plans, saying only that details will come later.

Frias told WSB-TV the Sandy Springs property will expand access to pediatric care. The land buy is one piece of the system's "More Than Possible" initiative, which aims to eliminate pediatric healthcare deserts across the metro area.

"We want to make sure that every child in metro Atlanta has accessibility within 30 minutes to some level of our care," Frias told the station. That includes primary care, specialty care and the full spectrum of providers, he said.

Children's Healthcare already operates three hospitals and a network of neighborhood and urgent care centers. It logs more than 1.2 million patient visits a year and employs more than 15,000 people.

The pediatric cardiologist spent 18 years at Children's Healthcare, serving as a cardiologist, chief physician officer and chief operating officer. He left in 2018 to lead Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego.

At Rady, he guided the hospital onto the U.S. News & World Report Best Children's Hospitals Honor Roll for the first time in 2023. He also co-led a 2025 merger with Children's Hospital of Orange County to form Rady Children's Health.

The Atlanta Business Chronicle described Frias as the system's first new CEO in nearly two decades. He succeeds Donna Hyland, who led Children's Healthcare since 2008 and oversaw the opening of Arthur M. Blank Hospital in 2024, according to Becker's Hospital Review.

Paul Brown, chair of Children's board of trustees, said Frias "understands where healthcare is headed and what children and families need right now."

Born in Chile and raised in Gainesville, Florida, Frias told Rady staff in a March memo that his return was "guided by my desire to be closer to my family and return to my home state," as reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Beyond the Sandy Springs site, Children's Healthcare is expanding into rural Georgia through a partnership with Mercer University School of Medicine and the Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center. That program offers medical school scholarships to students who commit to practicing pediatrics in rural areas. Thirty-four students have signed on so far.

Frias said mental health investment is also a priority. He has begun a "People and Possibilities" tour to meet staff across the system.

No timeline has been announced for the Sandy Springs site or for additional clinic openings under the More Than Possible initiative.