Peach to get long-awaited hospital

FORT VALLEY -- A $28 million new Peach Regional Medical Center will be built as a result of a partnership between the hospital and Macon-based The Medical Center of Central Georgia and Central Georgia Health System.

Peach hospital officials have been talking about building a new hospital for almost a decade, but controversy over the location and the economic downturn caused the project to stall.

About a year ago, Nancy Peed, chief executive officer of Peach Regional, approached Don Faulk, president and chief executive officer of The Medical Center of Central Georgia and Central Georgia Health System about the feasibility of a partnership. The pair announced the partnership at Peach Regional on Thursday.

“I think this will be a great opportunity for Peach County,” said Tom Green, chairman of the Hospital Authority of Peach County. “It is a great thing to have good health care locally.”

The Medical Center of Central Georgia and Central Georgia Health System will assist in financing the new hospital by using their institutional stability and standing as leverage in obtaining a loan with a low interest rate, Faulk said.

Construction could begin as soon as fall, Faulk said.

‘Hometown hospital’

Discussion about what to do with the aging Peach Regional Medical Center, which is now 57 years old, began in 2003.

Ultimately, the decision was made to replace, rather than renovate, the hospital. But when the new location -- on the Ga. 247 Connector near John E. Sullivan Road in unincorporated Peach County -- was announced, it was met with some opposition.

Neighboring Houston Healthcare, whose own flagship hospital would be eight miles from the new Peach facility, opposed the plan, questioning the price tag and Peach Regional’s ability to repay the loan.

In addition, Fort Valley City Council was against moving the hospital seven miles outside of the city. Council passed a resolution declaring about one-third of the city’s population would be deprived of timely access to medical treatment if the hospital moved.

Fort Valley Mayor John Stumbo admitted a change of heart on the matter Thursday.

“I changed my mind,” Stumbo said, noting the hospital went through two or three years of severe financial losses. “We’ve got an old building, and we can’t afford to renovate.

“It was either lose our hospital or move it.”

In 2009, the hospital lost $255,786. It 2010, it turned a profit of $912,482, according to figures provided by Peed.

As one of the top businesses in Peach County, with a more than $2 million payroll, keeping the hospital open is important economically as well, Green said.

The Peach County Commission has supported the hospital, providing funds for indigent care and $2 million from special purpose local option sales tax funds for the relocation, Green said.

“Their role has been to sit back and listen to us ask for money,” Green said, “and their answer has usually been ‘yes.’ ”

At 63,621 square feet, the new facility will provide nearly 15,000 square feet of additional space. The 25-bed facility also will be more modern and increase the hospital’s ability to attract more doctors and offer more procedures, Peed said.

The ability to offer more services will allow the hospital to see more patients, she said. Peach Regional currently serves about 16,000 patients a year, many of them indigent.

“We need this (new) hospital simply to survive and continue to provide health care services into the future,” Peed said.

She said the hospital will continue serving the same patients, but hopefully will expand its reach.

“We will still always be Peach County’s hometown hospital.”

The current building on Ga. 49 could be repurposed, Green said.

‘Natural partnership’

Officials from both Peach Regional and The Medical Center of Central Georgia and Central Georgia Health System said the partnership is a shared vision.

“I think it is a very natural partnership,” said Faulk, noting a working relationship with Peach Regional for more than 20 years. “Partnerships like this are going to be essential in surviving an uncertain future in health care.”

Though many details of the partnership still need to be worked out, it will help increase local access, keep costs down and coordinate patient care in Peach County and the surrounding region.

“Our partnership, I think, will do great things for access for the citizens of Peach County,” Faulk said.

And with an uncertain future surrounding health care reform, the partnership will help ensure the hospitals’ survival, he said.

“It’s a long-term survival for both of our institutions,” he said.

Information from The Telegraph’s archives was used in this report.

This story was originally published June 10, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Peach to get long-awaited hospital."