Peach County breaks ground on new hospital

BYRON -- After a nearly 10-year wait, Peach County ceremoniously broke ground on its new hospital Thursday afternoon.

“If y’all have been following us and our journey, you know it’s been a long one,” said Nancy Peed, chief executive officer of Peach Regional Medical Center. “If you think about it, it was almost impossible.”

About 200 officials and medical personnel from throughout Middle Georgia gathered Thursday beneath blossoming pecan trees at the Ga. 247 Connector and John E. Sullivan Road. Much of the hourlong ceremony focused on the almost decade-long battle for the $28 million facility.

“A lesser group of people would have given up,” Peed said.

Don Faulk, president and chief executive officer of Central Georgia Health System and The Medical Center of Central Georgia, said construction of the structure will begin in May and be completed by next summer.

Plans for a new hospital have been in the works since 2003, but the economic downturn and controversy over the location slowed the process.

Last year, Peach Regional Medical Center partnered with The Medical Center and its umbrella organization, Central Georgia Health System, to help secure the financing for the project.

The partnership “exemplifies how communities are going to have to work together” in a changing health care environment, Faulk said. “In the future, this is a partnership that will take the lead step in partnerships like this in the region.”

The new facility will be about 15,000 square feet larger than the current hospital on Blue Bird Boulevard in Fort Valley. But Faulk said its functions will be much the same, with just a slight shift to focus more on outpatient care.

He said the new location was selected five or six years ago with the idea of centralizing patient care for all Peach residents.

“This will allow residents to get health care in our county instead of traveling to nearby counties,” said Dr. Crystal Brown, medical director of Peach Regional Medical Center.

While better medical treatment in Peach County is the primary goal, there are hopes the new facility will draw development, said Peach County Commissioner Martin Moseley.

Byron Mayor Larry Collins, whose city surrounds the unincorporated Peach County location, said the open fields in the area could draw auxiliary medical businesses.

“This is going to be the epicenter for development for all of Peach County,” Collins said.

Fort Valley Mayor John Stumbo said the groundbreaking signified to all who worked so hard to bring the project to fruition that it’s their turn for celebration, referencing a tiny engine that overcame a seemingly insurmountable hill.

“It’s their turn to say, ‘I knew I could,’ ” he said, pumping his fist into the air.

To contact writer Christina M. Wright, call 256-9685.

This story was originally published March 29, 2012 at 9:39 AM with the headline "Peach County breaks ground on new hospital ."