Hospital Authority of Albany and Dougherty County reviews purchase, updated on services

ALBANY — Expansions and access to health care for the benefit of the Southwest Georgia public were the focus of a recent Hospital Authority of Albany-Dougherty County through discussion regarding property purchases, community benefit and progress of future and existing facilities.

A property currently occupied by Phoebe Pediatric Specialty Clinics at 1912 Arlington Lane has sparked interest by a doctor in a neighboring building whose practice is growing. The Hospital Authority voted to proceed with discussions to sell the property to Dr. Paul Payne of Southwest Georgia Obstetrics and Gynecology, with first right of refusal language included in the agreement at fair market value based on appraisal.

The building, constructed in 1995, was acquired by the Hospital Authority as part of the Palmyra Medical Center — now Phoebe North — purchase in 2011. It has a total of 3,773 square feet and has an appraised value ranging from $456,000-$479,000.

Phoebe Putney Health System COO Joe Austin said the pediatric clinic is expected to be relocated closer to Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital.

The authority was also presented a 2015-16 community benefits report, which Phoebe Putney Health System CEO Joel Wernick said officials at Phoebe wished to gain input on before communitywide distribution.

The report said Phoebe provided more than $308 million in community benefits to Southwest Georgia in 2014 while also generating more than $1.2 billion in revenue to the economy in the Albany area and throughout Georgia.

The report comes as attention has been drawn to nonprofits that have taken property off the tax rolls in Dougherty County. Wernick took the platform Thursday to express frustration on the perception that Phoebe does not pay taxes on any of the property it owns, some of which is vacant and not currently being used for health care-related purposes.

In fact, Wernick said, Phoebe spends almost $1 million on such taxes.

“It is a misnomer to say that we don’t,” he said.

The report ties into the next phase of the Phoebe rebrand, which centers on messaging of Phoebe’s mission. When it is widely distributed, the report will appear on Phoebe’s website, Wernick said.

Informational reports were also given before the Hospital Authority on the Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital oncology floor renovation, which Austin said would be completed and open by June 30; the future medical student housing complex that will be accommodating up to 45 people when it opens next year, and the community care clinic on Fourth Avenue.

Laura Shearer, senior vice president of patient care services at the hospital, said the community clinic has exceeded expectations in terms of patient census, which is at an average of 50 per day. Opened on March 1, the goal has been to divert less emergent cases that would otherwise congest the emergency center located across the street.

Over the month of April, Shearer said, the clinic went from seeing 84 patients a week to 255 patients a week. In a breakdown of age groups, those ages 36-59 were seen at the clinic most often. Just under 38 percent of patients have been self-pay, she said.

The goal has been for patients to be triaged within 10 minutes, be seen by a nurse practitioner and back out the door in 70 minutes, targets that Shearer said have been met.

Acute upper respiratory infection and acute pharyngitis were the top diagnoses through April 17. Patients pay based on a sliding scale fee model, and consults are conducted in cases that a patient may need a higher level of care.

There are already hopes of expanding the community care clinic outside its existing space. A neighboring building is in Phoebe’s sights, but Wernick said the Albany Dougherty Historic Preservation Commission has denied permission for demolition. Wernick said the intent is to revisit that option.