CareConnect to open community health center in Cuthbert

ATLANTA – State Rep. Gerald Greene, R-Cuthbert, and other local officials will participate in a news conference to discuss CareConnect Health’s new Community Health Center on Monday at 10 a.m. at Southwest Georgia Regional Medical Center’s Medical Clinic in Cuthbert at 125 McDonald Ave. The announcement culminates efforts to open a community health center in Randolph County in light of the recent closure of Southwest Georgia Regional Medical Center in Cuthbert.

“CareConnect Health’s new Community Health Center will allow for the continuation of critical health services that Southwest Georgia Regional Medical Center’s medical clinic provided to so many patients with varying needs,” Greene said in a news release. “I commend the efforts of many local officials who helped make this clinic happen so quickly after the devastating news of the hospital closure. We will continue to work hand-in-hand with ConnectCare Health and other incredible organizations that are committed to bringing quality health care to southwest Georgia.”

“Through this difficult time of transition, I want to thank Rep. Gerald Greene for being with us every step of the way,” Cuthbert Mayor Steve Whatley said. “Thanks to his vision, we will have quality health care in our community. We appreciate Rep. Greene’s compassionate concern and leadership that will allow us to maintain access to health care here at home. We are committed to keeping access to health care available for all in Cuthbert and Randolph County through a partnership with CareConnect. This will allow us to continue providing convenient, quality primary care and chronic disease management services that are so vital for our community.”

CareConnect Health in Cuthbert will provide medical services for the elderly, adults and children. The new clinic will be open seven days a week, from 9 a.m.-8 p.m.; the clinic will operate year-round and will only close on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. CareConnect will accept scheduled appointments, same-day appointments and walk-ins during all access hours. These access hours will provide an alternative to the emergency room at Southwest Georgia Regional Medical Center, and patients will not have to travel for care after hours and during weekends.

“On behalf of CareConnect Health I would like to thank Rep. Gerald Greene, Mayor Steve Whatley, members of Southwest Regional Hospital Authority board and Kim Gilman, CEO of Southwest Regional Hospital, for enabling us to continue providing access to health care in Cuthbert and Randolph County,” Dr. Ajay Gehlot, CEO of CareConnect Health, said. “When the existing hospital and clinic in Cuthbert closes, CareConnect Health will take over the current clinic building to open a primary care office. Rep. Greene and Mayor Whatley have been instrumental in making sure that patients in Cuthbert and Randolph County continue to have access to health care.”

CareConnect Health is an independent nonprofit Community Health Center and is part of a larger system of community health centers in Georgia that provides quality, cost-effective access to health care for more than 600,000 Georgia patients each year. CareConnect Health provides comprehensive primary care services in family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics-gynecology, infectious diseases, dentistry and behavioral health. With 44 locations and more than 130 providers, patients have the convenience and flexibility to find trusted CareConnect Health care close to home.

In addition to all major commercial insurances, the new CareConnect Health clinic will accept Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, Peach State, Wellcare, Amerigroup, CareSource and Tricare. For patients without health insurance, services will be offered on a sliding fee scale. Payment will be set according to one’s income level and family size.

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