Hospital Authority of Albany Dougherty County approves sublease agreement

ALBANY — The Hospital Authority of Albany-Dougherty County approved a sublease agreement that will allow Albany Area Primary Health Care to move forward with a new women’s health center at a former orthopedic facility adjacent to Phoebe North.

The Hospital Authority has approved the establishment of a women’s health facility at the former Albany Arthritis and Orthopedic Center location at 2100 Palmyra Road.

The building is owned by the Hospital Authority and is leased to Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital. The hospital, in turn, is subleasing the property to Albany Area Primary Health Care (AAPHC).

The hospital board acted on the agreement at its meeting on Wednesday before the Authority voted on it at its meeting Thursday.

The practice is expected to serve as a new space for the Mirian Worthy Women’s Health Center, which officials say has outgrown its current space.

“The OB/GYN building that Albany Area Primary Health Care has is too small now,” said Dawn Benson, one of the attorneys for Phoebe, at the hospital’s board meeting on Wednesday. “There is a (former) Palmyra Road orthopedic clinic that was part of the Hospital Authority purchase (of Phoebe North). Albany Area Primary Health Care will apply for a federal grant for renovation, and the hospital will agree to lease it long term without rent.”

Jay Reynolds, attorney for the Hospital Authority, said AAPHC indicated it would be seeking about $900,000 in grant funding for necessary improvements. Approval of the lease agreement by the Authority will allow AAPHC to move forward with the grant application process, he said.

At the Hospital Authority meeting, Joel Callins, whose wife, Dr. Keisha Callins, is a physician at the Mirian Worthy Center, abstained from voting. Dr. Edward Vance, medical staff president at the hospital, and Dr. Bernard Scoggins abstained from voting on the lease arrangement during the board meeting Wednesday due to their affiliation with AAPHC.

The agreement comes a week after the preliminary injunction on Phoebe North was formally removed, allowing for development on the property purchased by the Hospital Authority that had been held up because of litigation relating to the Federal Trade Commission’s opposition to the purchase. A final settlement was announced in the case March 31 through which Phoebe North will remain under Hospital Authority ownership under certain conditions.

In summing up his feelings about the battle with the FTC and its conclusion, Hospital Authority Chair Ralph Rosenberg, reflected on the words of Gerald Ford when he took the presidential oath of office in 1974 following the resignation of President Richard Nixon, stating: “My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over.”

“I feel the same way about the battle with the FTC,” Rosenberg said.

Prior to the roughly 90-minute closed session, Kerry Loudermilk, chief financial officer for Phoebe Putney Health System, presented statements of revenues, expenses and changes in unrestricted net assets for the Hospital Authority as of Feb. 28.

The statements showed the Authority had, based on unaudited figures as of Feb. 28, a total of $58,331 in operating revenue — compared to $100,000 audited figures during Fiscal Year 2014 as well as Fiscal Year 2013. The unaudited figures showed $451,846 in total operating expenses and an operating loss of $393,515. There was a total non-operating income of $350,000, the statements said.