Lee County hospital certificate of need approved

Jennifer Parks

ALBANY — The Georgia Department of Community Health approved Wednesday a certificate of need for a $123.9 million, 60-bed hospital in Lee County.

“In terms of quality of life and economic development, this is the best thing to happen in this part of the the state in at least a decade,” Winston Oxford, director of the Lee County Chamber of Commerce and the Lee County Development Authority, said.

The CON will not be finalized until a 30-day appeals period has elapsed, but Lee officials said they plan to move forward with infrastructure plans. Lee County Commissioner Rick Muggridge said a special called meeting of that board is likely to convene in the next 24 hours to get that process started.

“We are just delighted,” Muggridge said. “This is a long time coming.”

Indeed, Lee officials started working more than five years ago with entities in the health care industry on a plan to bring the hospital to the county. A series of events that included a Phoebe Health System agreement with the Federal Trade Commission that allowed Phoebe to purchase then-Palmyra Medical Center but prevented the Albany-based health system from opposing a CON application in a specific geographic area — including Lee County — as well as growing frustration among residents and officials over the costs of operating the county-owned Grand Island Golf Club — where the Lee hospital will be located — at a significant loss helped pave the way for the project that won CON approval.

“It’s been a long five years coming,” Oxford said in a text message Wednesday after the DCH announced the CON approval.

Muggridge, who serves on the board of the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, said his knowledge of how such state entities operate gave him confidence that the Department of Community Health would see the Lee Medical Center’s paperwork as a strong and complete application.

“This is going to make a real difference in real people’s lives,” he said.

Muggridge had told The Herald last week after the county completed its response to an October opposition hearing at which the Dougherty County Commission, Crisp Regional Hospital in Cordele, the nonprofit Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals and Lee/Dougherty County Realtor William Hancock laid out their concerns before the DCH, he was certain that state officials would approve the CON.

“It’s not going to be about personalities; it’s going to be about the application,” Muggridge said. “And we have a strong application. We checked off all the boxes.”

Muggridge’s fellow Lee commissioner, Vice Chairman Billy Mathis, called the DCH decision a “milestone” Wednesday.

“This is an exciting milestone for our county,” Mathis said. “Our No. 1 priority is to do what’s right for our community, and we appreciate the department’s effort in allowing us to provide the high-quality health care our community wants and deserves.”

A statement released by Lee officials noted that “over the past several months, the county worked with a team of experts to provide a choice in local hospital services.” The statement added that the “new 60-bed general hospital will be a full-service health care provider, offering both acute and emergency care services such as an ICU, medical/surgical unit, inpatient and outpatient services, MRI and CT scan capabilities.”

Franklin, Tenn.-based Surgical Development Partners LLC CEO Eddie Alexander, who will also serve as CEO of LCMC OPCO, the entity that was officially granted the certificate of need and will operate and manage the Lee County facility, said there is a strong need in Southwest Georgia for health care options.

“We are extremely pleased with the department’s CON approval,” Alexander said. “Throughout this process, it’s been clear that there is a strong need for increased access to affordable, quality care. I am proud to be part of this effort, and I hope that others will join me in securing the future of health care for the Southwest Georgia region.

Monty Veazey, the CEO of the Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals, who had told the Dougherty County Commission during a presentation before that board that the commission had “a fiduciary responsibility to oppose the Lee hospital,” expressed disappointment after the DCH ruling was handed down.

“It’s very disappointing for Phoebe Putney and Dougherty County,” Veazey said when told of the decision. “The only one who can appeal is Crisp Regional because they are the only one who has legal standing in the matter.”

The Dougherty County Commission offered opposition to the facility, citing the adverse effect the board said it would have on Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany and on health care service delivery in Southwest Georgia.

“Well, that’s that; the county has no legal standing. The one who does is Crisp Regional. Other than that, I have nothing say,” Dougherty County Attorney Spencer Lee said.

Dougherty County Commission Chairman Chris Cohilas lamented the “politicizing” of the hospital issue, which frequently pitted Lee and Dougherty County citizens against each other.

“The Department of Community Health made a decision without considering the adverse economic impact it would have on Dougherty and neighboring counties,” Cohilas said. “This is a process that has been overly politicized, but we need to remember that both Dougherty and Lee counties share a lot of the same citizens.”

Attorney Rob Rozier, who represented Dougherty County’s interests at the opposition hearing, said DCH had exceeded its statutory authority in making the ruling.

“Not having spoken to the (Dougherty) County Commission in detail, I don’t want my remarks to be attributed to the county,” he said. “My personal opinion is, the decision is disappointing. It’s entirely based on (the fact that) the DCH had created an exemption for county-funded projects that are the sole (health care) provider and county-funded by at least 20 percent. Under that rule, the department did not consider any effect the new hospital would have on existing hospitals or the existing health care delivery system. They also didn’t consider if there was a specific need for the hospital.

“(Dougherty County) in its opposition letter said the exception rule exceeds the Department of Community Health’s statutory authority and (the exception) shouldn’t be applied in this instance because the Lee County Development Authority (which will issue bonds that will make up 61 percent of the cost of the hospital) is not the Lee County Commission and not the governing board of the county. So we didn’t think the exemption should apply, but the department didn’t address that in its decision. Once the exemption was applied, it was all easy going (for Lee County) from that point on.”

Contacted by The Herald, Phoebe officials responded with a brief statement after the ruling was handed down.

“Today’s decision by the Department of Community Health is an important step in the certificate of need process; however, it is likely not the final step,” the Phoebe statement said. “The CON opposition has the right to appeal the decision.

“Throughout this process, Phoebe has abided by our voluntary consent agreement with the Federal Trade Commission, and we will continue to do so. We will not comment on the merits of the application or be involved in any way in a potential appeal.”

Crisp Regional Hospital officials said late Wednesday they were weighing options.

“The DCH decision to support an out-of-state, for profit, investor group in direct competition with a community, publicly operated non-profit, safety-net hospital is disappointing,” Crips Regional officials said in a statement. “Over the next few days, our staff and our volunteer board of trustees will work to gain an appreciation for the rationale behind the DCH conclusion and determine if any future opposition is appropriate.”

In its ruling, the DCH said its decision is subject to appeal within 30 days of the date it was rendered, and that Lee County would be notified if such a bona fide appeal is filed. In that case, the CON would be suspended pending the resolution of the appeal.

The agency advised against making a substantial obligation of funding to the project until the appeals period has expired.

Terry Lewis and Carlton Fletcher contributed to this report.