Phoebe Board gets update on Mitchell County clinics
Services between two clinics include family medicine, orthopaedics and cardiology
By Jennifer Parks
ALBANY — Physician assistant Greg Shiver practices family medicine with Phoebe Family Medical Center in Camilla, where he has been treating new patients as well as chronic care and urgent care cases for 18 years.
Shiver was at the first Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital board meeting of the year to give an overview of the care provided there — while updates were also given on recent patient traffic loads and an accreditation survey.
Shiver followed in his father’s footsteps, Dr. Robert Shiver, who worked at the center when it opened in 1992. The clinic became Phoebe Putney Health System’s first regional primary health care clinic with the purpose of expanding access to under served citizens in Mitchell County.
The physician assistant works with two family medicine physicians, Drs. Barbara Kupka-Smith and Tony Ukaonu, treating patients. Some of that treatment includes acute care of lacerations and fractured bones as well as management of diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidemia.
“We do a little bit of everything,” he said.
Two Phoebe Health System practices currently exist in Mitchell County, with the other being in Pelham — which is staffed by Dr. David Drury, Dr. Cynthia Drury and family nurse practitioner Kitty Beasley.
At the Camilla site, patients also get orthopaedic care every other Wednesday from Drs. Robert Pilcher and Troy Skidmore, and cardiology care once a month from Dr. Kashap Amin.
“It has allowed us to triple our practice,” Greg Shiver said of the specialty care.
Greg Shiver holds a Master of Medical Science and physician assistant degree from Emory University, and a bachelor’s degree in biology from Georgia Southern University. He is a member of the Georgia Composite Medical Board, Georgia Association of Physician Assistants and American Academy of Physician Assistants.
In addition to working at the Camilla clinic, the younger Shiver works weekend duty at the convenient care center at Phoebe Northwest in Albany.
Brian Church, chief financial officer with the health system, noted that activity within Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital was down slightly the last three months of 2015 compared to the same time the previous year — saying that one of the likely causes was the difference in flu activity.
He also said births, which can often fluctuate, have been down.
“We have seen 150 fewer births than what we would have expected to see at this point,” Church said.
Joe Austin, chief operating officer for the system, discussed the DNV GL Healthcare accreditation survey that took place late last year. Sixteen surveyors, half of them fire marshals, came into the Phoebe hospitals and spent eight days conducting inspections.
Austin told the board there were “very few” issues found by the survey.
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