Phoebe purchases former Westover grocery store

ALBANY – Phoebe Putney Health System has purchased the former grocery store at the corner of Westover Boulevard and Meredyth Drive, the health system announced in a news release Tuesday. And while officials noted the positive economic development impact of the purchase on the community, they did not announce final plans for the property.

Phoebe officials, noting the health care system’s long-term strategy of improving access to quality outpatient health care for Southwest Georgians, said its commitment to making services available in multiple convenient locations is a hallmark of its goals.

“This acquisition will bring new life to a long-empty building and will have a positive impact on our economy,” Phoebe CEO Joel Wernick said in the release. “It will also allow us to expand in-demand services.”

Phoebe has a successful history of repurposing large, unused commercial properties, such as Phoebe Northwest.

“We were able to turn a former grocery store on Dawson Road into a thriving location that serves the primary care, urgent care, and rehabilitation care needs of tens of thousands of Southwest Georgians each year,” Wernick said.

The Dawson Road location now houses the Phoebe Family Medicine Residency, a 24-year-old program that has increased the number of family medicine physicians in Southwest Georgia. In the last fiscal year, Phoebe physician residents and faculty members at Phoebe Primary Care at Northwest saw 22,337 patients.

Phoebe Northwest also is the home of a well-used rehabilitation center. In Fiscal Year 2017, 16,296 patients visited the rehab center a total of 38,836 times. In addition, there were 24,401 patient visits to the hospital’s Phoebe Northwest Urgent Care location in FY ‘17.

Other recent Phoebe patient access investments include a new family medicine center in Camilla, a new community care center in Ellaville and an anticipated new facility to break ground in Buena Vista. These join Phoebe Primary Care Clinics in Dougherty County, Lee County, Sumter County, Worth County and Ben Hill County. Phoebe also has specialty medicine clinics throughout Albany and Americus as well as in Cordele, Fitzgerald and Sylvester.

Final plans for the Meredyth property are still in development and will be publicly announced upon completion.