Southern Spine and Health open at former Albany Blockbuster Video
Ribbon-cutting takes place at new Albany medical practice
By Jennifer Parks
ALBANY — A team of professionals with a dream of opening a medical practice is making use of the former Blockbuster Video space on Stuart Avenue through their recently opened Southern Spine and Health facility.
The facility opened earlier this month and is offering convenient care, chiropractic care, massage, physical therapy and help with weight loss by providers who say they want to make a difference.
The providers all have connections to south Georgia. Among them is Dr. Bradford Cotten, a Deerfield-Windsor School graduate and son of the late Dr. Bennett Cotten Jr.
The elder Cotten, also a native to Albany, returned to the city to begin his practice as an orthopedic surgeon in 1984 and continued working in medicine until his death in 2013.
“We are feeling good, we are excited to finally be open,” Cotten said. “My dad was a surgeon for years in town (and this was a dream of ours).”
The practice’s soft opening took place two weeks before the formal ribbon-cutting on Wednesday, which included officials from the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce. The practice is just starting to market itself, so the patient base is just starting to grow.
The expectation is that the traffic will not be light for long and that patients will be able to get what they need in a relatively short amount of time.
“We saw a good need, and I always wanted to be in health care,” Cotten said. “(The long-term impact will be) good quality convenient care to Albany.
“(We want to offer) a wide array of services in one spot. … Come see us, we will treat you like family.”
Cotten said there will be a determined effort to make good use of the space, which he has memories of from his youth.
“(Blockbuster) used to be the place to be on Friday night,” he said.
The other providers are Dr. Ron Register, another Deerfield alum, and family nurse practitioner Deanna Gilmer, a graduate of Georgia Southwestern State University.
In a video on the practice’s website, Gilmer said that even the treatment of minor illnesses — including colds, flu and sinus infections — when a patient’s regular doctor is not available is meant to be provided in a short amount of time and in a comforting environment.
“I really enjoy being able to take care of patients from the treatment to the follow-through,” she said. “Watching them get better and improve is very satisfactory to me. I like knowing that I have helped somebody and made a difference to them.”
Officials with the practice said Cotten’s brother, Bennett Dixon Cotten III, is expected to join later in the year. An invitation-only open house will be scheduled in the coming weeks.
The practice is taking appointments and walk-ins. For more information, visit www.southernspinehealth.com or call (229) 405-8900.
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