- SGMC Health is investing $150 million in enhancements for its Valdosta main campus.
- The project includes a new women and infants tower, an upgraded emergency department, and a change in the main entrance location.
- Watch the video to hear how this will help neighbors gain greater access to healthcare.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT
11.7% of rural Georgians have limited access to healthcare.
"Sometimes you have a waiting list; you have to wait for care for several months."
South Georgia Medical Center is hoping to change that for the Azalea City.
I'm Malia Thomas your neighborhood reporter in Valdosta, and I'm tracking how this hospital expansion will give neighbors here more healthcare options.
Desiree Lovins has lived in Georgia for nearly a decade and Valdosta for 8 years.
As she advances in age, she is experiencing more health problems.
"So many multiple, physical problems..."
She tells me its hard to access adequate healthcare, as specialists for her conditions are located outside of Valdosta.
"Two of my doctors are out in Thomasville. I'm staying with friends and they take me. I don't know how they're going to keep doing it."
SGMC Health is looking to change that for neighbors like her.
SGMC Health is diving into a $150 million transformation for its Valdosta main campus, aiming to ramp up services and accessibility. Changes include a revamped women and infants' tower, a state of the art new emergency department and trauma center, plus a main entrance switch-up from Pendleton Drive to Woodrow Wilson Drive.
They're kicking things off by optimizing spaces and clearing the way for more parking by bidding adieu to the old South Georgia Regional Library and Mathis City Auditorium buildings.
SGMC Health's President and CEO, Ronald E. Dean, expressed his excitement in getting the project off of the ground:
"I couldn't be more proud of our SGMC Health team of employees, physicians and volunteers who laid the ground work for this transformative project through their commitment and dedication to the region of people we serve in South Georgia and surrounding communities."
Stage three of the project will being fall of 2024 with an estimated two-year time frame. In Valdosta, I'm Malia Thomas, reporting for ABC27.
