DEMOREST – On Wednesday, about 75 people gathered behind Habersham Medical Center in Demorest to break ground for a new rehabilitation facility.
The roughly 10,000-square-foot building will cost about $3 million and should be occupied by November 2020.
“We’re very excited about new growth and development, about this new rehab center which is going to house programs that we have that have been growing and growing and growing despite our restrictive physical location, and we’re very excited to see this happening as evidence of our own growth as well as our partnership with Northeast Georgia – and our responsibility to this community,” said Habersham Medical Center CEO Lynn Boggs.
“Specifically, we’re going to have cardiac and pulmonary rehab,” Boggs said. “Those are programs that are housed in the middle of the hospital today in a very restrictive space, and they’ve been growing tremendously. We have a very reputable program and the community knows it and they use it. Then, we’re also going to add all our physical therapy, so that’s just not about your body and your physical self, but it’s about speech and occupational health and everything we can do to help a person gain their normal life after they’ve had surgery or an injury.”
Cardiac rehab began in Habersham County in 1986, under the leadership of Dr. Stuart Sanders. Habersham Medical Center was one of the first rural hospitals in the nation to get certified in cardiac rehab.
“So that’s a great legacy,” Boggs said. “We just want to keep that going and keep it growing.”
The new facility, located at the current end of Adams Drive near Habersham Home West, is the first of several planned new facilities to expand and improve care at the Demorest hospital campus.
“This is really a great day,” said Chairman Jim Carboy of the Hospital Authority of Habersham County. “For the last two years-plus, we’ve been working with our friends in Gainesville, and this is the first physical evidence that it’s working. It has been a pleasure to work with Lynn and her leadership team. They have done a fantastic job here over the last two years, improving everything that could be improved and keeping the doors open, which has been no simple task over that period of time.”
Director of Rehab Service Ben Jordan, who has been with Habersham Medical Center for 12 years, said he looks forward to the improved efficiency and level of care that will result from the new facility.
“It’s such an exciting time as we embark on this journey of growth and expansion,” Jordan said. “As we mark the beginning for new construction, we reaffirm the ideals for which this building will stand. Those are our I care values: integrity, compassion, accountability, respect and excellence. For decades to come, this building will serve the needs of Habersham County and surrounding communities by providing them with orthopedic and rehab facilities that they deserve.”
Boggs said Habersham Medical Center has not been without its challenges, but she feels like this groundbreaking is creating new energy and excitement.
“I think if you look at rural hospitals in America, and particularly rural hospitals in Georgia, you see a lot of distressed hospitals,” Boggs said. “And that has a lot to do with the healthcare system in America. But our jobs, as leaders of rural hospitals, are to figure out how to solve these problems and to keep access available to our local communities.”
Boggs said the community has been supportive of keeping the hospital open.
“Habersham County is a unique and wonderful place,” Boggs said. “The people here are wonderful, and they deserve great access to healthcare. In partnership with Northeast Georgia now, we’re able to provide the same level of care. We have the same providers and we’re working together to expand and grow this campus so that we will be here for the foreseeable future and be part of the Northeast Georgia Health System.”
Habersham Medical Center has a major financial impact on Habersham County’s economy, which is another reason it’s important to keep the doors open, Boggs said.
“That’s important when you think about not just access to great healthcare, it’s an important economic driver for Habersham County,” Boggs said. “We contribute anywhere between $70 [million] and $90 million a year in economic impact to this county, so we have a responsibility not just to provide healthcare but to provide economic health for the county of Habersham.”
In addition to other rehab services being collocated under the roof of the new facility, Habersham Medical Center also will be able to free up another facility for another practice.
“Then last, we’re going to move our orthopedic practice, which is located down the street today, into this facility because those things cohabitate very nicely,” Boggs said. “Our orthopedic patients always need some kind of rehab help and that will be a natural partnership, so they will have a new practice as well.”
Jordan summed up the groundbreaking as a positive for Habersham County and the surrounding communities.
“I feel that groundbreaking of this facility demonstrates the fact that Habersham Medical is carrying out our mission statement of being committed for a healthy community, for exceptional care and service, along with our vision of being the trusted healthcare provider, partner and employer of choice for the communities we serve.”
