The Georgia Scroll
July 1997
Houston Healthcare Complex:
Meeting the Healthcare Needs of
Houston County and Middle Georgia
Since 1960, Houston Healthcare Complex has successfully combined sophisticated healthcare services with new technology and state-of-the-art facilities, constantly expanding to meet the needs of a fast-growing population. Over the last 10 years. the Complex invested approximately $30 million in major capital improvements in Houston Medical Center; Perry Hospital. its Emergency Medical Services and other facilities.
"Houston Healthcare Complex has been very successful from a financial standpoint which has given us flexibility in the pursuit of our overall mission La the community,' said Raymond B. McCulloch, Chief Financial Officer of Houston Healthcare Complex. "We are looking forward to the challenges and opportunities that are ahead of us in the future"
Originally built in 1960 by the Hospital Authority of Houston County as a 50-bed hospital, Houston Medical Center now a 186-bed facility located ___ in Warner Robins, provides a full range of healthcare 5ervices. including a new $5 million, 25,000 square-foot Women's Center featuring nine LDRP (labor/delivery/delivery/post-partum) birthing suites and ten gynecology rooms. Scheduled to open in August 1997, the Women's Center will include newborn and neonatal intensive care nurseries and educational classrooms, all within an area of the hospital specially designed for women's services.
In June 1995. Houston Medical Center opened its new Emergency Department, a $4.8 million facility with 32 treatment rooms, including rooms equipped for cardiac and trauma care. The hospital's Laparoscopic Surgery Center of Excellence performs progressive, state-of-the-art surgical procedures in an Outpatient Surgery Center which was completed in l993. Warner Robins is home to Robins Air Force Base (AFB) and the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, one of the largest military installations in the country. Faced with strict orders from the Department of Defense to reduce healthcare costs and a lack of funding for the much-needed expansion of facilities, Robins AFB officials began working with Houston Medical Center for a solution. in June 1996. Houston Medical Center and Robins AFB announced a partnership agreement allowing Air Force physicians to admit and provide inpatient treatment for Department of Defense beneficiaries at Houston Medical Center Currently, 30 Air Force physicians have admitting privileges at Houston Medical Center for inpatient care.
"This has been an excellent partnership for our organization and the Air Force. and is the first of its kind of any Air Force 1hospital in the country, stated Dr. Skip McDannald,. CEO of Houston Healthcare Complex. 'It allows us to fill excess bed capacity while accommodating the Air Force's increase in patient population and their need to shift inpatient space from the base hospital."
Perry Hospital, a 45-bed medical/surgical facility built in 1969, offers an array of healthcare services including skilled nursing, physical therapy, rehabilitation, diagnostic imaging, emergency services and intensive care. In November 1996, Perry Hospital opened its new $3.6 million Surgery Center, offering the latest in laparoscopy and endoscopy procedures. and Family Beginnings Maternity Center, featuring six LDRP birthing suites. A $1.7 million addition in 1989 included a new Emergency Room and four-bed Intensive Care Unit.
The Complex also includes Houston Heart institute, a cardiac catheterization laboratory affiliated with the Emory Heart Center. The Institute offers echocardiogram, transesophageal echocardiogram, holter monitoring and pacemaker services.
As the demand for medical care On an outpatient basis continues to grow, Houston Healthcare Complex has responded with the Houston Health Pavilion, a 50,000 square-foot ambulatory care center. Located at the Houston Mall in Warner Robins, the Pavilion includes a full-service Rehabilitation Center offering outpatient physical and occupational therapy, a Counseling and Psychological Services Center, and a Diagnostic and Education Center, including mammography and bone densitometry services.
The Complex also operates two walk-in urgent care centers, each staffed by physicians with on-site laboratory and x-ray services.
With a focus on promoting wellness, Houston Healthcare Complex is committed to health education for the community through its EduCare program, located within the Pavilion Diagnostic and Education Center. EduCare offers a variety of classes. seminars and support groups, as well as a Healthcare Resource Library providing free materials and literature. The Complex also offers HealthSource, a free physician referral and health information service.
Last year, Houston Healthcare Complex, in partnership with 95 local physicians, formed a Management Services Organization to provide administrative services to participating physicians and negotiate managed care contracts for the hospitals and physicians.
"Healthcare in today’s world and here in our own county has become very competitive. As the leading providers of healthcare services in Houston County, we, the hospitals and the doctors, have aligned ourselves with the same clear vision and are working closely together in order to remain competitive and survive," McCulloch added. "We are committed to providing quality, cost-effective medical services to our community, and we must look at new ways of providing healthcare in order to do so."