Coastal Georgia Hospitals Build Reputation for Excellence
Published Aug 18, 2009
Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah
Coastal Georgia is canvassed by a comprehensive health-care system that includes state-of-the-art research hospitals, award-winning care options and dedicated community involvement.
The two-hospital St. Joseph’s/Candler Health System, totaling 636 beds, draws on a long tradition of excellence.
Candler Hospital, which opened as Georgia’s first hospital in 1804, is the second-longest continuously operating hospital in the nation. St. Joseph’s was established when the Sisters of Mercy created St. Joseph’s Infirmary in 1875 to care for ill sailors. The two Savannah hospitals began operating jointly in 1997.
“Our faith-based philosophy and exceptional doctors have kept people coming to St. Joseph’s/Candler for more than 200 years,” says Paul P. Hinchey, president and CEO of SJ/C. “But we have also aggressively invested in the newest technology so residents don’t have to travel to other cities to get medical care.”
The system’s Nancy N. and J.C. Lewis Cancer and Research Pavilion is one of 10 organizations nationwide selected to participate in the National Community Cancer Centers Program pilot project of the National Cancer Institute.
A women’s hospital, a heart hospital and an institute for advanced bone and joint surgery are a few of the system’s other signature services. St. Joseph’s/Candler also features a newly renovated neuro-ICU – a program for remotely diagnosing and treating stroke patients – a da Vinci Surgical System and a groundbreaking treatment for chronic acid reflux disease.
Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah is a two-state health-care organization that serves a 35-county area in Coastal Georgia and southern South Carolina.
The system includes its flagship hospital, a 530-bed academic medical center, as well as a primary and specialty physician networks, a major medical education program, and business and industry services.
Memorial houses the Curtis and Elizabeth Anderson Cancer Institute, and is noted for its children’s and women’s services, education programs and NurseOne, a 24-hour call center.
The Southeast Georgia Health System includes a 316-bed hospital in Brunswick and a newly renovated care center in Camden County with 40 beds.
Its Cancer Care Center is accredited by the M.D. Anderson Physician’s Network.
“We have what we consider, and what everyone else considers, a world-class cancer program,” says Jackie Weder, vice president of marketing and public relations for the Southeast Georgia Health Center.
New technology being utilized by the health system includes digital mammography and robotic surgery for partial knee replacements.
Camden County’s 90,000-square-foot expansion, which opened in March 2009, also includes a new ICU with five beds and 12 integrative labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum rooms for mothers and newborns.
The hospital is also opening a breast-care center, a joint-replacement center and a 20,000-square-foot medical building on St. Simons Island in fall 2009.
In April 2009, the hospital broke ground on a 6,550-square-foot expansion of the Miriam & Hugh Nunnally Maternity Care Center on the Brunswick campus. When complete, the center will feature 24 redesigned labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum rooms.
Story by Michaela Jackson
Photo by Todd Bennett
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