Plans are underway for Jenkins County Hospital to be sold to the Savannah based Community Hospital Management Company, LP. From left, are Michael W. Kleinpeter, Chief Executive Officer of Southeastern Orthopedic Center and Community Hospital Management Company, LP; Stuart Babcock, MD, general surgeon; and Pete Mills, Jenkins County Hospital Chief Executive Officer. (Staff photo by Deborah Bennett) Changes are coming to Jenkins County Hospital (JCH). The announcement was made last week that the Community Hospital Management Company (CHMC), LP, based in Savannah, has negotiated purchase of the facility.

CHMC, the Jenkins County Hospital Authority and the Jenkins County Commissioners have agreed to terms of the sale, and effective July 1, CHMC entered into a consulting agreement with JCH to help manage the hospital before the purchase. When a publicly-owned hospital is converted to a privately-owned hospital in Georgia, the organizations must get approval from the Attorney General; therefore, the deal is not expected to close until early October 2010. The purchase price agreed upon is $500,000, according to Michael W. Kleinpeter, Chief Executive Officer of CHMC and Southeastern Orthopedic Center (SOC).

“I am really excited about this in that not only will the community be getting additional medical services, but I believe it will be a very good economic move for Jenkins County,” commented Pete Mills, JCH Chief Executive Officer.

Mr. Mills said he will remain through the transitional period but plans to retire after 13 years with JCH.

Kleinpeter explained that CHMC is comprised of a group of Savannah physicians at SOC and other physicians. CHMC and SOC currently employ about 600 persons and operate 18 clinics throughout southeast Georgia.

“We model physician driven medicine in which physicians are better able to control the quality of service and outcome,” said Mr. Kleinpeter.

Employment at JCH is expected to increase as services are expanded and additional physicians are recruited. Mr. Kleinpeter noted that the staff at the The Doctors Hospital of Tattnall (the other hospital owned by CHMC) has doubled since CHMC purchased the facility in 2008.

JCH will remain a Critical Access Hospital and will continue to operate as an acute care facility offering primary care, emergency room services, in-patient admissions, swing bed admission, imaging and therapy, with a concentration on surgical services. Planned upgrades to existing equipment and renovations are expected to be completed by the end of the year.

“We are recruiting primary care physicians, general surgeons, orthopedic surgeons, ENT surgeons, and will offer pain management and endoscopic procedures,” said Mr. Kleinpeter.

Progress has already been made in this area. Delan Gaines, MD, an orthopedic surgeon, is currently seeing patients, and Stuart Babcock, MD, a general surgeon, has been recruited to begin seeing patients Aug. 1. Dr. Babcock has 18 years of medical experience and has practiced throughout southeast Georgia. His specialties include a broad range of general and laparoscopic surgery along with endoscopic procedures. Also, Frederick Kuhn, MD, an ENT specialist, will begin seeing patients every Friday at JCH in August.

“This hospital is in a terrific location and has a lot of potential. We have been met with nothing but open arms and are very excited to be here,” said Mr. Kleinpeter.

A public hearing on the proposed sale of the hospital will be held 2 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 1, at the JCH Meeting Room.