Pictured, from left, are Dennis Crum, Tift Regional Health System senior vice president and chief financial officer; Michael Purvis, CEO of Cook Medical Center in Adel; and Claire Byrnes, vice president of physician services.

TIFTON, Ga. — The Tift County Hospital Authority held a public meeting Monday morning at the Tift Regional Medical Center main campus for area citizens to help them become acquainted with proposed U.S. Department of Agriculture financing to include the construction of Cook Medical Center replacement facility in Adel, a musculoskeletal center in Tifton and a new emergency center and patient tower on the existing campus of Tift Regional Medical Center. Project funds will also be utilized to acquire physician practices in Tift’s service area.

TCHA is applying for project financing through the USDA Community Facilities Program.

William Richardson, president and CEO of TRMC, said this is something that has been in the planning stages as they have tried to address the facility needs in Tifton and other locations where Tift has a presence.

“We’ve tried to factor in the strategic direction where health care is going,” he said. “The health care landscape is changing dramatically as we try to prepare for it.”

Richardson said this has been taken into consideration as they unveil where they are going physically in terms of new facilities and strategically.

“And, how we need to change as an organization at this hospital in terms of improving quality, patient outcomes, the patient experience and also improve our efficiency in the way that we operate,” he added. “The entire business model of health care that we’ve known our entire professional careers is changing and we’re trying to adapt to that.”

“As with anything in health care, it takes quite a bit of capital, money, to accomplish what it is that we want to accomplish,” he noted.

Richardson said they found that a good option for them would be to borrow the money through loans offered through the USDA that extends for a longer period and have a much lower interest rate. This way they can remain financially strong as they enter the plans, develop them and execute them in the upcoming months.

Dennis Crum, Tift Regional Health System senior vice president and chief financial officer, went over where they are in the process with the USDA. He said they have submitted a pre-application with the USDA for a direct loan program, which is broken down into two different phases.

Phase 1 will involve the musculoskeletal center, estimated to cost around $22 million, and replacement of the Cook Medical Center facility ($20 million). Phase 2 will involve replacement of the emergency room at TRMC ($64 million), which they are looking to start in 2018, and the addition of a patient tower, which will allow for them to have all private rooms ($33 million).

Also, Crum said they plan to replace all of their information systems with Cerner and Lawson Systems (possible USDA guarantee program). He noted they have already begun this process. With the guarantee program, USDA will guarantee 90 percent of the loan to a bank, but the actual transaction is between Tift Regional and the bank. He said replacement of the information systems will cost about $37.4 million.

“Right now, it’s a 40-year loan and today’s interest rate is 2.75 percent,” Crum said about the USDA direct loan program. He said they will soon submit the final application. A feasibility report was issued last week from an outside accountant and it was found they can afford the loan.

Richardson noted that if they are approved by the USDA, they are not obligated to undertake each of the proposed projects. He said it gives them some flexibility depending on the environment at the time if they can support the projects.

Sarah Thompson, TRMC vice president of facility management, went over the master facility plan. She said they have been working with their architectural firm, Perkins and Will, for a couple of years on their master plan. She said they have looked at several different concepts and options to relocate the hospital’s ER department.

“Our leadership has chosen to relocate the emergency department to the southeast corner of our property,” Thompson said. “It would be necessary for us to close a portion of 18th Street from Old Ocilla Road up to John Orr Drive so that we could expand our parking due to the location of the emergency department. To replace our emergency department, it’s going to take up to $64 million.”

Currently, they can see between 37 to 43 patients in five different areas in their existing space in the ER at TRMC. The new center will allow them to see up to 45 patients in one continuous area without being separated in different sections.

“In doing this, we will improve our patient experience, our patient satisfaction, which we take very seriously,” Thompson said, noting it will be more beneficial for staff as well. She noted they see approximately 50,000 patients a year in the ER.

The patient tower will be located on top of the ER department, which will give them 30 private beds on the second and third floor levels.

Claire Byrnes, vice president of physician services, went over the plans for the musculoskeletal center. She said this 80,000 square-foot building will be located on the west campus, where Affinity Clinic is located, and will include services for orthopedics, neurology, physical therapy, rheumatology and pain management.

Michael Purvis, CEO of Cook Medical Center in Adel, said replacement of the medical center/Cook Senior Living Center will cost up to $20 million. He said they will be able to eliminate about $2 million in operating loss that they currently have annually and will optimize inventory surgery at this campus. He noted they would like the new campus to be located along Interstate 75 so that it’s more accessible.