THOMASVILLE — The question mark over the future of Southwestern State Hospital was removed Wednesday afternoon during a visit by the commissioner of the newly-formed Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.

Commissioner Dr. Frank E. Shelp said Southwestern and the state hospital in Savannah will both remain open.

“I have no hesitation saying there are no plans to close either hospital,” he said. “They provide fundamental services and both these areas similarly need to have a local continuum of care available. These two hospitals are at the corners of the state and will be necessary components in any future plan for adult and community-based services as it develops.”

It was announced in January that Southwestern would be closed in 2012 as part of a four-year plan designed to improve mental health services statewide.

Local residents, dignitaries, state representatives and others joined forces to campaign for the hospital’s survival and its importance in the community. But no definitive answer had been given regarding the hospital’s future.

Hilary Hoo-you, regional hospital administrator, expressed excitement upon receiving a definitive answer.

“I think our almost 900 employees were very excited to hear the commissioner definitively say we will still be open and doing business as we have been since 1966,” she said.

The hospital has more than 200 beds on campus for either developmentally disabled or adult mental health consumers, Hoo-you said. There are some community programs located on the hospital grounds and 13 community homes outside the hospital.

Wednesday marked Shelp’s first visit to Thomasville and the last stop on his tour through the state facilities under his supervision.

“Thomasville as a community is quite striking and, as you drive through the middle of town, you quickly see a connection to how close the community is and the people are to each other,” he said.

“On the hospital campus, there is a sense this is a place of comfort and security and that the community both takes pride in and relies upon it. Upon learning the history of the recent tornado and the community’s response, it is apparent there is a partnership between the hospital and the community.”

The DBHDD, effective July 1, is in charge of services for mental health, developmental disabilities and addictive diseases. It was created as part of the reorganization of the former Department of Human Resources.

The oversees employees across the state involved in policy, programs, and service delivery, including those who work at the seven state hospitals.

Shelp said, since the department is new, it must first get organized.

“Our strategic vision and plan for the immediate future is, first of all, to finish developing and building the department,” he said. “We are less than three months old and a number of key positions are not settled. We want to incorporate the entire state in the department and not just be a bureaucratic center in Atlanta.”

The second part of the plan is developing partnerships with other health care facilities, community service boards, private institutions and state departments.

The third part is technology, broken into three segments:

• establishment of electronic medical records to ensure accessible patient data;

• developing a responsive and flexible information management system with uniform reporting for accurate assessments of needs and planning initiatives based on data;

• and, telemedicine — having psychiatrists available for evaluations via video in areas where consumers may not have access to them — and video conferencing, or having more frequent, shorter meetings to stay up-to-date and bridge geographic distances in the state.

“The goal is to bring facilities together so we will have more uniform practices and reporting, but also so we will be one department, statewide without boundaries,” Shelp said.

Shelp was appointed by Gov. Sonny Perdue in May.

His experience ranges from the public, private, academic and corporate health care sectors. Some of his past jobs include vice president of medical affairs for First Health Services Corporation in Virginia and corporate medical director for behavioral health for United HealthCare of Minnesota.

“Our vision is very service and people-oriented,” Shelp said of the new department’s mission. “We are not primarily focused on the brick and mortar: buildings do not serve people, they are just a location of services. Our focus is on rendering services in the most effective and efficient way. It really is about the people.”

Thomasville Mayor Pro Tem Camille Payne, who met Shelp during his visit, is pleased with the news. She said losing the hospital would leave a hole in the community.

“Southwestern is very important to Thomasville,” Payne said. “Those employees need their jobs and we need the services Southwestern provides our community citizens.”