People who live in and around Camilla now have greater access to primary healthcare and easier access to high-demand specialty care.  Physicians will start seeing patients Monday at the new Phoebe Primary Care of Camilla located at 725 Highway 19 South.  Community and Phoebe leaders cut the ribbon on the new clinic Tuesday.
 
“This is a great day for our organization and a great example of our partnership with this community,” said Joel Wernick, Phoebe President & CEO.  “Phoebe opened our first regional primary healthcare clinic here in Camilla in 1992.  This new facility builds on that legacy and shows our commitment to serving the healthcare needs of people in Mitchell County and to improving access to primary care throughout southwest Georgia.”
 
The new 14,000 square foot facility is twice the size of the current clinic.  It includes 18 exam rooms, two procedure rooms and an x-ray room.  It will also house the first urgent care clinic in Mitchell County.  Currently, patients in Camilla who need urgent care must drive about 30 miles to the nearest urgent care clinic.  “That is a service we definitely need in Mitchell County and one that will greatly improve healthcare in our community,” said Dr. Barbara Kupka, a Phoebe Primary Care of Camilla provider.  “We see about 13,000 patients a year in our current clinic.  This new facility will allow us to increase that number and to offer services that patients here have always had to travel elsewhere to access.”
 
The clinic will bring other Phoebe specialty partners from Albany who will work collaboratively with the primary care team in Camilla to treat their patients close to home.  Physicians specializing in cardiology, electrophysiology, pulmonology and orthopaedics will rotate through Phoebe Primary Care of Camilla, allowing patients to receive the expert care they need without having to travel out of town.
 
Electrophysiologist Dr. Edward Koomson is one of those experts.  He looks forward to helping Mitchell Countians with abnormal heartbeats live healthier lives.  “Many of those patients are older.  They have trouble travelling.  Offering care locally will be convenient for them, it will help us ensure they get the care they need and it will result in better health outcomes,” Dr. Koomson said.
 
The family medicine part of the clinic will be open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Initially, the urgent care clinic will see patients from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, but those hours could expand based on demand.  Wernick also said the entire facility could expand in the future to meet the changing healthcare needs of the community.  “We have a little excess dirt around this building,” Wernick said.  “We purchased plenty of land here, so we’ll have room to grow.”