Goshen Medical Center gets another grant
By Bonnie Edwards
Published in News on August 30, 2004 1:55 PM
Goshen Medical Center has received more money to expand, especially at the clinic in Beulaville.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has notified Goshen that it will receive a $150,000 loan for X-ray equipment and a $40,000 grant to implement system-wide electronic medical records. New computer servers, laptop computers and satellite communications will enable all of the clinics to link electronically.
The money helps the Beulaville clinic receive new specialists, including a pediatrician, a doctor of internal medicine and an obstetrician. The clinic at Beulaville will also get 5,000 more square feet, which will about double the size of the building.
The USDA loan and grant package brought the total money raised from several sources to $717,000. It was the final piece of the puzzle, said Goshen CEO Greg Bounds.
The grants and loans will be added to $835,000 Goshen has already invested in the clinic at Beulaville. Goshen bought the clinic last year from doctors Danny Pate and Bo Quinn.
Bounds has used part of the money to hire a new family practitioner, Rebecca Delaney, who can also perform OB/GYN procedures. "You don't see much of that any more," he said.
The clinic will also receive new offices, exam rooms and nurse stations. Bounds said he's close to starting the bidding process for the construction, and he expects work to begin in September.
Bounds said he's thrilled to be able to offer the expanded services quicker than he had intended last year when Goshen acquired the clinic in Beulaville. He said it's a testament to the character and hard work of the doctors and employees.
The construction will be designed to separate the pediatric patients from other parts of the clinic, to help prevent the spread of childhood diseases to the adults. Well babies and sick babies will also be separated.
Laboratories and check-out places will be designed to give the patients more privacy. X-ray services will be added, and the parking lot will be expanded.
Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust in June approved a $227,000 grant for capital improvements to expand the Beulaville medical center and purchase new equipment.
Other money that will go to the clinic at Beulaville includes $250,000 of a $350,000 job-creation grant from the Department of Health and Human Services.
Goshen opened its doors in 1981 to provide high-quality affordable and accessible health care to people in Duplin and adjoining counties. Today, Goshen operates at six clinics within the service area, which has a population of 50,000.