Should negotiations for the sale of BJC Medical Center to an Atlanta group bear fruit, the new owners plan to build a new BJC Hospital as part of a medical complex on the Maysville Road.
Group Would Build Hospital On Maysville Road
Kevin Attarha, senior development executive for EDT Inc., indicates that Doctors Hospital of Georgia would take advantage of an offer of land made to BJC Medical Center by Dr. James Bouchard, who is developing Commerce Medical Village on the Maysville Road.
Bouchard, a podiatrist, had offered to donate up to 65 acres to the BJC Medical Center Authority in 2007 after the authority announced plans to build a new hospital. The authority ultimately decided to build on land donated by David Chatham between U.S. 441 and old U.S. 441 at the northern terminus of Hospital Road. That plan fell through when the Jackson County and Banks County boards of commissioners declined to back bonds for a $35 million construction project.
Last May, when the Commerce City Council approved rezoning of two tracts for the Bouchard project, the group announced its intention of constructing a hospice facility, two 48,000-square-foot medical buildings, a pharmacy and other retail space, all part of a first phase. Dr. Peter Lee, chairman of the group’s membership committee, predicted that work would begin “in four to six weeks.” To date, construction has not started.
EDT Inc. is the developer of the Commerce Medical Village.
“If everything works out, our intention for the future is to move the hospital to the Commerce park,” Attarha confirmed. He said that Bouchard’s only involvement with BJC Medical Center is in the donation of land.
A Familiar Name
The project manager for EDT’s BJC plan is Bill Williams, who resigned this fall as BJC Medical Center’s chief financial officer.
Williams said EDT’s investors are Atlanta area physician members, but adds that local investors will also be solicited among local physicians.
He also stated that BJC’s financial condition is a concern for the new group.
“They are bleeding red ink big-time,” he pointed out. “The $300,000 loss in October really caught the investors’ intention. They may be a little skittish at this point.”
Both Williams and Attarha projected that the matter would come to a head in 90 days.
“We’re in due diligence at this point, but we’re going to try to get the deal done,” Williams said. “We’ve got to bring in doctors to turn things around ... It’s going to take better management, more doctors and some money.”
Bouchard, a podiatrist, had offered to donate up to 65 acres to the BJC Medical Center Authority in 2007 after the authority announced plans to build a new hospital. The authority ultimately decided to build on land donated by David Chatham between U.S. 441 and old U.S. 441 at the northern terminus of Hospital Road. That plan fell through when the Jackson County and Banks County boards of commissioners declined to back bonds for a $35 million construction project.
Last May, when the Commerce City Council approved rezoning of two tracts for the Bouchard project, the group announced its intention of constructing a hospice facility, two 48,000-square-foot medical buildings, a pharmacy and other retail space, all part of a first phase. Dr. Peter Lee, chairman of the group’s membership committee, predicted that work would begin “in four to six weeks.” To date, construction has not started.
EDT Inc. is the developer of the Commerce Medical Village.
“If everything works out, our intention for the future is to move the hospital to the Commerce park,” Attarha confirmed. He said that Bouchard’s only involvement with BJC Medical Center is in the donation of land.
A Familiar Name
The project manager for EDT’s BJC plan is Bill Williams, who resigned this fall as BJC Medical Center’s chief financial officer.
Williams said EDT’s investors are Atlanta area physician members, but adds that local investors will also be solicited among local physicians.
He also stated that BJC’s financial condition is a concern for the new group.
“They are bleeding red ink big-time,” he pointed out. “The $300,000 loss in October really caught the investors’ intention. They may be a little skittish at this point.”
Both Williams and Attarha projected that the matter would come to a head in 90 days.
“We’re in due diligence at this point, but we’re going to try to get the deal done,” Williams said. “We’ve got to bring in doctors to turn things around ... It’s going to take better management, more doctors and some money.”
I guess building a new jail and court house was more important than our citizens health and there healthcare needs. After all; the majority of Banks, Jackson, and Commerce would use a hospital, hopefully the majority would not use the jail.
Should the hospital close down thank your local commissioners. After all, they only want to help the ones that do the crime, not keeping the citizens of Banks, Jackson, and Commerce healthily and happy. Any of us could die in route to any other hospital, it would be so nice to have a good hospital in this area and I believe that this is a good hospital it just needs the support of the 2 counties and the city of Commerce.
The hospitals in Athens are more modern, have larger, more well equipped and well staffed departments, and can handle cases that BJC can't.
So, if wanting to go to one of them instead of BJC makes me an idiot and makes you smart, then I'm glad I'm not in your classification.
And thanks for showing how truly intelligent YOU are to everyone, I'm sure they enjoyed it.
It was not until I started working in a hospital,particularly BJC,that I can honestly say that they do a tremendous job with what they have to work with.If the tax dollars that have been paid to the counties for the past 48yrs were not wasted and were used for what they were collected for then there would be no need for all this discussion about a new facility.some may still disagree but if you are a tax payer in jackson and banks counties then you pay hospital tax and I think it only right someone explain where 48yrs of taxes have went.they have not gone to the hospital,thats a fact,check it out your self.
being there for all; in the times of need.
Keep up the good work!
There are more people in the community than you could
think of that is behind you all, and pulling for a new
hospital.
I would say the hospital would be used a lot more by the
community than a jail. We will not only pay for the
construction, but we will pay for the inmate to be there
as well. A new Hospital makes more since to me. But it
seems to me others ( you could guess who?) would rather
see the prisoner have a better facility. It just does
not add up to me!
Where have our priorities gone?
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, AND THANK YOU!
And to think we would rather spend millions on a prison
to make an inmates facility nicer than that of a better
hospital? Wow, where is the priority here!
Looks like the people that we support deos not support us!
There must be more money in the prison system!
Do you expect to get free care?? I beleive the hospital is trying to make an effort to COLLECT for services rendered. That in itself is probably the main reason that the hospital is in the financial shape that it is in because people do not pay for services. People use the ER like a doctors office. If you went to your primary care physician, they would expect pay at the time services were rendered, so why is it so wrong for BJC to do the same?? Where else can you go and have services performed and walk out without paying?? Can you get gas, buy groceries, or power your home without paying your bill?? If people go elsewhere to have services rendered, they are asked to pay their deductable or put some money down and sign a payment plan on reimbursement. It never seems to amaze me on how many people want to get something for nothing!!