Colquitt Regional Plans for Acquisition of Cobblestone Rehabilitation

Colquitt Regional Medical Center recently announced its plans to acquire Cobblestone Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center from Gulf Coast Health Care. Colquitt Regional plans to purchase the skilled nursing facility on March 1, and it will be known as Colquitt Regional Senior Care and Rehabilitation.

“Acquiring Cobblestone will allow us to expand our continuum of care and provide additional services to our patients and this community,” said Colquitt Regional Medical Center President and CEO Jim Matney. “It has been a long-term goal of ours to expand into skilled nursing, so it was the perfect opportunity for us to begin this journey.”

Cobblestone is a 59-bed skilled nursing center that provides care in clinical and skilled nursing, inpatient physical and occupational therapies, and other specialized programs. Patients requiring clinical and skilled nursing care are offered a wide variety of services, such as IV therapy, wound care, post-surgical care, short-term rehabilitation, and long-term, respite, hospice, and palliative care. Physical, occupational, and/or speech therapies are also available to patients, including post-stroke rehab, gait training, pain management, contracture management, cognitive training, swallowing impairments, and post-operative rehab for knee, shoulder, hip, back, etc., among others.

Colquitt Regional Medical Center has well-established rehabilitation therapy programs through the Vereen Center and will partner with the Vereen team to deliver care to patients at the new facility.

“Many of these are services we already offer at Colquitt Regional, so we are excited to announce this new venture and offer a continuation of the same care in a skilled nursing facility,” said Hospital Authority Chairman Richard E. Turner, Jr.

Once acquired, the hospital plans to make significant upgrades to the facility in the coming weeks and months.

“The patients that rely on this facility to provide nursing and rehab care deserve the same exceptional experience that they receive at other Colquitt Regional locations,” said Matney. “We plan to update all of the patient rooms beginning by purchasing new patient beds and extending to other furnishings and removing the popcorn-style ceilings. Common areas will also be updated, and we will invest in improving the outside landscaping. Our vision is to turn this into a facility that residents, family members, employees, and this community can be proud of.”

The new Colquitt Regional Senior Care and Rehabilitation will extend the Colquitt Regional Medical Center continuum of care for seniors in particular, which has been a focus of the organization over the past few years.

Patient volume has continued to increase for Colquitt Regional Home Care Services, which includes Home Health, Palliative Care, Hospice and Private Duty services. A new outpatient service has also been launched, Sterling Group Senior Wellness, that strives to assist senior adults with emotional and behavioral challenges like depression and anxiety.  In addition to the new outpatient services, a Geriatric Psychiatry inpatient unit will open on the second floor at Colquitt Regional in the next few weeks. This unit will provide intensive treatment for the elderly who suffer from acute psychiatric disorders, cognitive impairment, and age-related physiological disabilities.

“We recognize the growing need for all levels of care for those aging in our community,” said Turner. “We want to do our part to make sure we provide a full spectrum of high-quality healthcare to patients in the home setting, at a skilled nursing facility, or within the walls of Colquitt Regional Medical Center.”

One of the next steps for growth would be the establishment of a geriatric track within the Georgia South Family Medicine Residency Program. Adding a skilled nursing facility to Colquitt Regional Medical Center will allow for additional training opportunities with geriatric patients for resident physicians.

Colquitt Regional Medical Center began working with Gulf Coast Health Care in December to start the purchasing process and will continue to work with the group to ensure a seamless transition.

“Our organization is proud to soon welcome the Cobblestone team members to the Colquitt Regional family,” said Matney. “Together, this endeavor will allow us to build on the mission of Colquitt Regional Medical Center and provide us with expanded opportunities to serve this community with exceptional, patient-centered care.”

For more information, please contact the Colquitt Regional Marketing department at 229-890-3552.

###