Ronald. E. Dean, SGMC President and CEO
In the past 65 years, South Georgia Medical Center has evolved from a small 100-bed facility known as Pineview General Hospital to a vast regional health system with a combined licensed bed capacity of 480, serving patients in a 15-county area.
“The fundamental purpose of health delivery system is to coordinate healthcare among a vast array of disciplines and services for the benefit of those residing in the communities it serves, regardless of who they are,” says SGMC President and CEO Ronald E. Dean. “I believe our healthcare delivery team has been doing just that, serving this mission continuously for 65 years.”
SGMC is fully accredited by The Joint Commission, the highest mark of quality in the healthcare field, and has earned numerous recognitions at the state and national level. With a team that represents approximately 2,700 employees and a staff of more than 400 medical professionals, SGMC’s health delivery system includes four hospital facilities, dozens of specialty clinics, and a primary care network with offices in Valdosta, Lakeland, Nashville, and Hahira.
“It is because of the commitment of our remarkable physicians, employees, volunteer, and the many people who have served SGMC, we find ourselves even stronger and look forward to a bright future,” Dean says.
65 Years of Service
July 1, 1955: Pineview General Hospital officially opened
Oct. 20, 1971: Serving the healthcare needs of more than 200,000 persons from South Central Georgia and North Florida, the hospital’s name was changed to South Georgia Medical Center
1972: Lowndes County was among the first Emergency Medical Services in the nation to have trained medics and ambulances with advanced life-support equipment and radio telemetry units.
1975: A $2.3 million construction program was completed, which added a medical intensive care unit, surgical intensive, neonatal intensive care unit, and orthopedic-neurosurgical unit and laboratory.
1982: A $26 million expansion began that included the West Tower building and first floor renovations.
1986: The Cancer Treatment Center was opened, which was later renamed the Pearlman Comprehensive Cancer Center. Today, it is a regional center of excellence and has received state and national awards for quality patient care.
1987: Hospice of South Georgia opened as a supportive care system for a person with limited life expectancy. Today, Hospice of South Georgia serves eight counties and operates the only inpatient hospice facility in the region.
The Mid-80s: The maternal-child unit was modernized and renamed the Birthplace, which includes birthing rooms for all phases of childbirth, along with traditional separate rooms for labor, delivery, and recovery. SGMC also completed a $1.3 million expansion and renovation of the SGMC laboratory.
1991: The $6 million Langdale Place, a senior living facility, opened.
1996: SGMC added a Cardiology Center with diagnostic testing, a state-of-the-art heart Catheterization laboratory, a monitor bank, a Cardiac Progressive Unit and Cardiac Intensive Care Unit.
2001: SGMC began its open-heart program, and in 2004, two all-digital cath labs were added to better manage the increasing number of cardiac patients treated at SGMC.
2006: Emergency Services moved into a new 40-bed ER, which is a part of SGMC’s designation as a Joint Commission Certified Primary Stroke Center. SGMC’s CODE STEMI program for heart attack patients is a model for emergency medical training. SGMC is also recognized for rapid cardiac catheterizations and the region’s only high-quality open-heart surgery program.
2011: Further expansion of SGMC’s health system was completed, including the acquisition of the 45-bed Smith Northview Hospital. The hospital also introduced a $2.1 million robotic system, which gives physicians the ability to perform minimally invasive surgeries that were ordinarily performed using laparoscopy.
2013: The new Dasher Memorial Heart Center and Patient Tower opened. The $65 million, 130,000-square-foot facility consolidated cardiology services and new, specialty-care nursing units into one easily-accessible location. Also, in 2013, Berrien County Hospital officially became part of SGMC’s health system.
2014: SGMC’s footprint continued to expand regionally with Louis Smith Memorial Hospital’s ownership transfer and the Lakeland Villa Convalescent Center.
2017: SGMC provided a $1.4 million grant to the Partnership Health Center. The funds allowed the non-profit charitable clinic that serves uninsured patients to expand to a larger facility and its hours of operation. This grant has been renewed each year.
2018: The Dasher Heart Center unveiled a state-of-the-art operating room that took vascular and endovascular patients’ treatments to the next level. This hybrid operating room is the only one of its kind south of Macon, combining the most advanced operating room and medical imaging technology.
2020: SGMC partnered with Mercer University School of Medicine to bring internal medicine and emergency medicine residency programs to Valdosta. In 2020, SGMC continued expanding its specialty care by adding neurosurgery, gastroenterology, interventional cardiology, and infectious disease physicians to the team.