Wednesday, May 28, 2003

South Fulton Medical Center celebrates 40th anniversary

Exactly 40 years ago, South Fulton Medical Center opened its doors and began offering medical services for the south Fulton community.

Since being acquired by Tenet HealthSystem 2 years ago, South Fulton Medical Center has entered into a period of rapid, positive change. Tenet has invested over $10 million in facility renovations and new equipment. Over 70 physicians and allied health practitioners have been added to the staff for a total of 430 physicians.

Two years ago, the medical office building was 1/3 empty. Today it has a waiting list of doctors wanting to locate their offices in the Medical Arts Building.

Tenet's Annual Physician Satisfaction Survey indicated an increase in satisfaction from 72.6 percent in 2001 to 82.3 percent in 2003. This 13.4 percent increase is the highest in the Southeast region and one of the largest in Tenet.

Tenet is committed to continued capital investment in South Fulton Medical Center. Every floor of the hospital has been renovated since Tenet became affiliated with South Fulton in 2001.

South Fulton will be breaking ground on a new $8.5 million Emergency Department this summer. Renovation of Four North to a 40-bed long-term acute care facility has begun. The hospital has just installed a new state-of-the-art, all-digital, Cardiac Catheterization Lab and upgraded the MRI with cutting edge computer technology.

South Fulton Medical Center remains devoted to providing the highest quality of service to its community. Our nurses made a transition to all-white uniforms making a positive impact on patient care and are the only nurses in metro Atlanta to have done so. The nurses carry wireless phones with them at all time so that patients can contact them directly whenever they need to. Customer service representatives and administrators visit patients daily to make their stay as comfortable as possible.

South Fulton Medical Center is East Point's largest corporate citizen, economic generator and employer. SFMC was awarded "The East Point Business Association Hall of Fame Award" for its commitment to economic growth in the City of East Point during the city's annual business awards luncheon last year. South Fulton has expanded its charity care and is extending its hours at the Willie J. Freeman Clinic in College Park that includes family practice and obstetrics/gynecological services.

The 356-bed acute care hospital located on Cleveland Avenue, serves more than 50,000 outpatients, 8,500 inpatients, and 40,000 emergency patients each year. In addition, SFMC is the hospital of record for Hartsfield International Airport.

South Fulton Medical Center, a 392-bed acute care hospital has been affiliated with the Tenet Healthcare Corporation since April 2001, when it joined four other hospitals that comprise Tenet's greater Atlanta network. In addition to emergency care, the hospital offers cardiac care, including a stroke unit and cardi0-vascular center, joint replacement services, physical and occupational rehabilitation, inpatient oncology, ambulatory surgery and labor and delivery. The hospital also has a level II neonatal intensive care unit.