After much deliberation, discussion and planning, the Field Memorial Community Hospital (FMCH) Board of Trustees has given final approval to construct a $20 million replacement facility in Centreville.
Officials will break ground January 2014 to begin construction on the facility which will replace the current 61 year old facility located in down-town Centreville. This will be the second facility replacement since Field Hospital opened in 1928. The original hospital was owned and operated by Richard Jennings and Sam Field until 1948 when it was sold to Amite and Wilkinson Counties. The current facility was constructed in 1952 by the two counties.
The new facility will be located on 20 acres the hospital received from Amite and Wilkinson Counties. The property, 178 Highway 24, is the former location of The William Carter Company. FMCH has spent the last several months demolishing the old Carter’s building and preparing the site for construction.
The hospital board has spent the last year planning and designing a new 60,442 square foot replacement facility.
“This is a win-win for FMCH and the people of the communities we serve in Amite and Wilkinson Counties,” said Ann Morris, chairperson of the Board of Trustees.
This move will enhance clinical care and services. Furthermore, FMCH anticipates the new facility will help the hospital achieve its strategic goals to recruit and retain physicians and other clinical staff. Most of the hospital’s medical staff - 12 physicians and 3 nurse practitioners, including Chief of Staff Ricardo Nimo, M.D. – are employees of FMCH and live in the local communities.
“The new facility will allow us to provide safer and more efficient care to our patients. We are truly excited about this opportunity to provide care in a new hospital; a building that allows us to be more efficient clinically and operationally. Our goal is to have a hospital in which our physicians can provide high quality care for the next 61 years,” said Mrs. Morris.
