Phoebe Celebrates Renovations and Expansions at Phoebe East
Albany, GA | May 1, 2025 –
James and Linda Harper rarely left the home they had shared for decades in east Albany. Linda’s diabetes wasn’t well-controlled, and after she got dizzy one day and suffered a serious fall, James was afraid to leave her alone. “My wife is diabetic. She’s had cancer twice, then she fell and broke the femur in her right leg, and I turned into a full-time caregiver,” James said.
James was no longer able to enjoy working in his yard or helping his neighbors, and his own health began to suffer. With less activity, he gained weight, and his hypertension got worse. Things began to change when they discovered the Intensive Outpatient Care Program (IOCP) at Phoebe East just a mile and a half down the road from their home.
“It started out with Linda, and I saw what job they were doing for her, and I said, ‘hey, will you let me in,’” James said with a chuckle.
Phoebe’s IOCP Clinic started almost a year ago with a limited list of specific patients who often required hospital visits because of chronic illnesses. It has since expanded to accept walk-ins and physician and hospital referrals.
“Our team works closely with patients who have diabetes, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and hypertension because those conditions often lead to ER visits and hospitalizations, if they aren’t properly managed,” said Derek Heard, MD, Phoebe Physicians Medical Director for Primary Care who developed and oversees the IOCP Clinic. “Our goal is to develop close personal relationships with those patients to ensure they get the care and access to resources they need to improve their lives and avoid preventable hospital visits,” Dr. Heard added.
Creating new, dedicated space for the ICOP Clinic was part of a complete renovation of the Phoebe East campus. Phoebe celebrated the completion of the project with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house for the community Wednesday evening.
The work also included adding an exam room to the busy Phoebe Urgent Care of East Albany that treats more than 70 patients on an average day, with the number surging to nearly 100 on busy days.
“We are pleased to ensure that people in east Albany have quick and easy access to care for minor illnesses and injuries when they need it,” said Estrellita Redmon, MD, Phoebe Physicians President. “Expanding our network of urgent care clinics to provide that easy access for more southwest Georgians is an important goal for us.”
Phoebe recently opened a fifth urgent care clinic in Camilla and will soon break ground on a clinic on Highway 82 in Lee County. Phoebe plans to renovate its urgent care clinics at Phoebe Northwest and Phoebe North, and it provides urgent care telehealth appointments at www.phoebehealth.com and through the Phoebe Access mobile app.
Phoebe Corporate Health is also based at Phoebe East. The renovations created larger and more efficient work areas for the Corporate Health team, led by Dr. Kevin Smith, the only board-certified Occupational & Environmental Medicine specialist in our region.
“Phoebe Corporate Health works with hundreds of companies throughout southwest Georgia, providing a diverse range of services from physicals, drug screenings and vaccines to biometric screenings, education and worksite ergonomic assessments,” Dr. Redmon said.
Phoebe East also includes a physical therapy gym where injured workers can rehab, and Phoebe Corporate Health is the only clinic in this part of the state that offers some travel vaccines, such as the yellow fever vaccine, which many people traveling to certain parts of the world for business, pleasure or mission work may need.
“Phoebe Physicians is the largest and most comprehensive medical provider group in south Georgia. We pride ourselves on providing expert healthcare and excellent coordination of care to keep southwest Georgians here at home for medical treatment. Our renovated space at Phoebe East is a great example of the innovative care we aim to provide,” Dr. Redmon said.
The Phoebe East project also included renovations to its large conference area which Phoebe uses for internal meetings, lunch & learns and other events in coordination with its Corporate Health
partners, and for community events.
James and Linda Harper are just happy the Phoebe East services – especially the IOCP Clinic – are available so close to where they live. Linda’s diabetes is under control and she’s getting around much better now. James’s blood pressure is down. He’s lost 40 pounds, and he’s back working in his yard and caring for his neighbors, and the Harpers are looking forward to celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary next month.
“We wouldn’t be where we are today if it wasn’t for the IOCP Clinic,” James said. “They have been a blessing to my family.”