By Tim Mandell
Pattie A. Clay Regional Medical Center has expanded into Garrard County.
The Garrard County Healthcare Center began seeing patients on Thursday and is holding its grand opening from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at the facility on KY 52 on the east side of Lancaster.
During the grand opening, tours of the facility will be available and physicians and staff will be on hand to meet people.
With the high volume of Garrard County patients traveling to the Richmond facility to seek care, it made sense to open a facility more convenient for Garrard County residents, said Jill Williams, director of marketing and public relations at Pattie A. Clay Regional Medical Center.
“We see a large number of patients from Garrard County,” said Williams said. “This is really a way for us to bring more services to them. Garrard County has a rapid growth rate and is also considered an under serviced area.”
According to a U.S. Census report, from April, 2000 to July, 2008, Garrard County had a 15.1 percent growth in population, with the population growing from 14,792 to 17,021, making it the 8th fastest growing county in the state.
The new facility will have two internal medicine physicians, a full-service outpatient laboratory and a specialty clinic, which will run on a rotating schedule, with a different specialist each day during the week.
Initially, the facility will employ 10 to 15 employees, but the hope is that it will continue to grow and expand.
“We plan to build a more permanent structure in a couple years,” said Williams, referring to a $5 million facility that still is in the works.
Tim Mandell can be reached at tmandell@richmondregister.com or 623-1669 ext. 6696.
