Bryan County’s new St. Joseph Candler campus continues its mission of ‘a holistic approach to healthcare’

BRYAN COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - Bryan County’s new St. Joseph’s Candler campus in Heartwood has only been open four months, but it has big plans for the next several years.

“So we drafted and planned out the five buildings, which will be 225,000 square feet,” said President and CEO of St. Josephs/Candler, Paul P. Hinchey.

The current building is 15,000 square feet. It costs $33 million. That includes all of the equipment.

The total investment is around $110 million, and will employ 2,000 people.

“Now the growth of that particular area is ahead of the curve. So it will maybe be in that 10 to 15 year spot. The next expansion will probably happen in calendar year 29,” said Hinchey.

Specialists like cardiologists, podiatrists, neurologists have already started rotating into the campus. OBGYN’s are set to start in October.

Mr. Hinchey said hospitals need to be a partner in economic development.

“Right next to our property, there’s a large commercial tract of land, which are having restaurants in it that can cater to healthy living. that’s why we bought the property at the corner of Belfast Keller and Ogeechee Road, right there, because we anticipated that there would be a lot more healthcare,” said Hinchey.

With many truck drivers and people and vacation traveling, being right off Interstate 95 will only increase the number of patients.

“It’ll include residents traveling and it’ll also include the industry. So it’ll have an occupational health component to it as well,” said Hinchey.

The campus is also partnering with Bryan County Schools to include mentorship, A simulation lab inside of the New High School too, all with the goal of ‘Educate in Georgia, Work in Georgia’ Initiative.

“Four internships in the hospital, 70 students a semester get on a bus and come into the hospitals and spend four weeks in an internship in these four departments,” said Hinchey.

Hinchy said because the health system is locally owned, they can better cater to the ongoing needs of the community as they live in it themselves.

The new campus also features walking trails, massage therapy, yoga classes, and much more all incorporated with their ‘Be Health and Well-being’ initiative.