On August 11, 2001, MCG HealthCare will celebrate the opening of a 2000-square-foot Family Health Center at 480A Martin Luther King Road in Keysville, GA. The Grand Opening ceremony will include a health fair, entertainment and refreshments. Keysville Mayor Emma R. Gresham and Don Snell, President and CEO, MCG Health, Inc. will be among the featured speakers.

"Keysville is a medically underserved and impoverished area that has a significant older population and a very young one - two groups who need transportation to health services," Mr. Snell states. "In February, we began operating from our mobile clinic located on the site. Until then, Keysville citizens with medical emergencies were forced to travel at least 38 miles roundtrip to the nearest hospital." MCG began constructing the permanent facility in March.

"The new facility means everything to me," says 76-year-old patient, Elsie Munns. "This is the best thing that's ever happened to Keysville. I don't have to go very far. I just can't tell you how thrilled I am about it."

The Keysville Family Center will open five days a week, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. A full-time registered nurse and a part-time nurse practitioner will be on duty. In addition, there will be an assistant who will provide transportation for Keysville residents in need.

The Center will offer physical examination and health screenings for diabetes, hypertension, cancer and acute illnesses and provide follow up care for chronic disease management. The Center will hold health education classes for weight control, exercise, diabetes management and cardiovascular fitness.

"One of our strategic initiatives is community health outreach," Mr. Snell says. "MCG HealthCare is proud to reach out to the Keysville community to serve its health needs."

MCG Healthcare is the health system of the Medical College of Georgia and is comprised of MCG Health, Inc. and the clinical services offered by the faculty of the School of Medicine and the members of the Physicians Practice Group. MCG Health, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation operating the MCG Hospitals and Clinics, Children's Medical Center, the Georgia Radiation Therapy Center and related clinical facilities and services. MCG Health, Inc. was formed to support the research and education mission of the Medical College of Georgia and to build the economic growth of the CSRA, the state of Georgia and the Southeast by offering the highest level of primary and specialty health care.