City of Byron Receives Grant to Benefit Medical Center of Peach County
City of Byron Receives Grant to Benefit Medical Center of Peach County
MCPC to Create Over 100 Additional Jobs with Funding
MACON, GA (Wednesday, May 22, 2013) – The City of Byron has been awarded a $374,377.00 grant from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs to benefit The Medical Center of Peach County (MCPC). The grant, taken from the Employment Incentive Program under the Community Development Block Grant Program for Non-Entitlement Communities, will be used to assist with public roadway and sanitary sewer system improvements to benefit Peach County's new hospital.
“I am very appreciative that the Department of Community Affairs recognized the importance of the new Peach County hospital and awarded this grant. This award will keep the construction on schedule and I look forward to the grand opening of this new facility this summer. MCPC CEO Nancy Peed and the Byron City Council are to be commended on their hard work for receiving this grant,” said state Rep. Robert L. Dickey, III.
State Rep. Patty Bentley echoed his words, saying, “I appreciate the hard work that everyone has put into this project and I look forward to touring the new facility. I am excited that the Medical Center of Peach County has received this grant award because these funds are needed for infrastructure development.”
Specifically, funds from the grant will be used to make the following proposed improvements at MCPC's facility, located at 1960 Highway 247 Connector in Byron:
- A deceleration lane and left-hand turn lane will be added to Highway 247 Connector to improve access to MCPC.
- A new sanitary sewer line is proposed to extend west, parallel to Highway 247 Connector, to serve MCPC.
“This grant has made a large impact on the new hospital by providing the funding for much of the needed roadway and sewer line infrastructure at the construction site. For this, we are very grateful,” said Martin Moseley, Vice Chairman of the Peach County Board of Commissioners.
The proposed public road and drainage improvements will allow MCPC to invest more than $27 million, including $2 million of Peach County Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) funds, in the new hospital facility and new equipment. This investment will foster the creation of an additional 132 new fulltime jobs at MCPC within the next two years. Of the new positions, approximately 51 percent will be made available to workers of low and moderate incomes.
“The City of Byron is very excited about the new hospital, the creation of over 100 fulltime jobs, and the economic impact this will have on our community. We thank the Department of Community Affairs for their involvement and assistance,” said Larry Collins, Mayor of the City of Byron.
Robert D. Smith of the Middle Georgia Regional Commission said, “The new Medical Center will be a great economic boon to not only Byron and Peach County, but to the entirety of Middle Georgia.”
MCPC, operated through a partnership with Central Georgia Health System, will offer the residents of Peach and surrounding counties access to a new, state-of-the-art 25-bed hospital complete with a larger emergency center and an operating room suite, expanded outpatient services and all-private rooms. The facility is scheduled to open this July.
“The citizens of Peach and the surrounding counties are very fortunate to have a brand new hospital in our community. On their behalf, I'd like to personally thank Mayor Collins and the Peach County Board of Commissioners for their leadership in making this grant possible,” said Nancy Peed, Chief Executive Officer of MCPC.