Phoebe North moving emergency services to Phoebe Main

ALBANY, Ga. – What was once Phoebe North’s Emergency Center will now be Phoebe’s COVID-19 testing facility.

Phoebe officials say the move was necessary because on multiple occasions, Phoebe’s temporary testing site, a block away, was forced to cease testing on days where weather conditions would not permit specimen collection.

And although the Phoebe North campus is no longer accepting emergencies, Phoebe officials say moving the services to Phoebe Main helps the hospital centralize services.

Joe Austin, Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital CEO, says, “We closed the emergency department at Phoebe North because we think, in light of the crisis going on, consolidation of physicians that were working here, the nurses, down to one location is just much more efficient to have them in one place.”

Austin says with the relocated testing facility, the addition of the new ICU unit and extra medical beds, Phoebe North will become a central location to treat COVID-19 patients in the future.