Southeast Alabama Medical Center
Southeast Alabama Medical Center, in Dothan, is a nonprofit 420-bed regional referral center. It is the county’s largest employer, with about 2, 500 employees.
SAMC offers a complete array of services, from its cancer center to pain management to inpatient and outpatient surgery, heart and vascular, emergency medicine, wound care, orthopedic services, rehab and women’s services.
Classes begin this August in the new Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine, the first in the state, developed by the Houston County Healthcare Authority and operated by a private nonprofit board with local and state representation. Osteopathy emphasizes prevention, lifestyle intervention and a holistic approach to medicine. Dr. Craig Lenz is dean. The hospital’s economic impact is expected to reach nearly $300 million by 2030.
Other SAMC features include:
- A new heart and vascular center, as well as a 19-bed cardiovascular interventional unit for patients under medical short-term observation
- A hospital-based prosthetic center
- Number 1 ranking in the market for medical excellence in cardiac care, major cardiac surgery, general surgery, heart attack treatment and major bowel procedures by CareChex, a national healthcare quality ranking company.
- The region’s only neuromuscular rehab and balance center that specializes in treating patients with Parkinson’s and other neuromuscular disorders.
- A new StrokeCare Network, including SAMC and four other area hospitals, working together to provide stroke care in rural areas. The Telemedicine base network allows for continual access to a neurologist, among other features.
Flowers Hospital
Flowers Hospital in Dothan, open for more than 60 years, has 235 beds and about 1, 300 employees, making it one of the area’s largest employers. It offers a wide range of inpatient and outpatient services, including a cancer center, cardiac department, cardiopulmonary/respiratory, dialysis, emergency department, labor and delivery and more. It also is a tertiary referral center for the tri-state area of south Alabama, southwest Georgia and northwest Florida.
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Flowers recently embarked on a $3.5 million renovation of four inpatient nursing floors. Although minor renovations have been done over the years, this is a complete renovation with new contemporary interior finishes that include new floors, walls, cabinetry, nursing station and medical staff areas. The third floor is completed, which adds 20 inpatient rooms and will feature children’s artwork from the hospital’s Healing Art Project.
Flowers was named a 2012 Summit Award winner by Press Ganey Associates Inc. It recognizes top-performing facilities that sustain the highest levels of core measures performance for three consecutive years and is one of the health care industry’s most coveted symbols of achievement.
The hospital also received advanced certification for primary stroke centers from the Joint Commission, in conjunction with the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. It also received the Get With the Guidelines Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award from the American Heart Association, recognizing the hospital’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care by ensuring that stroke patients receive treatment according to nationally accepted guidelines.
The hospital in April received the Blue Distinction Centers designation for Knee and Hip Replacement by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama and Chest Pain Center Accreditation from the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care.
HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Dothan
A 39-bed acute medical rehabilitation hospital, HealthSouth offers comprehensive inpatient and outpatient rehab services. The 46, 700-square-foot hospital serves patients throughout southeast Alabama, northwest Florida and southwest Georgia.
The hospital is currently undergoing a complete renovation and an addition that will add 12 beds, a cafeteria and a gym. The hospital is open, but when the project is completed in October, a grand re-opening is scheduled.
Noland Hospital Dothan
As part of the network of Noland Health, this 39-bed facility, located on the fourth floor of Southeast Alabama Medical Center, specializes as a long-term acute care hospital, treating medically complex patients, such as those needing ventilator/pulmonary care, wound care, long-term IV therapy and those with multi-system failure.
Text by Lori Chandler Pruitt
