Franklin county investigating the possibility of a new medical clinic on St. George Island

Franklin County Commissioners have asked that Weems Memorial Hospital investigate the possibility of opening a clinic on St. George Island.

The hospital currently has clinics in Apalachicola and Carrabelle.

The issue was raised by District 1 commissioner Pinki Jackel who represents St. George Island.

She said Sacred Heart, which has a hospital in Gulf County, is moving aggressively in Franklin County and it’s her understanding that it may want to open a primary care clinic on the island in the future.

She said the benefit of opening a Weems clinic there first is that the island won’t support two clinics, plus most of the patients there would be insured.

At this point the county says it is only investigating the pros and cons of opening a clinic as well as the costs and potential revenues involved.

Weems has a number of other issue on its plate that have to be dealt with first, including plans to renovate the hospital building in Apalachicola.

Weems is also looking for more doctors to staff its existing clinics.                                                

The board did agree to investigate the possibility further and hope to have a report at their next meeting on May the 19^th.

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