Houston Medical Center Buys Land for Possible Move or Expansion

An agreement to purchase the adjacent Central Baptist Church property does not necessarily signal that Houston Medical Center will remain at its current Watson Boulevard location, according to a Houston Healthcare spokeswoman.

Mary Jane Kinnas, marketing director for the medical complex, said the $900,000 decision Wednesday by the Houston County Hospital Authority to purchase the church building merely provides additional options for the more than 60-year-old facility.

"The authority has not made a decision regarding possible movement of the hospital," she said Thursday. "They still have 54 acres on Highway 96 bought several years ago and 139 acres on Highway 41 that they bought earlier this year."

Discussion regarding possible movement of Houston Medical Center peaked earlier this year with the release of a study that appeared to favor construction of a new 186-bed hospital on the U.S. 41 site. The study conducted by KLMK Group, a national health-care facilities management firm, said a new facility would address today's standard of care, avoid a "Band-Aid approach" and service the county's growing population.

KLMK also included an option to renovate and expand the existing hospital but said that approach "ignores traffic and access issues" and does not address population growth patterns. The group estimated the new site price tag at $143 million, with $133 million projected for renovating and expanding the current location.

A number of Houston County officials, including Warner Robins Mayor Donald Walker, oppose movement of the hospital.

Kinnas said hospital officials are in the process of determining how they might use the main church building and related 2.157 acres. "It will probably be January before we have final access," she said. "The church needs time to transition to its new property. The building could be used for classrooms or office space. We need both of those. But there is nothing definite yet."

The building also could be torn down to make room for additional parking or follow-on construction, but no decision has been made, Kinnas said.

The authority and the church have agreed to close the sale within 45 days of the Sept. 15 contract date. Neither the pastor nor the administrator at the church were available for comment Thursday.