Area officials broke ground last week for a new adult daytime health center in Ludowici.
Dignitaries from Long, Liberty, Tattnall and Wayne counties joined staff from Liberty Regional Medical Center on July 31 as the ground was broken for the construction of Coastal Manor Daybreak.
The center will provide both Level 1 and Level 2 care, which encompasses supervisory care to nursing and rehabilitation services, according to Elise Stafford, the chief long-term care officer at Coastal Manor. She said the new center will be open during daytime hours Monday through Friday. The center is expected to be open from 7 a.m.-6 p.m.
Stafford said the center will be designed to serve individuals living with chronic illnesses and assist individuals recovering from acute illnesses or injuries.
The center’s mission will be to support people’s mental and physical well-being in an effort to keep them in their homes, she said.
A clinical staff will be available to promote mental stability, maintain optimal capacity for self-care and maximize the individual’s highest level of functioning and independence, Stafford added.
She said the center will provide or arrange a number of services, including health-related services, skilled therapies, therapeutic activities, food services, transportation, preventive care and emergency care.
Liberty Regional Medical Center CEO Scott Kroell thanked the Long County Commission for its support, and commission Chairman Robert Long, in turn, thanked the hospital authority for expanding health-care services in Long County.
Hospital authority Vice-Chairman Reginald Pierce also attended the event and said he was excited about the new project.
Former State Sen. Buddy Carter, R-1st District, said that as a pharmacist, he had been a longtime partner with Coastal Manor.
“I wouldn’t have missed seeing this for anything,” he said. “I am proud for the people of Long County and excited about the families in the community who will reap the benefits of the adult day health services.”
Stafford said the total cost for the center will be $748,000, adding that $600,000 will be financed through the USDA in a low-interest loan for 30 years.
She said that the 5,000-square-foot center will be constructed by Overholt Construction, which is based in Jesup. The planning process began five years ago, Stafford said, and the project is expected to be completed around mid-January.
Once the center opens, it is expected to create 30 additional jobs, Stafford said.