DRMC opens medical center in Mount Hermon
December 02, 2012
By: Denice Thibodeau
Picture: Tables were set up outside Family Healthcare Center in Mount Hermon on Sunday afternoon so adults could pick up information about Danville Regional Medical Center’s newest community health care centers, while children played games to win small prizes. The open house included a tour of the new facility, which will open on Dec. 26.
On a warm but windy Sunday afternoon, people strolled from table to table and toured the new Family Healthcare Center in Mount Hermon.
Despite having to chase items that blew off the tables — each one with information about other recently-opened Danville Regional Medical Center health care sites — people gathered up information along with small gifts ranging from candy to pill cases and thermometers.
Hospital CEO Eric Deaton said the Mount Hermon location is the 12th stand-alone site DRMC has opened in recent years. Some offer general family health care and urgent care by appointment or on a walk-in basis — there are Family Healthcare Centers in Danville, Brosville and Gretna — while others offer more specialized medical care for women, children, heart patients and those needing help with a mental illness.
Deaton said the Family Healthcare Centers are set up to offer treatment beyond traditional office hours; the one in Mount Hermon will be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. on Mondays through Fridays, and from 7 a.m. until noon on Saturdays.
The Mount Hermon location has X-ray equipment and can run lab tests on site, so there will be no waiting to find out what needs to be done.
For the next few weeks, staff will be training on equipment, and making sure all the equipment works the way it should, at the office, and the doors will officially open on Dec. 26, Deaton said.
Opening the satellite locations offers access to medical care not seem before in some areas, Dr. Saria Saccocio, DRMC’s chief medical officer, said.
“The extended hours mean you will be seen when you need to be seen,” Saccocio said. “It will make our area healthier for everyone.”
Tours of the facility revealed a comfortable waiting room, eight examination rooms, an X-ray room and a lab.
Speakers at the open house included Delegate Don Merricks; Tim Barber, chair of the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors; and Coy Harville, of the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors. All agreed the new medical center is a plus for the community.
Harville pointed out that having community medical centers is a draw for economic development projects, calling the centers “another feather in your hat” when talking about what the communities have to offer.
Deaton said plans for 2013 include a center in Chatham with the capability to offer ultrasounds and a Family Healthcare Center in Ringgold.
The Mount Hermon center is located at 2767 Franklin Turnpike, next to the Mount Hermon Courtyard. The office telephone number will be (434) 835-0105.
View DRMC's Comprehensive Plan for the region at www.DRMCCares.com.