AGH Announces Medical Center Plans In Ocean Pines; Ground Breaking Planned For May

BERLIN – Atlantic General Hospital officials have announced plans for a new facility in Ocean Pines that will house a proposed surgery center in addition to primary and specialty care physician practices and other outpatient services.

The project, which will expand surgical services and help consolidate existing community services into a single location that is convenient to Ocean Pines’ large senior population and more centrally located for others in the region, is the next phase of the organization’s master facilities plan being funded in part by their Campaign for the Future.

Atlantic General will be working with a property developer, who will own the property and establish a long-term lease with Atlantic General.

With a patient/family-centered focus and on creating the “right place,” one of the five principles of Atlantic General’s 2020 Strategic Vision, hospital leadership determined that an outpatient surgery center should be built as a more cost-effective, convenient and comfortable option for most patients who plan to undergo elective surgical procedures.

The surgery center will feature a spacious operating room and three procedure rooms in addition to a family-centered recovery area. Atlantic General has filed with the Maryland Health Care Commission for a Certificate of Need to support the establishment of the surgery center.

X-ray services, a lab, a drive-through pharmacy and a new Atlantic ImmediCare clinic location will also be housed in the facility, along with a new integrative health center featuring community meeting space, treatment rooms and a demonstration kitchen. The Ocean Pines practice of primary care providers Lei Gong, M.D., and Oswaldo Nicastro, M.D. and the Atlantic General Diabetes Center, as well as Atlantic General’s orthopedics, neurology, pulmonology and gastroenterology specialists, will relocate when construction is complete.

“Seniors make up twice the proportion of Worcester County’s communities as the state average, and many live in the Ocean Pines area. We wanted to create a hub for the types of healthcare and wellness services they need right where they live, and devote our existing hospital space to the most acute and seriously ill patients,” said Michael Franklin, president and CEO of Atlantic General Hospital.

The new 98,000-square-foot facility will be located on Route 589 on the south end of Ocean Pines. It is anticipated that Atlantic General Hospital will break ground at the site in May of 2019.

About The Author: Shawn Soper

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Shawn Soper has been with The Dispatch since 2000. He began as a staff writer covering various local government beats and general stories. His current positions include managing editor and sports editor. Growing up in Baltimore before moving to Ocean City full time three decades ago, Soper graduated from Loch Raven High School in 1981 and from Towson University in 1985 with degrees in mass communications with a journalism concentration and history.