Highland Medical Center Applies For 4 Million Dollar Fed Grant To Fund Expansion

Monterey, Va – Tom Kurtz, the new CEO and Executive Director of the Highland Medical Center, has been on the job now for about 5 months, and is already working on a plan that could double the size of the medical center. This expansion is dependent on receipt of a federal grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration. The grant application, requesting 4.2 million dollars, was submitted November 9th. Awards could be announced as early as April, 2012. Mr. Kurtz discusses the planned medical center expansion.

“If we’re successful in receiving this grant and the project’s completed as submitted, we will have about a 20,000 square foot facility,” says Kurtz, “which will include major expansion of the medical component of our services where we will end up with about 10 exams rooms; right now we have three. The dental component will also expand from two dental operatories to up to six which would entail the need to recruit another dentist.”

The added medical examination rooms would allow hiring an additional doctor and registered nurse.

“We plan to put in a legitimate helipad, which is planned to be heated and lit and give the rescue squads in the community a central location where they can bring patients that need to be transferred into the city,” says Kurtz. “We are planning to expand our physical therapy square footage with the long term intent of adding another physical therapist.”

The expansion plans also include significant renovation of the present space at the medical center. About 2000 square feet of the expanded facility has been set aside for a pharmacy. If the grant is awarded to Highland Medical Center in April, the construction and renovation phase of the project is expected to take about 2 years. While these plans for expansion are exciting developments, Mr. Kurtz would like to remind residents that local health care in Highland County faces the possibility of decreased funding from Congress.

The Congressional Supercommittee is working on a deficit reduction plan that could cut billions of dollars from health care facilities around the country. For small community health centers in isolated areas like those in Bath and Highland Counties, cuts in funding could result in reductions in medical services to county residents. Mr. Kurtz encourages concerned citizens in Highland County to contact their representatives in Washington to make their opinions on this matter known.

Story By

Heather Niday

Heather is our Program Director and Traffic Manager. She started with Allegheny Mountain Radio as a volunteer deejay. She then joined the AMR staff in February of 2007. Heather grew up in the Richmond, Virginia, area and now lives in Arbovale, West Virginia with her husband Chuck. Heather is a wonderful flute player, and choir director for Arbovale UMC. You can hear Heather along with Chuck on Tuesday nights from 6 to 8pm as they host two hours of jazz on Something Different.

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