Sampson County has received a grant that will establish a medical facility in the northern end of the county to not only aid in job creation, but provide the kind of quality rural health care that local officials said is necessary for small communities to attract — and keep — companies and citizens.

Three grants totaling $310,366 in Pender, Sampson and Duplin counties will bring 26 jobs to the area. The funds awarded in Sampson are for Sampson Regional Medical Center’s PriorityCare-Spivey’s Corner project, in the amount of $120,000.

“We see it as a chance to provide and make a significant impact in rural areas,” said Brenda Warren, executive director for the Sampson Regional Medical Center Foundation. “We think it’s a great way to provide access to care and make it easier for people in that area. This project received support from Golden LEAF, and we were ecstatic, of course, and pleased. We were excited our project fit their priorities.”

The grant award in Sampson was part of a larger joint effort between Golden LEAF (Long-term Economic Advancement Foundation), the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center and the N.C. Health and Wellness Trust Fund. It is the first phase of grant awards for Rural Hope, a rural health care initiative designed to deliver better health care and create jobs through the construction and expansion of rural health care facilities.

Statewide, the phase of Rural Hope grants total $3,818,866 for the 24 awarded. That consists of $3,032,500 from the Rural Economic Development Center, $560,000 from the Golden LEAF Foundation and $226,366 on behalf of the N.C. Health and Wellness Trust Fund. The grants range from $32,500 to $480,000 per application.

The $120,000 grant in Sampson will be used only for the construction phase of the PriorityCare-Spivey’s Corner project and should be completed within the next 21 months, or by summer 2011. David Masterson, chief executive officer for SRMC, said the facility could be open to the public as early as next year.

It will be the second PriorityCare location, with the first one opening on Beaman Street across from Sampson Regional Medical Center Sept. 1.

Hospital officials said the purpose of both PriorityCare clinics is to provide quality medical care in a “close to home” facility with open access and a convenient alternative to using the emergency room.

Masterson told the Sampson County Board of Commissioners earlier this year that hospital officials sought grants after learning most residents treated in Clinton were traveling from as far away as Dunn for emergency care. In addition to allowing for residents to be treating “in their own neighborhoods,” the facility would lessen the burden placed on the emergency room at SRMC, Masterson said.

On Wednesday, the hospital’s CEO expressed satisfaction in receiving a grant that will ensure a portion of the county’s population is better served.

“We are excited about the support for our initiative to bring a primary care option to a part of the county with a shortage of options,” Masterson stated. “Our urgent care strategy will allow patients to be seen when they are sick, but will support them when seeking care from their traditional provider or follow-up.”

“We can provide close-to-home care and citizens would not have to travel out of the county for basic care,” Warren added. “Hopefully it will cut down on trips to the emergency room. It can sort of act as a bridge in getting care for immediate needs so we can diagnose chronic problems and make referrals to the primary physicians they need.”

According to SRMC officials, visits to the clinics will be less expensive than the emergency room and patients will usually be seen more quickly and without an appointment. Sampson Regional’s continuing goal, officials said, is to be accessible after hours and weekends for those who do not have a primary physician, or have one who is unavailable.

“The Board of Trustees is delighted, because it is the first step and we are committed to providing quality health care,” said Allie Ray McCullen, chairman of the SRMC Board of Trustees. “This fits into our strategic plan.”

The PriorityCare clinics will be open seven days per week, from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m., with radiology and lab services available. Access to electronic medical records through the PACS (picture archiving and communication systems) at the hospital will provide a safe and quality continuity of care for the patients served, Warren noted.

“It will provide faster results and not as much lapse in time,” said Warren. “It’s a win-win for us and for the patients seen there.”

Job creation

As part of each grant application, there was a requirement that at least one new job be located in the project building for every $12,000 in grant funds received, a prerequisite that ultimately resulted in the creation of 310 total jobs.

That will mean the employment of 10 full-time and three part-time staff members for the new Sampson facility, which will be located in the northwestern area of rural Sampson, with the exact location of the project to be determined pending the purchase of land, Warren said.

But the need in the Spivey’s Corner and Midway communities is definitely there, officials noted.

“That area has really had a growth spurt, with new subdivisions and perhaps with BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure) bringing more people to the area, it is important to have this care there,” Warren commented.

“We see that as a real growth area, that northwest quadrant,” said McCullen. “We’re looking forward to it and we want to draw more people in and ease the burden in the emergency room.”

It will also fill an economic void left in the wake of a tobacco buyout.

“This job creation and retention will help with the loss of the tobacco crop program,” Warren said. “(Spivey’s Corner) was one of the deprived areas where tobacco was such a big crop. That a center would be able to locate in an area so heavily dependent on tobacco, we are very pleased some of that money will be coming back to us.”

Priority for Rural Hope was given to small towns with a population of less than 5,000 and unincorporated areas, and eligible health care facilities included hospitals, urgent care centers, hospice care, mental health providers, physical therapy providers, free clinics, rural and community health centers and others.

“In many areas of our state, rural hospitals and health care facilities work on tight budgets to serve their communities,” Gov. Beverly Perdue said in a prepared statement. “Rural Hope will ease the burden by bringing health care and jobs to rural communities across North Carolina. I commend the North Carolina Rural Center, the Golden LEAF Foundation and the Health and Wellness Trust Fund for working together to support this initiative and making sure our citizens receive the help they need.”

The Rural Center has announced it will accept a second round of applications under its Rural Health Care Initiative, bringing its investment in health care facilities to $6 million. Applications will be due Dec. 1 for awards to be made in February. Also among the application requirements, it is specified that grants be matched by at least an equal amount of private and/or public funds.

Warren said the overall cost to get the second PriorityCare facility up and running is $745,000, with other needed money to likely come from cash reserves and any other funding that can be obtained.

“This is our second initiative,” Warren said. “It’s still down the road a year and a half or two years. We’re just excited to be able to expand those services.”