It’s not quite a second hospital, but Lee County is now home to a 65,000-square-foot FirstHealth medical facility/fitness center following a ribbon cutting Monday morning at the campus on Beechtree Drive along U.S. 1.
Here are a few photos of the project, which looks pretty state-of-the-art:
The Sanford City Council voted to rezone the land for the project in January of 2017, and construction began later that year.
FirstHealth, a private not for profit healthcare network headquartered in Pinehurst, said in a press release last year that the effort represents an expansion of services into the Lee County area:
For decades, residents of Lee County have trusted FirstHealth to provide quality health care to the Sandhills region. The services FirstHealth currently provides in Lee County include hematology and oncology, vascular care, convenient care, back and neck pain, and physical therapy.
In addition, FirstHealth of the Carolinas and Pinehurst Medical Clinic Inc. recently embarked on a new partnership to provide cardiac services to residents in Lee County. The new affiliation is called FirstHealth Cardiology-Pinehurst Medical Clinic, and the specialists who see patients in the Sanford office are Mahmoud K. Atieh, M.D.; Michael Gillespie, M.D.; and Lukas Jantac, M.D.
“The partnership through FirstHealth Cardiology-Pinehurst Medical Clinic is just one example of our commitment to continued growth and to providing our patients with access to quality health care services and providers,” says Pinehurst Medical Clinic CEO Jim Faircloth. “We are excited about FirstHealth’s expansion in Lee County, and we look forward to continuing to work together to meet the needs of the Lee County community.”
According to John Krahnert, M.D., FirstHealth’s chief medical officer, FirstHealth’s latest investment in Lee County is part of its ongoing mission to care for people.
“We look forward to expanding our current services, as well as bringing new FirstHealth services to Lee County,” he says. “Our mission is to care for people, and our goal is to provide quality care to those in need. It is our hope that this newest FirstHealth campus will better allow us to care for patients in Lee and beyond.”
The project is also emblematic of growth in the Northview area of Sanford. In addition to the facility, a Fairfield Marriott hotel has been announced in the area, and residential construction – both apartments and individual homes – appears to have increased.
