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On Thursday, the LaGrange-Troup County Chamber of Commerce celebrated the opening of the new Wellstar Primary Care facility on Billy Tucker Circle in Hogansville. Wellstar previously had a much smaller clinic at the location operating out of a manufactured building.

For Hogansville Mayor Jake Ayers, the much-needed facility comes at a perfect time when the city is expecting growth.

“We’re extremely excited for this, for this building, for a lot of different reasons. I think it’s coming in at a very pivotal time in the history of Hogansville,” Ayers said. “We’re extremely excited to have this here, and we’ve got hundreds and possibly 1000s of people moving in the next couple of years.”

“This is literally a life-changing thing for our community,” Ayers said. “Not only is there so much need, but for here in Hogansville, this is probably one of the best developments that we’ve seen, and it’s definitely a whole lot better than the trailer. We’re extremely thankful.”

Wellstar West Georgia Medical Center President Coleman Foss said the new clinic is setting the bar for the company’s new facilities.

“Hogansville has always been a big part of who we are, and we certainly want to continue to meet the needs,” Foss said. “There’s been a member of, or a citizen of Hogansville on the board of West Georgia since the 40s.”

Foss said the clinic will start with primary care and offer lab service but they are planning to expand with additional services and sub-specialties like OB-GYN and possibly Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT).

“Today’s environment, it’s about bringing healthcare to the people. Hospitals, for years, were very arrogant about making everybody come to us for care. That’s not the right thing to do at all. So for us to be able to do this in Hogansville, have the support of the community, and be able to give back to the community that’s so supportive of us over the years, this is what this is all about,” Foss said.