Medical

Consumer Stories

Local medical nonprofit unveils the newest office in South Augusta

Christ Community Health’s new South Augusta location is already open and busy, but the official ribbon-cutting took place on Thursday, May 26. The office is located next to Barney’s Pharmacy at 2604 Peach Orchard Road, Suite 200. It opened in December 2021. “Over the past five months, they have handled over 3,000 patient visits,” CEO, Don Branum said. The non-profit organization, which provides a variety of health care services for children and adults throughout the CSRA, continues to serve uninsured and underinsured patients throughout the CSRA, thanks to financial support

Read More »
Consumer Stories

Medical professionals celebrate award-winners

There is a war going on—not only in Ukraine, but on our desktops— and in local doctor’s offices and hospitals the last few years, said Eric Toler, Executive Director of the Georgia Cyber Center—and 28-year military veteran. His keynote speech last week at the Medical Professionals Magazine soiree highlighted the multi-million dollars in cost and lost time with cyber-attacks across the country in hospitals and medical practices. About 100 physicians, nurses, administrators, and staff listened and received a nice gift from Toler—a gift of gratitude. “Thank you for your service

Read More »
Consumer Stories

New Fastest Labs facility will provide fast results

If you need to fill a job quickly, you don’t want to wait days to receive a candidate’s drug test results. But a new Fastest Labs location coming to Martinez promises to have those results sent to you within a few minutes, according to Travis Evans. Evans, franchisee of the new location at 4106 Columbia Road, Suite 102 in the Columbia County Medical Center, plans to open the business early next month. He said Fastest Labs provides a variety of lab services but specializes in pre-employment drug screening and DNA

Read More »
Consumer Stories

A new staffing company aims to ease the nursing shortage

The CSRA is experiencing a nursing shortage, thanks to the pandemic and travel nursing, according to Melinda Green. Her new medical staffing agency plans to alleviate that shortage. Green, a certified nursing assistant, and medical technician is co-owner of Essential Supplemental Staffing, which opened on April 7. The agency shares an office with Guardian Angels Care, a home health care company, at 3604 Wheeler Road, Suite A1, Augusta. Niyetroshia Anderson, the owner of Guardian Angels, also co-owns ESS. In addition to her work with the staffing agency, Green serves as

Read More »
Consumer Stories

Commercial cleaning companies keep covid germs at bay

Covid-19 is like a houseguest who showed up and never left. For the last two years, commercial cleaning companies have played a key role in slowing the spread of the virus in local workplaces. But long before the pandemic, these companies focused more on health than aesthetics, according to Dalton Self, Vice President of Jani-King of Augusta, and four other cities, including Savannah and Macon. According to its website, Jani-King uses hospital-grade disinfectant sprays to kill a variety of germs, including those that cause covid infections. The company, which has

Read More »
Consumer Stories

AU Health finally gets the green light to build Columbia County hospital

Between 2010 and 2020, Columbia County’s population grew by more than 25 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Despite this growth, the county still doesn’t have its hospital. The closest hospital is Doctor’s Hospital, which depending on where you live in the county could mean a half-hour drive. But that won’t be the case much longer. Augusta University Health System CEO, Katrina Keefer said she and her staff are currently in the design phase for a new five-floor, 100-bed hospital in Grovetown. It will be located just off Exit

Read More »
Consumer Stories

Faith Friday: ‘Faith Over Fear’ more than a saying for a local dentist

Reclined in the dentist’s chair, bib and safety glasses in place, and the sound of Christian music playing above might drown out the noise of a drill in your mouth. If you’re a patient at North Augusta Dental Care, then Brooke Usry, DMD, might also hum along, singing a lyric or two while she works. Her dental practice unashamedly boasts Christian values and vibes from the time you enter to the time you exit. “My mission is to influence patients through Christ and dentistry,” said Usry, who purchased the practice,

Read More »
Closings

Pediatric urgent care clinic to replace longtime furniture business

After more than 20 years in business, The Wicker Barn officially closed its doors on Friday, Dec. 31. But the building will soon be repurposed for a pediatric urgent care business. Wicker Barn, which was located at 3910 Washington Road in Martinez, sold a variety of indoor and outdoor wicker furniture. Glen Martin managed The Wicker Barn for many years. “We had a great customer base, and we just had a great time,” said Martin. Though the store is closed, he’s still working in The Wicker Barn warehouse selling the

Read More »
Consumer Stories

Dr. Thom and the Kit Fox Hunt

It sounds like the title of a children’s book, huh? But it’s as real as the long history of fox hunting in Aiken. It’s as real as the bronze foxes scattered among city parks and downtown business locations. It all started with Dr. Thom Akins, owner of Kitfox Pediatric Dentistry. His vision was to create a fun way to engage families and encourage locals and tourists to stay and play downtown. In case you didn’t know, a “kit” is a young fox. We learn something every day. Since Dr. Thom

Read More »
Medical

CSRA businesspeople make New Year’s “revolutions”

While many give up on their New Year’s resolutions by the middle of January, Julese Dortch discovered a simple way to stick to one of her resolutions. Dortch – marketing strategist for ATC Development in Augusta – is a self-proclaimed night owl, but she set a goal to wake up three minutes earlier each day than the previous day. Dortch now gets to work before others, much to the surprise of her co-workers, and has more time to pursue her goals. “I used to be in the second wave of

Read More »