FirstHealth Announces Plans for Medical Building, Fitness Center in Sanford

A rendering of the new FirstHealth medical office building and fitness center to be located at 2919 Beechtree Drive off US 1.

SANFORD – FirstHealth of the Carolinas has announced plans for a new multi-specialty medical office building and fitness center on 23 acres of land in Lee County.

The new FirstHealth campus will be located at 2919 Beechtree Drive off US 1 in Sanford.

“The planning for construction is well underway, and we hope to be open for Lee County residents in the fall of 2018,” says David J. Kilarski, chief executive officer for FirstHealth of the Carolinas. “This project will provide us with the opportunity to serve our current Lee County patients in a new capacity, while introducing new residents to our exceptional services.”

The site will house a 40,000-square-foot medical office building and a 25,000-square-foot fitness center.

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.”

According to Kim Sutton, chair of the Sanford Area Growth Alliance (SAGA) Board, the Lee County community welcomes FirstHealth’s business investment as well as the opportunity for job growth.

“We are very excited about this new project in the Northview area,” says Sutton. “In addition to investing in our community and adding to our tax base, this project will also add new jobs. SAGA would especially like to thank FirstHealth and developer Davis Moore Capital for their confidence in our market and for this timely investment. We also want to thank the company for using local contractors for their new facility. We hope this project is the first of several new projects for this area of our community.”

FirstHealth of the Carolinas, a private, not-for-profit health care network, is headquartered in Pinehurst. Its more than 5,000 employees serve 15 counties in the mid-Carolinas. Licensed for five hospitals with 610 beds and also including facilities for inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation, a hospice, a home care program, community outreach programs, behavioral services, fitness facilities, primary and convenient care practices, a hospitality house, EMS and critical care transport services, a non-profit insurance plan, a philanthropic foundation and a host of other services, FirstHealth demonstrates a commitment to treating the whole patient and to providing quality health care for the entire community – especially those in need.

For more information on FirstHealth’s Lee Campus, visit www.firsthealth.org/lee, or call (800) 213-3284 toll-free.