Houston Healthcare Provides Excellent Medical Services to the Robins Region Community
One of the key community pillars in Warner Robins and the surrounding region is the availability of high-quality, patient-centered and cost-effective medical care provided by the Houston Healthcare system. Residents can rest assured they will find excellent services at the two fully accredited, acute care medical facilities – Houston Healthcare- Warner Robins and Houston Healthcare- Perry – three urgent care walk-in centers known as “Med-Stops” in Warner Robins, Kathleen and Bonaire; and nine physician practices, annually treating more than 300,000 patients close to home.
A growing roster of physicians is the heart of Houston Healthcare, and three of these individuals shared why being a part of Houston Healthcare is important to them, what they enjoy about living in the area and how they are involved in their communities.
In This Article
Dr. Kimberley Ham
Urgent Care Physician, Bonaire Med-Stop
Dr. Kimberley Ham, an urgent care physician with Houston Healthcare Bonaire Med-Stop, sees patients with immediate medical concerns and puts emphasis on caring |for them the way she would want her family treated. The Union Point, Georgia, native says she’s always had a passion for helping others. Growing up, she experienced the opportunity to work with a husband-and-wife physician team. The foundation was laid for her desire to be a doctor. Ham attended Georgia College in Milledgeville and Mercer University School of Medicine in Macon, where she met her husband, Terry Ham, a local internist. She went on to complete her family medicine residency and internship in Chattanooga, Tennessee, offered by East Tennessee State University.
“This is a vibrant and growing location with tremendous potential for physicians to establish a practice,” says Ham, 22-year resident of the Robins Region. “Houston County is home. The community has a small-town feel with everything I would want in a big city. It has an excellent school system and various ways to be involved in philanthropic activities.”
The Hams live in Perry with their four children. They enjoy time together outside, including going to the family farm and watching sports. Ham recently won a gold medal in senior basketball during the Georgia Golden Olympics in Warner Robins.
Dr. Jennifer Murphy
Faculty, Houston Healthcare Family Medicine Residency Program
Newly married, Dr. Jennifer Murphy, a family medicine physician, recently graduated from the Houston Healthcare Family Medicine Residency Program and is excited about her health care future here.
The Marietta, Georgia, native, who attended medical school at Trinity School of Medicine, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, started a new faculty position at the Houston Healthcare Family Medicine Residency in August.
“I was first attracted to the program because it is at a community-based hospital offering patient diversity, interesting learning opportunities and procedures allowing residents to gain more experience,” she says. “There is a tremendous need for physicians in Middle Georgia, and few places are as supportive of community as Houston Healthcare.”
Murphy, who loves to read, doesn’t have a lot of downtime, but she enjoys visiting local coffee shops and restaurants with husband Alex Murphy.
Dr. Mohammad Al-Shroof
Chief of Medical Staff, Internal Medicine and Houston Healthcare System board member
Dr. Mohammad Al-Shroof’s father was a physician in Jordan, where he saw value in the mission of his elder’s career and “wanted to have this mission in my own life,” he says.
An internist with the Medical Group of Central Georgia in Warner Robins, the son is fulfilling his own medical mission as he has faithfully served the community since 1998. The Houston Healthcare chief of medical staff graduated from Jordan University of Medicine in Amman and completed an internship at Stony Brook University of New York.
The city is a good place to be a physician because “it provides the perfect balance of family and professional life, has a good school system and fair cost of living,” he says.
Outside of work, Al-Shroof loves traveling and is involved in the local Muslim community.
“I am active in our Warner Robins Islamic Center of Middle Georgia with youth and social activities,” Al-Shroof says.
New MRI Machine Provides More Efficient and Comfortable Exams
Doors are now open for patients at the exciting expanded and renovated Same Day Services area on the Houston Healthcare-Warner Robins campus. The project includes 4,863 square feet of renovated space, plus the addition of an extra 1,690 square feet to accommodate a larger waiting and registration space.
The project was designed to make way for an industry-leading MRI machine, the Siemens MAGNETOM Altea 1.5T MRI system, to replace the current fixed MRI and provide a more comfortable patient experience.
“The technology within the MRI machine addresses a key challenge: All patients are different,” says radiology manager Geoffrey Engle. “They each have different bodies, different conditions and different needs. MAGNETOM Altea automatically accommodates these anatomical and physiological differences, which decreases the need for rescans and increases scan consistency.”
The modern imaging unit is housed in the larger improved area and features soothing, ambient lighting – with patients getting to choose the light color – as well as required MRI Safety Zones ensuring a safe environment for patients, visitors and staff. The endeavor also showcases a new exterior drop-off location and covered walkway.
The new MRI unit:
- Offers shorter and quieter scan times.
- Provides consistent results and high-resolution images regardless of body type.
- Features a wider bore to provide a more pleasant experience for individuals who feel claustrophobic in tight spaces.
- Will have capabilities to capture MRI imaging of the heart and prostate in the near future.
- Allows patients to choose and listen to their own style of music to aid in relaxation during the exam.