Covenant HomeCare, Patricia Neal Therapy Center, and Roane Eye Center are new tenants in Roane Medical Plaza.

To celebrate their relocations and the grand opening of Roane Medical Plaza, an open house event is planned for Tuesday, October 7, from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m., with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 4:30. The community is invited to attend.

Built by Fortress Corporation, a member of Covenant Health, this new 24,000-square-foot building is helping centralize healthcare providers and services in Roane County. Located at 2497 South Roane Street in Harriman across from College Plaza shopping center, Roane Medical Plaza is also home to four local family physicians: Drs. Ron Higgs, Lorraine Byrd, Mancel Wakham, and Kent Latham.

"In 1996 we formed a strategic partnership with Covenant Health to enhance access to primary care in Roane County," says Jim Gann, administrator of Roane Medical Center. "Roane Medical Plaza is the culmination of that partnership."

Covenant Health was formed in 1996 by the consolidation of Fort Sanders Health System and MMC HealthCare System of Oak Ridge.

Deborah Noel, director of community education for Covenant HomeCare (formerly known as MedCenters HomeCare) says the move to Roane Medical Plaza is helping them to serve their patients better.

"The proximity to the other providers in the building allows for a better integration of healthcare services," Noel states. "Relocating also gives us more room to grow."

147 patients in Roane and Morgan counties are served by a Covenant HomeCare staff of 23. Also serving 14 other East Tennessee counties, Covenant HomeCare offers comprehensive home care services including home health and hospice, home medical equipment and respiratory services, home infusion therapy, and ambulatory infusion.

Manager Nancy King of the Patricia Neal Outpatient Therapy Center says the center's move is also bringing benefits to the patients and the staff.

"The floor plan of our new facility is better suited to our needs, allowing more privacy for speech and occupational therapy," says King.

Another benefit patients will see is more collaboration with Roane Medical Center's Wellness Center, which is moving into the Therapy Center's recently vacated space in College Plaza shopping center. Through this collaboration, the Therapy Center will soon be offering physical fitness evaluations.

The Therapy Center has 150 to 200 active patients at any given time, and their services include speech, physical, and occupational therapy, and work conditioning services. Ten physical therapists, assistants, technicians, and exercise physiologists staff the program.

Nearly doubling its space, Roane Eye Center relocated to the new facility because of the steadily increasing number of patients it serves and the need for room to accommodate a larger optical display and more equipment.

George Fulmer, administrator of the Roane Eye Center, says they are in the "growing and expansion mode."

Roane Eye Center sees approximately 100 patients each day, and nearly 25,000 per year. The practice offers examinations and refractions, disease diagnoses, contact lenses, glasses, minor surgeries, and laser surgeries.

Four opthamologists, five optometrists, and a host of assistants and technicians staff the center.

"Covenant Health has been pleased to work with Roane Medical Center, the family physicians, and the Roane Eye Center on this project," states Covenant Health President and Chief Executive Officer Alan Guy. "We began envisioning the medical plaza over a year ago and now we are very excited this facility is now a reality for the people of Roane County."