VALDOSTA – South Georgia Medical Center terminated the contracts of two cardiologists Monday.

Dr. Joe Johnson and Dr. Randall Brown confirmed they received a letter from SGMC CEO Ross Berry notifying them their contracts were terminated. Neither doctor wanted to comment further on the matter.

SGMC also confirmed it ended agreements with Johnson and Brown, who are cardiothoracic surgeons with the SGMC CardioVascular Institute.

In a statement, Berry said he couldn’t address personnel matters, but wanted to improve the overall quality of care provided through the hospital’s cardiovascular and cardiothoracic surgery programs.

Berry said in May 2017 the hospital opted to have its surgeons report open heart surgery data to the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association and other national databases. “Reporting of this data helps lead to real-time validation of quality outcomes,” Berry said. “It also helps improve patient outcomes, identify initiatives and new areas for quality improvement.”

SGMC joined the STS database in 2003 and began reporting data. SGMC was accredited by the American College of Cardiology with the designation of Chest Pain Center with Primary PCI from 2005 through 2008 based on quality outcomes, SGMC said. The SGMC Cardiovascular Institute opened in July 2014 and the STS contract ended in early 2015 with no data being reported since. 

Out of 1,000 hospitals nationally performing open-heart surgery, 60 percent voluntarily report to STS and/or consumer reports.

Berry indicated that reporting the data is crucial and moving forward will be a priority. 

“The top cardiac programs in Georgia and throughout the region report their data to validate their quality,” Berry said. “In order to make sure that we are providing our patients with the highest possible quality and outcomes, we need to do the same.”

Dr. Sid Staton with South Georgia Medical Associates opposed the contract terminations by the hospital, saying he heavily relies on Johnson and Brown to back him up and help take care of patients. 

“They are both outstanding physicians and it is an unfortunate event that the CEO would terminate them,” Staton said. “It is concerning that the hospital can terminate employees without cause and makes it harder to hire physicians to the community.”

Berry said SGMC is actively recruiting cardiothoracic surgeons and has already brought Dr. Randy Metcalf to Valdosta.

“He is here in Valdosta and is already hard at work,” Berry said.

Metcalf has nearly 30 years experience as a surgeon and cardiothoracic surgeon. Metcalf completed a residency at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio where he was chief resident for cardiothoracic surgery. He also completed a clinical fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery at Harvard University New England Deaconess Hospital in Boston.

“We believe Valdosta can and will be a regional referral center for cardiothoracic surgery,” Berry said. “We are committed to continuing and enhancing the services provided by the SGMC CardioVascular Institute.”