ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - A well-known and well-respected gynecologist in South Georgia spoke out in a recent Facebook post about the lack of women’s health providers in the area.

In his post, titled “When a Hospital System Turns Its Back on the Community,” Dr. Paul Smurda says that the private practice he worked at was “left with no choice but to sell to the dominant healthcare institution in our area: Phoebe Putney Health System.”

Smurda then went on to describe why he believes this change had negative impacts on the community. The post has nearly 2,000 shares as of Thursday evening.

The health system responded with a Facebook post on Thursday, Aug. 14.

In Phoebe’s post, they claim that Smurda “chose to take a financial gain from our purchase of the practice and leave this community. That was his choice, not Phoebe’s.”

Read both parties’ full posts here:

“When a Hospital System Turns Its Back on the Community

For more than 40 years, Women’s Health Professionals (WHP) has served this community with integrity, dedication, and a deep commitment to women’s health. I’ve spent my career building lasting relationships with my patients—delivering babies, treating illness, and helping women live healthier lives. But our story is now, unfortunately, a cautionary tale about what happens when a trusted local practice is forced into the grip of a healthcare system that places power over providers and profit over patients.

Due to increasing financial strain, WHP—like so many private practices across the country—was no longer sustainable. We were left with no choice but to sell to the dominant healthcare institution in our area: Phoebe Putney Health System.

When they offered me a position, it came with more restrictions than respect. They would not allow me to continue my successful local weight loss clinic—an initiative that has helped so many of our neighbors achieve better health and reverse chronic conditions. This program is making a real difference, but because it didn’t fit into Phoebe’s corporate and monopolistic agenda, they would have forced me to shut it down.

Now, the consequences of this consolidation are starting to show in the most dangerous ways.

Today, our area is down to just two board certified OB/GYN providers—excluding the local RHC (Miriam Worthy). That number is simply not enough to safely care for the volume of pregnant patients and gynecologic patients in our region. The shortage has reached a critical level, placing an unsustainable burden on those few remaining providers and putting patients at risk.

To help prevent a crisis, I recently accepted a position with OBHG, an independent company that staffs laborists in hospitals across the country. This role would allow me to continue caring for patients at Phoebe-delivering babies and providing inpatient services—while also running my local clinic in Sylvester to help alleviate pressure on our strained system. I felt this was my obligation to the patients and my colleagues who are now facing a public health crisis.

But last week, I was informed by OBHG that Phoebe did not want me to work in their hospital and they cancelled my upcoming call assignments on labor and delivery. The reason I was told was “you now work for the competition.”

Let that sink in: In the middle of a growing OB/GYN provider shortage, with the community and local OB/GYN providers in need, Phoebe is actively blocking a qualified, experienced physician from providing care—simply because I dared to speak up, or because I chose not to conform to their demands.

This is not just a professional slight. It is an institutional failure—one that prioritizes control over collaboration, and ego over patient safety.

To the community I’ve served for decades: you deserve better. You deserve a healthcare system that values your well-being over bureaucracy. And physicians who dedicate their lives to caring for others deserve to be treated with respect—not retaliation.

Phoebe had the opportunity to be part of the solution. Instead, they are choosing to be part of the problem.

Paul Smurda, MD"

“When a Health System Stands up for Its Community

Historically, Phoebe has not employed obstetricians and gynecologists because there have been enough community physicians to meet the need, but the landscape is changing. Earlier this year, the owners of Women’s Health Professionals reached out to Phoebe and asked us to purchase their practice, which we did to ensure the continuation of vital women’s healthcare for our community. Dr. Paul Smurda was given every opportunity to continue to serve his patients as part of the Phoebe Family. Instead, he chose to take a financial gain from our purchase of the practice and leave this community. That was his choice, not Phoebe’s.

We were excited for Dr. Thomas Talley to join Phoebe and continue to care for patients at Women’s Health Professionals; however, he made a difficult personal decision to retire. We are pleased to welcome the remaining excellent members of the Women’s Health Professionals team, including Certified Midwives and Nurse Practitioners, to the Phoebe Family.

Dr. Kayla Suma is expanding her practice to see OB/GYN patients at Women’s Health Professionals, while continuing to serve as a faculty member of the Phoebe Family Medicine Residency and treat patients at Phoebe Primary Care at Northwest. Dr. Lindsey Wells, an additional physician specializing in Family Medicine and Obstetrics & Gynecology, will join our team in September. Dr. Kelly Albrecht, the region’s only Maternal-Fetal medicine specialist will care for Women’s Health Professionals patients with complex medical needs. Years ago, we invested in an OB ER, separate from our main emergency center, that is staffed 24/7 with OB specialists to serve our community. As part of our new partnership with Morehouse School of Medicine, we have OB residents training in our facilities, and we are actively recruiting physicians and advanced practice providers to ensure our community has a sufficient number of quality women’s healthcare providers.

We remain committed to expanding access to care in the communities we serve and living up to the Phoebe vision – to make every life we touch, better."

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