LUMBERTON — Health care services will be returning under a new name to a clinic in South Lumberton that has been closed since being engulfed by Hurricane Matthew’s floodwaters.

Officials with Southeastern Health and Robeson Health Care Corporation gathered Tuesday on the grounds of the Dr. A.J. Robinson Medical Clinic to announce a partnership to provide health care services at the facility, which was closed because of flooding and storm damage caused by the hurricane that ravaged Robeson County in October 2016.

The announcement included a new name for the facility, the Dr. A.J. Robinson Community Health and Wellness Center.

Southeastern Health announced in November 2017 that funding had been secured to restore the facility located at 800 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Under the terms of the partnership announced Tuesday, Robeson Health Care Corporation will lease the renovated facility from Southeastern Health in order to provide health care services to the community, including include primary health care and on-site behavioral health care.

“SeHealth and RHCC have worked together on a number of successful collaborations over the years, and it is our mutual goal that health care be available and convenient for this part of our community,” said Joann Anderson, Southeastern Health president and CEO.

It is projected that Robeson Health Care Corporation will move into the facility in early 2019.

“RHCC is pleased to continue our collaborative relationship with SeHealth. Both RHCC and SeHealth are committed to making quality health care available in Robeson County. It is our pleasure to join forces to once again provide primary health care and add much needed behavioral health services for the residents in this community,” said Tim Hall, president and CEO of Robeson Health Care Corporation.

Approval to restore the facility and cooperation from a number of agencies, including the city of Lumberton and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was granted after a year of thorough analysis and review, according to David Sumner, Southeastern Health vice president of Corporate Services and Chief Strategy officer. Southeastern Health’s board of trustees has endorsed the restoration project and the Robeson Health Care Corporation partnership and is fully committed to continuing the legacy of Robinson, who practiced family medicine in the south Lumberton area from 1951 until his retirement in 1986 and for whom the clinic was named. The more than 6,000-square-foot facility opened in October 2000 and included a 1,000-square-foot dental office.

Robeson Health Care Corporation CEO Tim Hall, left, and Southeastern Health President/CEO Joann Anderson unveil the new name for the South Lumberton clinic that was flooded during Hurricane Matthew. The new Dr. A.J. Robinson Community Health and Wellness Center will open in early 2019 under a partnership between RHCC and SeHealth.
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/web1_Se-Clinic-1_1.jpgRobeson Health Care Corporation CEO Tim Hall, left, and Southeastern Health President/CEO Joann Anderson unveil the new name for the South Lumberton clinic that was flooded during Hurricane Matthew. The new Dr. A.J. Robinson Community Health and Wellness Center will open in early 2019 under a partnership between RHCC and SeHealth.

Southeastern Health Board Chair Kenneth Rust, left, talks with Southeastern Health President/CEO Joann Anderson and Robeson Health Care Corporation CEO Tim Hall after the announcement that the two organizations would be partnering to reopen a clinic in South Lumberton in early 2019. The clinic will have a new name: Dr. A.J. Robinson Community Health and Wellness Center.
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/web1_Se-Clinic-2_1.jpgSoutheastern Health Board Chair Kenneth Rust, left, talks with Southeastern Health President/CEO Joann Anderson and Robeson Health Care Corporation CEO Tim Hall after the announcement that the two organizations would be partnering to reopen a clinic in South Lumberton in early 2019. The clinic will have a new name: Dr. A.J. Robinson Community Health and Wellness Center.

Roxana Ross

Special to The Robesonian

Roxana Ross is a content writer/photographer for Public Relations at Southeastern Health.