Home Care In Columbus, NC

A clinical research network with headquarters in Columbus and Toronto, Canada, is expanding locally and nationally with a new research facility in Muscogee County and acquiring a North Carolina-based research company.

Centricity Research launched in Nov. 2021 following the merger of IACT Health and LMC Manna Research. The company expanded last month by acquiring Lucas Research, which has five research sites in North Carolina.

Lucas Research shared core values with Centricity and is focused on exceptional quality, CEO Will Furness told the Ledger-Enquirer.

“Because of that, we knew it would be a great part of our future,” Furness said.

This acquisition allows Centricity to offer contract research organizations and sponsors access to more than 35 research sites, reaching over 8.5 million geographically and ethnically-diverse patients across North America, according to a news release.

Centricity has over 155 investigators who perform trials in more than 20 therapeutic areas that include infectious disease, endocrinology, oncology, vaccines and more, according to the release.

Lucas Research Principal Investigator Dr. Jeannie Lucas founded the company with her husband and CEO Seth Medlin in 2004 as a hybrid clinical research organization and medical practice.

The company specializes in advancing research and treatment in immunology, inflammation, diabetes, weight loss and other endocrine diseases, according to the release. Lucas Research team members completed more than 250 clinical trials in therapeutic areas including cardiovascular, endocrine and metabolic and women’s health among others.

“We will continue to offer our patients world class care, but now with the extensive resources of an international team to ensure that we are delivering the top advances in care,” Lucas said in the news release.

Centricity’s acquisition of Lucas Research comes after the research network merged with companies True North and Aventiv Research.

“Great clinical research is focused on a diversity of patient backgrounds,” Furness said. “And with continued growth, we can help create the very best medicine while allowing for the best experience for our researchers.”

Centricity is growing internationally, Furness said, but it is also growing its presence in Columbus as well.

“We’re currently in the development of a 25,000 square foot state-of-the-art research facility in Columbus, GA,” Furness said.

It will be located at the former Azalea Trace Nursing Center on the corner of Talbotton Road and 10th Avenue, spokesperson Gail Bergman told the Ledger-Enquirer. The facility is completing the demolition phase and construction begins in a few weeks.

The new facility is expected to be move-in ready by the end of 2024, Bergman said.

Centricity has nine research sites in Georgia, with seven of those located in Columbus including John B. Amos Cancer Research and Acute Care Emergence Research.

Its founder, Dr. Jeff Kinglsey, relocated to Columbus from Pennsylvania for his residency following medical school, Furness said. He made the city his home after the residency program hired him as a faculty member before his graduation.

Kingsley went on to found an urgent care center and performed several clinical research studies during that time, he said.

“Our clinical research site was formed as a way of delivering free healthcare to the community,” Furness said. “That site has continued to this day and is the reason Centricity’s US headquarters are in Columbus, Georgia.”

This story was originally published January 9, 2024, 12:00 AM.

Brittany McGee is the Business and Engagement reporter for the Ledger-Enquirer. She is a 2021 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Media and Journalism with a second degree in Economics. She began at the Ledger-Enquirer as a Report for America corps member covering the COVID-19 recovery in Columbus.

70-unit apartment site will feature tiered rent structure

COLUMBUS—Construction is underway on the Jasmine Apartments in Columbus.

Located at 90 Unity Ln. in Columbus, the complex is owned and being developed by Workforce Homestead and built by Parker General Contractors.

Formed in 2009, Workforce Homestead is a company specializing in developing affordable housing from Massachusetts to North Carolina, focusing particularly on multi-family housing. Workforce Homestead President Jim Yamin has been focusing more on the western part of North Carolina recently, addressing a more pressing need for affordable housing in the area. Yamin’s first efforts to develop the site go back to 2018.

Construction began this past April, with 70 apartment units being spread across three buildings consisting of three stories each. Currently in the wood framing stage for the first building, Yamin judges the project at 26% complete.

The housing will offer one, two and three-bedroom units, and will have a tiered rent structure that will be adjusted according to four different income levels. Rent will be based on whether the tenant’s income is 40, 50, 60 or 80 percent of the median county income.

“It’s like most other multi-family affordable housing in the US,” explained Yamin. “Using an income-based tiered structure, they’re limited to remain affordable for houses earning different income levels.”

One-bedroom apartments will range from $435 to $930 per month, two-bedroom apartments will range from $530 to $1,120 per month and three-bedroom apartments will range from $610 to $1,300 per month.

The estate will feature a standalone community building, which will contain space for property and maintenance managers. The building will also include a computer center, fitness center and washers and dryers, as well as a multipurpose community room. Each unit will also contain its own washer and dryer hookups.

There will also be a playground with benches placed throughout the site.

Workforce Homestead will be hosting a frame-raising ceremony at the site on Friday, August 25, where participants will help raise a frame panel that will be included in the general construction. Yamin describes the ceremony as more interactive than a traditional groundbreaking, saying it’s “to mark the fact that we are underway, things are rolling, and we want to celebrate that fact.”

Completion of the project is slated for September 2024.

IT services company Provalus will invest $500,000 to create 92 jobs in Columbus County in the southeast part of North Carolina, state officials announced Wednesday.

The company will locate to a 20,000-square-foot building in downtown Whiteville, which has a population of 5,500 and is the county seat.

“This announcement by Provalus is a great win for Columbus County,” said Gov. Roy Cooper in a statement. “The decision to operate in Whiteville is evidence of the strength of rural North Carolina’s talented workforce, strong economy, and great quality of life.”

Founded in 2017, Provalus provides technology and business support to large Fortune 1000 clients. The company operates in rural communities and provides training and upskilling opportunities for long-term IT careers. Individuals interested in working for the company do not need prior work experience in IT.

The jobs available range from entry-level to experienced IT management roles, as well as support functions. These new jobs have the potential to create an economic impact of more than $3.7 million for the region each year.

“We are so excited to start hiring in Whiteville, and we need candidates immediately. There’s no experience required because we provide paid training to all employees,” said Victoria Bonilla, vice president of recruiting and training, in a statement. “Anyone interested, we invite them to apply online at our website.”

A performance-based grant of $300,000 from the One North Carolina Fund will help Provalus locate to North Carolina. The One NC Fund provides financial assistance to local governments to help attract economic investment and create jobs.

Companies receive no money upfront and must meet job creation and capital investment targets to qualify for payment. All One NC grants require matching participation from local governments and any award is contingent upon that condition being met.

UNC Health announced plans Wednesday to build a $2 billion-plus children’s hospital in the Triangle area within the next decade that will employ thousands of workers.

The announcement comes after state lawmakers included $320 million for the project in its budget passed last week.

“This is a monumental partnership for our state’s healthcare future,” said Dr. Wesley Burks, CEO of UNC Health and dean of the UNC School of Medicine, in a statement. “The state’s initial investment of $320 million in a new flagship children’s hospital demonstrates state leaders’ dedication to providing innovative healthcare solutions for children and families across North Carolina.”

UNC Health says this hospital will be the first of its kind in North Carolina, providing the care needed for children without having to leave the state. It will be a facility comparable in clinical and academic scale to any of the top children’s hospitals in the country, according to UNC Health.

A child and adolescent psychiatric hospital, including at least 100 beds, would be in the children’s hospital. The size and scope of the hospital is still to be determined, but UNC Health expects it to have hundreds of beds.

Eventually, the hospital would employ more than 3,000 people, according to UNC Health. The new hospital would be separate from a new behavioral health hospital for children and adolescents that UNC Health and the state plan to open later this year in Butner.

UNC Health will now look for a location of between 50 and 75 acres to build the hospital in the Triangle region. UNC Health will need support from “all corners of North Carolina” as it expects to raise $1 billion through corporate philanthropy, foundations and individual donors. UNC Health will also use some money from capital reserves.

UNC Health has been looking at building a new children’s hospital for several years and those discussions intensified with state leaders during this year’s budget negotiations.

“We are thrilled that state leaders are investing in a North Carolina Children’s Hospital, which will expand access to critical healthcare for all children and families across the state,” said Dr. Stephanie Duggins Davis, physician-in-chief at UNC Children’s. “These investments will transform the care of children across the state, ensure a healthier future for North Carolina’s children and shape the future of behavioral healthcare for all children by providing the highest level of comprehensive care and improving health outcomes for future generations.”

UNC Health opened its current freestanding Children’s Hospital in 2001 and it now has almost 350 physicians connected with the UNC School of Medicine. They are supported by more than 1,800 clinical and ancillary staff.

UNC Health is a state entity and an affiliated enterprise of the University of North Carolina system, comprised of 15 hospitals, 19 hospital campuses and more than 900 clinics along with the clinical patient care programs of the UNC School of Medicine.

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - A man who is on parole for a homicide conviction in 1995 escaped from the custody of parole and probation officers Thursday.

According to the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction, state and local law enforcement officers are searching for 56-year-old Duane Henderson Manning.

“He was on parole for a 1995 homicide conviction in South Carolina,” N.C. Department of Adult Correction Communications Officer Brad Deen said about Manning. “Through an interstate agreement, which is common, he was under supervised parole in North Carolina. He had recently been convicted of forgery and assault on a government official (law enforcement) in Columbus County, which was a pending violation of his South Carolina parole. As officers were bringing him into the Columbus County Jail, he fled.”

He escaped custody around 2:30 p.m.

Manning is 6-foot-2, weighs about 160 pounds and had brown hair and eyes. He also has a tattoo on his right arm.

Anyone who sees Manning is asked to notify law enforcement immediately.

Manning was convicted of homicide in Horry County in 1995, according to Chrysti Shain, director of communications South Carolina Department of Corrections. He was release on parole in 2015.

In March of 2022, the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office Vice-Narcotics unit tried to pull over Manning in the Green Acres community in Tabor City. Officials say Manning tried to hit an investigator’s car before he was eventually stopped.

According to the sheriff’s office, Manning then attempted to flee the scene, hitting an investigator with his car. The investigator sustained minor injuries.

Last month, Manning was convicted of both forgery and assault on a government official.

People who work close by to the Columbus County Detention Center where Manning escaped, said they are nervous he has not been found.

“I got kids that go to the primary school, high school. We do not need nobody loose. So I hope they catch whoever it is, quick,” said Ayana Williams local employee.

The detention center is close to a primary school. Manning escaped close to the schools dismissal time and the school did not go on lockdown.

“Please find him, that’s all I gotta say. Please find him.” said Kori Broyles, another local employee.

Copyright 2023 WECT. All rights reserved.

Contributed photo

A Staff Report

RALEIGH, NC: North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper has made a necessary appointment, selecting T. Heath Nance to serve as District Court Judge in Judicial District 13, overseeing Bladen, Brunswick, and Columbus counties. Nance’s appointment comes as he steps into the vacant role by the Superior Court appointment of the Honorable C. Ashley Gore.

Governor Cooper expressed his confidence in Nance, highlighting his extensive legal background and commitment to public service. “Heath Nance brings years of legal experience to the bench,” said Governor Cooper. “I’m grateful for his willingness to step up and serve the people of North Carolina.”

Heath Nance has established himself as a legal professional of repute, currently holding the position of Chief Assistant District Attorney for North Carolina’s 15th Prosecutorial District. Prior to this, he served as the General Counsel for Black’s Tire Service, Inc. and accrued over a decade of experience in private practice. Nance’s educational journey reflects his dedication to excellence, having earned his Bachelor of Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, his Master of Business Administration from Elon University, and his Juris Doctor from North Carolina Central University School of Law.

His early educational experiences at Southeastern Community College (SCC) significantly influenced Nance’s path to success. Nance acknowledges the pivotal role SCC played in laying the foundation for his career, both as a student and a professional. Nance embarked on his educational journey at SCC in 1996, citing the institution’s intimate class sizes, approachable professors, and engagement through College and Career fairs as factors that drew him in. These qualities made SCC the ideal starting point for his higher education, especially as he was uncertain about his major.

Apart from the rigorous academics, Nance valued the abundant extracurricular activities and leadership opportunities available at SCC. Throughout his time at the college, he actively participated as an Ambassador, Math Assistant, traveled to Puerto Rico as part of the SCC Choir, explored snow skiing at beginner and intermediate levels, and was an active member of the Environmental Bio Club.

Building upon this strong foundation, Nance continued his education, graduating from UNC Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Science in Public Health in 2001 and obtaining his Master’s in Business Administration from Elon University in 2005. It was during his tenure at UNC Hospitals, where he worked in administration, that he discovered his passion for public service. In 2005, this newfound commitment led him to enroll in law school at North Carolina Central University School of Law, where he successfully earned his juris doctor degree in 2008.

Today, Nance is dedication to public service and the people of North Carolina continues unabated. He remains an active member of the community. Nance’s journey from a student at Southeastern Community College to his appointment as District Court Judge is a testament to the power of education, commitment to public service, and the positive impact one individual can make within their community. His accomplishments and contributions to North Carolina are a source of pride, and his continued dedication promises a brighter future for the state’s legal system and its citizens.

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