STATESBORO, GA — Ogeechee OB/Gyn is celebrating 60 years of caring for women in Statesboro and across southeast Georgia, a milestone that reflects both steady growth and a consistent mission. What began in 1966 with Dr. Bob Richardson, the region’s first OB/GYN, has become a multi-location practice offering obstetrics, gynecology and a wider range of specialty services.
The practice says its focus has stayed the same through every era: bring specialized care closer to home. That idea now reaches beyond Statesboro to Swainsboro and Sylvania, with additional services in the works and a growing team of physicians and advanced practice providers. By the end of 2026, the practice expects to have six advanced practice providers supporting care across the region.
How a single office beside Bulloch Memorial Hospital grew into a regional practice
The practice’s first office opened on Donahue Street next to the old Bulloch Memorial Hospital, where Richardson helped fill a long-standing local need for dedicated women’s specialty care. Over time, that one-office start became the foundation for a much larger network serving a broad multicounty area.
Growth came in stages. In 2002, Ogeechee OB/Gyn added an office in the Medical Office Building next to East Georgia Regional Medical Center. A current main office opened on Brampton Avenue in 2014, followed by an expansion into Swainsboro in 2016. The Annex at 1501 Brampton Avenue opened in 2023, and Sylvania was added in 2024. Today, the practice operates from those locations while continuing to serve patients from throughout southeast Georgia.
A practice shaped by generations of doctors, nurses and families
Ogeechee OB/Gyn says its history is not tied to one physician alone. After Richardson, doctors including Bill Kent, James Roshto and Ben Oldham helped build the practice across different periods. Dr. Oldham retired in 2021, while Dr. Chelsea Mikell joined in 2018 and Dr. Jim Small joined in 2022. In August 2026, Dr. Sydney O’Malley became the newest physician.
That continuity also comes from longtime staff members. Nurse practitioner Tressa Chaney, physician assistant Jennifer Williamson and nurse practitioner Denise Peeples bring decades of combined clinical experience. The practice says its care model depends on physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, certified nurse midwives, nurses and support staff working together for patients who may return over many years, sometimes across generations.
New physician Sydney O’Malley brings local ties and surgical training
O’Malley’s arrival adds both new energy and a familiar connection to the region. Raised in Alpharetta, she earned her undergraduate degree at Georgia Southern University before attending Mercer University School of Medicine in Savannah. She completed her OB/GYN residency at Atrium Health Navicent in Macon.
She will care for patients in Statesboro and Swainsboro and will use the da Vinci robotic surgical system for appropriate gynecologic procedures. The practice says that expands access to minimally invasive surgery closer to home. O’Malley has said she is focused on comprehensive, compassionate care from adolescence through pregnancy and into the post-menopausal years, with an emphasis on education and well-being.
Maternal-fetal medicine and midwifery are bringing more options to patients
One of the biggest changes in recent years has been the expansion of maternal-fetal medicine for high-risk pregnancies. In 2023, Ogeechee OB/Gyn brought those services to Statesboro through Women’s Telehealth. The practice later helped bring Savannah Perinatal Associates into the community to replace that service model.
Savannah Perinatal Associates is affiliated with Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah and provides specialized care for complicated pregnancies. The group also offers telemedicine to communities including Valdosta, Dublin and St. Marys. Ogeechee OB/Gyn says the arrangement keeps advanced expertise closer to local families while preserving access to tertiary-level care when needed. The practice has also become the first in the region to offer midwifery care, led by Jamie Bohler, a former labor and delivery nurse who became a certified nurse midwife in 2025.
Inside Ogeechee’s push into wellness, mental health and advanced care
The anniversary comes as the practice broadens what women’s health can include. In 2025, Ogeechee OB/Gyn created Elevate with Ogeechee Health, a service line focused on pelvic wellness, noninvasive vaginal health treatments and aesthetic care. Offerings include Morpheus8 for skin rejuvenation, along with treatments addressing vaginal wellness, laser hair removal, skin spots and spider veins.
That same year, the practice also moved into mental-health care. With Nikiya Lewis, DNP, earning an additional mental-health certification in the summer of 2026, Ogeechee OB/Gyn says it became the first women’s health practice in the region to offer certified mental-health expertise directly to patients. Leaders say the additions reflect a broader view of women’s health that includes physical, emotional and quality-of-life concerns at every stage of life.
What the next decade looks like for the 60-year-old practice
As Ogeechee OB/Gyn enters its seventh decade, its leaders describe the next chapter as one that blends experience with innovation. Dr. Jim Small said the best way to honor the people who built the practice is to keep improving it, whether that means adding physicians, developing in-house talent, introducing new services or bringing new technology to southeast Georgia.
The practice says its future will continue to center on the same promise that guided its start in 1966: helping women receive comprehensive care without having to travel farther than necessary. With growing teams in Statesboro, Swainsboro and Sylvania, plus specialized services in midwifery, maternal-fetal medicine, robotic surgery, mental health and wellness, Ogeechee OB/Gyn says it is building for the next generation while marking six decades of service.