AS ALL KNOW, many having themselves been born there, Floyd Medical Center is this region’s primary birthing hospital and has been since the 1940s.

It was only six years ago that FMC added a neonatal intensive-care unit and physician specialists to support it, and only less than two years ago that it was approved for four Level III beds, meaning it can handle infants of any age or size. Its earlier certification was for babies as young as 28 weeks and as small as two pounds.

Now, further adding to Rome’s abilities as the health-care center of Northwest Georgia given that FMC and Redmond Regional Medical Center can handle almost everything imaginable (with the addition of the Harbin Cancer Center also adding local services recently), the neo-natal unit is being expanded.

An added $776,930 is being invested for renovation and expansion to deal with a neonatal population now averaging 12 daily and sometimes reaching 20, with more neonatologists as well.

Important as continuing growth of the Greater Rome medical hub is for economic vitality let’s never forget what this is really all about: Keeping people … and itty-bitty tiny babies … alive.

That’s a nice “business” for a community to be in.