VALDOSTA — After months of negotiations, cardiothoracic surgeons Drs. Randall Brown and Joe Johnson, will be staying on at South Georgia Medical Center.

Last week, the Valdosta-Lowndes County Hospital Authority voted in favor of new contracts with the two surgeons. This after previously refusing the contracts earlier this year, which caused unrest in the community.

A crowd of protesters gathered outside SGMC last July when the contracts were terminated following conflicts with former SGMC CEO Ross Berry.

The Hospital Authority chose to overturn Berry’s decision, which led to Berry seeking a buyout of his contract so he could leave SGMC.

An interim CEO was put in place, Bill Forbes, who currently remains until a permanent replacement is chosen.