Deal Announces Plan to Improve Rural Access to Healthcare
Rural hospitals, such as Ty Cobb Regional Medical Center in Lavonia are struggling and now Governor Nathan Deal has announced a plan to make sure they can stay open.
On Thursday, Deal, along with the Department of Community Health announced three new proposals to improve rural access to healthcare.
“Rural hospitals are struggling financially and have been for many years; we have witnessed a handful of them close in recent times,” Deal said. “When they shut their doors, it’s not only bad for health care access but also for the local economies. In many instances, a rural hospital is the largest employer in a community, and it’s difficult to attract new jobs to an area lacking this key quality-of-life ingredient. These important reforms will help rural hospitals stay operational and continue providing at least the most essential services to their communities, rather than shutting down entirely.”
First the Governor is implementing changes to the rules and regulations affecting licensure for hospitals. These modifications will permit rural hospitals to offer fewer services if they are in danger of closing or if they have closed within the past year.
These rural freestanding emergency departments will provide emergency services to stabilize and transfer patients to existing full service hospitals located no more than 35 miles away.
They could also offer, if they choose, elective outpatient surgery, basic OB/GYN services, including normal baby deliveries, and certain procedures that do not require an operating room, such as an endoscopy.
Second, to increase the flow of communication between hospitals and the state, Deal is designating an employee within the Department of Community Health to serve as a point person for rural hospitals.
And third Deall plans to establish a Rural Hospitals Stabilization Committee to identify needs of the rural hospital community and provide potential solutions.
Many rural hospitals, like Ty Cobb Regional Medical Center, are struggling financially
Ty Cobb Regional Medical Center in Lavonia is just two years old, but is already losing money.
In January, CEO Greg Hearn said in 2013 the hospital wrote off $15-million in bad debt from indigent and uninsured patients, and said Ty Cobb is actively looking to partner with a larger hospital, but denied rumors the hospital is for sale.
Ty Cobb Healthcare also recently sold off its three nursing home facilities, Brown Memorial Hospital in Royston, Cobb Healthcare in Comer, and the Hartwell Healthcare in Hartwell in an effort to save money.