Local residents examine overturned vehicle in SRH parking lot on March 2, 2007, the morning after the tornado struck. (file/Dave Bender)
Officials at Sumter Regional Hospital in Americus have decided to lease operations to Albany's Phoebe Putney Health System.
Sumter Regional was destroyed by a tornado on March 1, 2007.
Wrecking crews demolishing Sumter Regional Hospital earlier this year. The facility was severely damaged by a twister that tore through Americus on March 1, 2007. (file/Dave Bender)
Patients have been using temporary facilities nearby, and relying on other area hospitals for more comprehensive medical services since then.
Hospital officials say Phoebe Putney will add at least $25 million dollars to rebuild SRH, and will provide core primary and emergency services, according to a report in the Albany Herald newspaper.
Both hospitals are expected to finalize the agreement by the New Year.
Click here for more GPB News coverage of the tornado, and it's effect on SRH and Americus.
Showing posts with label medical care. Show all posts
Showing posts with label medical care. Show all posts
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Americus, Albany hospitals to merge operations
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Governor gets involved in flu shot flap
Georgians may find it harder and more expensive these days to get a flu shot through chain drug- and grocery stores. Flu vaccine shots may not be offered this year due to an uncovered Georgia law.
For over a decade, Georgia has had a law on the books that says flu vaccines need to be prescribed for distribution. NO one has really looked at it closely until this year, when a complaint came to the state medical board. Someone questioned whether it was enough for one physician to sign off on various pharmacies giving out flu shots. This practice is known as a ‘blanket protocol’. Dr. Jean Sumner is president of the Georgia Medical board.
"We are required to by law to investigate those complaints, and last year we received a complaint regarding the dispertion of flu shots by pharmacists. We interviewed the physician who had signed the protocol. We both acknowledged the law stated that was not legal. This has been a long-standing, established law that says the physician has to prescribe the flu shot. Therefore, he was citing protocols of some of the chain drugstores and elected not to do that anymore".
Without a protocol, drugstores and grocery stores without a practitioner or doctor could be violating Georgia law. Some have canceled their vaccine orders. Sumner says the Medical Board asked the Governor Perdue for help, but aside from a special session, nothing can be done until the next legislative session in January.
Governor Perdue issued a statement backing pharmacists, saying they should distribute flu shots just like they have in years past. The Governors' statement:
"This administration fully supports needed flu shots being safely dispensed to Georgians this flu season. For public health reasons, we believe it is imperative that pharmacists and others act as they have in the past. No statute or regulation has passed or was promulgated in the past 12 months that would change the ability of pharmacists to administer flu shots. No one has been prosecuted for delivering flu shots in the standard manner of past years. This administration will not call for sanctions against those acting in the best interests of Georgians and in a manner consistent with past practices. It is my expectation that healthcare professionals will act in the best interests of public health and continue prior practices."
Dr. Sumner says for the upcoming flu season, the change may simply be a change in venue. "Look around, get one from your doctor, get one from your health department, get one from the 'Minute Clinic'...from any provider that can prescribe. But you can't go to a clinic where there's not a provider or prescriber to issue the flu shot".
Click here for more GPB News coverage of medical issues.
For over a decade, Georgia has had a law on the books that says flu vaccines need to be prescribed for distribution. NO one has really looked at it closely until this year, when a complaint came to the state medical board. Someone questioned whether it was enough for one physician to sign off on various pharmacies giving out flu shots. This practice is known as a ‘blanket protocol’. Dr. Jean Sumner is president of the Georgia Medical board.
"We are required to by law to investigate those complaints, and last year we received a complaint regarding the dispertion of flu shots by pharmacists. We interviewed the physician who had signed the protocol. We both acknowledged the law stated that was not legal. This has been a long-standing, established law that says the physician has to prescribe the flu shot. Therefore, he was citing protocols of some of the chain drugstores and elected not to do that anymore".
Without a protocol, drugstores and grocery stores without a practitioner or doctor could be violating Georgia law. Some have canceled their vaccine orders. Sumner says the Medical Board asked the Governor Perdue for help, but aside from a special session, nothing can be done until the next legislative session in January.
Governor Perdue issued a statement backing pharmacists, saying they should distribute flu shots just like they have in years past. The Governors' statement:
"This administration fully supports needed flu shots being safely dispensed to Georgians this flu season. For public health reasons, we believe it is imperative that pharmacists and others act as they have in the past. No statute or regulation has passed or was promulgated in the past 12 months that would change the ability of pharmacists to administer flu shots. No one has been prosecuted for delivering flu shots in the standard manner of past years. This administration will not call for sanctions against those acting in the best interests of Georgians and in a manner consistent with past practices. It is my expectation that healthcare professionals will act in the best interests of public health and continue prior practices."
Dr. Sumner says for the upcoming flu season, the change may simply be a change in venue. "Look around, get one from your doctor, get one from your health department, get one from the 'Minute Clinic'...from any provider that can prescribe. But you can't go to a clinic where there's not a provider or prescriber to issue the flu shot".
Click here for more GPB News coverage of medical issues.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Health care group launches campaign
A health care advocacy group launched a multi-million dollar campaign in Atlanta today to press for reforming the American health care system.
Health Care for America Now is a coalition of more than 100, primarily left-of-center groups calling for cheaper and more comprehensive health insurance and health care.
Larry Pellegrini of the Georgia Rural Urban Summit, says the coalition plans to invest $40 million dollars to get their point across nationwide:
"…which would actually make it one of the largest, if not the largest campaign on a single issue that's ever been formed. The funding is already obtained, and we intend to make it an investment in reforms that will satisfy the needs of the people."The group is touting a 10-point plan they want to see on the national agenda, including universal health care, a choice of private or public coverage, and equal access to treatment.
Organizers say their supporters include labor unions, women's and minority groups, medical practitioners, and small-business associations.
Click here for more GPB News coverage of state health-care issues.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Perdue signs health care reform law
Governor Sonny Perdue signed House Bill 1234, a comprehensive reform of the way the Department of Community Health contracts with Care Management Organizations (CMOs) and to provide benefits for members of
Among the provisions in the bill are requiring CMOs to post contracted-providers names on a website so that members can make informed choices about their physicians of choice. The legislation also addresses the dental network and streamlines the appeals process for providers who submit claims to CMOs.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
NE Georgia group has plan to cover uninsured
An anti-poverty group in northeast Georgia is pushing an aggressive plan to help get basic medical care to uninsured residents.
The three-million dollar plan has been proposed by the group OneAthens. It’s not health insurance, but an arrangement meant to deliver basic medical services to the uninsured. The group says about 19-percent of Athens residents don’t have health coverage.
One of the main recommendations is to hire more clinic and hospital staff dedicated to treating low-income residents. OneAthens says this would siphon away the millions spent yearly by the two area hospitals for indigent care. A recent annual report says those hospitals spent 79-million dollars on uninsured patients.
OneAthens says funding would come from a variety of sources--the county, area hospitals, federal grants, and the state. The group's healthcare committee chairman told the Athens-Banner Herald he’d like to ask state lawmakers to allow Athens residents to consider a new sales tax.
The group hopes to get the five-year funding plan off-the-ground in September.
The three-million dollar plan has been proposed by the group OneAthens. It’s not health insurance, but an arrangement meant to deliver basic medical services to the uninsured. The group says about 19-percent of Athens residents don’t have health coverage.
One of the main recommendations is to hire more clinic and hospital staff dedicated to treating low-income residents. OneAthens says this would siphon away the millions spent yearly by the two area hospitals for indigent care. A recent annual report says those hospitals spent 79-million dollars on uninsured patients.
OneAthens says funding would come from a variety of sources--the county, area hospitals, federal grants, and the state. The group's healthcare committee chairman told the Athens-Banner Herald he’d like to ask state lawmakers to allow Athens residents to consider a new sales tax.
The group hopes to get the five-year funding plan off-the-ground in September.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Population growth could outpace doctors
Georgia’s rapid population growth could cause a potential shortage of doctors in state clinics and hospitals. The number of Georgia physicians is not keeping pace with rising demands for medical care. A panel of state lawmakers is studying ways to head off the shortage. Georgia ranks 37th nationally in number of physicians per 100,000 residents.
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