Tens of millions of dollars in business and individual donations have gone to Georgia rural hospitals this year, thanks to a popular state tax credit program. But how hospitals are spending that money this year has not been officially tracked, the state says. And right now, there apparently isn’t publicly available information on how much…
The morning after Hurricane Michael struck, the hospital in Blakely got a call from the Early County sheriff’s office. A woman, 27 weeks pregnant, was in labor and needed to come to the hospital. Michael had swept through southwest Georgia, knocking out power, downing large numbers of trees and making roads impassable. The woman was…
More than 80 percent of uninsured Georgia children were eligible for coverage in government health insurance programs in 2016, but were not enrolled, a new report says. Several barriers to enrollment and medical services can prevent kids from getting the care they need, said the report, from the advocacy group Voices for Georgia’s Children. The…
Late last year, Stephen King of Marietta (not the famous author) started feeling sick at work, having nausea, vomiting and dizziness. King, who had known he was pre-diabetic, went to a hospital, where he was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. He later was unable to control his blood sugar levels despite repeated doctor visits. “My numbers were…
The potential impact from Medicaid expansion would be bigger in rural Georgia than in urban areas of the state, according to a new report released Tuesday. Medicaid expansion would benefit low-income people across the state, said the report, by Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families and the University of North Carolina’s Rural Health Project….
Four years ago, a sports medicine group began a quest to build a surgery and training center in Alpharetta, in Atlanta’s northern suburbs. The proposed multimillion-dollar center was to be known as the Legacy Sports institute. It was associated with famed orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews of Alabama, whose patients have included such sports luminaries…
This November, Georgians will elect a new governor. The race between Secretary of State Brian Kemp, a Republican, and Stacey Abrams, a Democrat and former House minority leader, has already featured debate between them over the future of health care in the state. Georgia Health News recently asked the candidates about their views on several…
A southwest Georgia county that has just one physician is losing its only drugstore. Buy-Rite is shutting down its pharmacy in Clay County. The company says it has been losing money on the Fort Gaines drugstore for years. “It’s going to have a very profound impact on the city,’’ Brenda Hardemon, a funeral home employee…
Dr. Jean Sumner likes to tell the story of how she once raised a woman “from the dead.” It happened years ago on a Thanksgiving Day when she was still working as a rural physician in the central Georgia town of Sandersville. “I was already dressed for dinner at my mother’s” when the call came in,…
The best news in Georgia’s latest health care ranking is that monthly insurance premiums in the state are relatively low. The state is ranked 16th among states on that measure in an analysis by WalletHub, released Monday. But overall, Georgia is ranked 43rd among the states when it comes to health care issues. The ranking is…