In the days following his partial shelter-in-place order, Gov. Brian Kemp has defended his decision to members of the media and public, saying he has to weigh the spread of the virus against the economic impact that comes with a full shutdown. Read the full article: Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
The state health district charged with covering a 16-county area surrounding Columbus will not receive coronavirus test collection kits Friday after running out Thursday. Pamela Kirkland, spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Public Health’s West Central Health District, told the Ledger-Enquirer the department would not receive the supplies it thought it might get Friday. Read the…
St. Francis Hospital has named a new chief executive officer. Melody Trimble has been named the hospital’s new CEO, effective Feb. 10, according to a company news release. Read the full article: Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
The $25 million lawsuit resulting from a classroom confrontation between a Columbus teen and a contracted behavior specialist has been ordered into mediation. Montravious Thomas, then 13, had his right leg amputated below the knee after Bryant Mosley allegedly “body-slammed” him five times during the physical alternation Sept. 12, 2016, in an alternative school, the Thomas family’s lawyers…
Your life expectancy differs by nearly two decades depending on where you live in Columbus, according to recently released federal data analyzed by the Ledger-Enquirer. Life expectancy is generally higher in northern and eastern portions of Muscogee County, while southern portions of Columbus have the lowest life expectancy values. Read the full article: Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
A group of men held in a Georgia detention center by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have filed a complaint alleging the facility’s staff members abused them and violated their human rights. Read the full article: Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
It’s among the most heartrending moments in a job that has many: Telling a mother she accidentally smothered her infant. That’s what Muscogee County Deputy Coroner Elizabeth Allison has had to do, more than once, while also telling the bereft parent she cannot hold the dead baby, one last time, because the body’s now evidence in…
Politicians, medical experts and vapers in central and western Georgia are evaluating what the health concerns mean for smokers, teens who shouldn’t be able to purchase the products — but do — and vape shop employees trying to make a living. Read the full article: Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
Three years after announcing a partnership with Emory Clinic’s Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, St. Francis Hospital has announced it will be furthering that partnership by becoming an affiliate of Emory Healthcare Network. Read the full article: Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
Brandi King had to leave. Residents living in parts of Georgia’s coast were told to evacuate, and King said she wasn’t about to try to ride out Hurricane Dorian in the streets. King, 44, is homeless — like a portion of the roughly 240 people being housed at a Red Cross shelter at the Columbus Civic Center…