For Georgia seniors, the COVID vaccine rollout has been rocky at best. Yet an increasing number of people 65 and older living in the community and in long-term care facilities now are receiving COVID-19 vaccinations. But what about the elderly who are homebound? Right now, Georgia public health officials are wrestling with that issue. Many elderly…
I am writing to applaud the Georgia House of Representatives for taking a step last week toward better health for Georgians, as members voted in favor of HB 287, the Preceptor Tax Incentive Program (PTIP). I am really hoping that the Georgia Senate will follow suit during this legislative session, beginning with the upcoming hearing…
Pregnant women in rural Georgia can have difficulty finding a hospital close to home that offers birthing services. But there’s another solution, say Emory University nursing faculty members. A micro-hospital that has an “along-side’’ birth centers can provide maternity services to rural families – and save Medicaid money, write Helen Baker, Priscilla Hall and Jennifer…
This Commentary is written by Helen Baker, Priscilla Hall and Jennifer Vanderlaan As of July 1, 2018, people in rural counties in Georgia can receive local hospital services through micro-hospitals. Although these 24-hour emergency units with less than 10 inpatient beds will help improve access to many types of care for the 17 percent of…
Merry Fort, an RN who lives in Macon, has seen nursing shortages before. But, she says, “I’ve never seen it like this.” Fort works for a company that supplies “travel nurses’’ — hired to work in a specific location for a limited amount of time — and temp nurses to hospitals. A shortage of nurses…
In a development that was years in the making, mandatory “continuing competency” tracking is beginning this week for Georgia’s more than 9,000 registered nurses. The new system has long been discussed and even now continues to be debated. Before the new law took effect, RN renewal was a matter of filing a timely request every two…
Health care entrepreneur Martin Miller and his wife, Laura Lynn, have deep roots in Valdosta, Georgia’s southernmost major city. They grew up there and went to college at Valdosta State. They launched their business careers in Valdosta as well. Now they are giving back. The couple have given $1 million to Valdosta State University to…
The bill is more than 800 pages long. It was introduced just days before the early March “Crossover Day,” when a bill must have passed one legislative chamber to have a shot at ultimate approval. But those impediments did not diminish interest in Secretary of State Brian Kemp’s proposal to restructure the state boards that license…
Gov. Nathan Deal said Tuesday that his proposed budget would fund 400 new residency training slots in hospitals across the state for graduates of Georgia medical schools. Georgia taxpayers currently fund these young physicians’ education through medical school, ‘‘only to see them perform their residency outside of our state and not return,’’ Deal said in…