Higgins General Hospital Receives $250,000 State Grant

On behalf of Higgins General Hospital, Tanner Medical Foundation was awarded a $250,000 grant from the Georgia Department of Community Health through the Rural Health Safety Net Program for the planning and development of the West Georgia Rural Community Health Network (WGRCHN). The goal of the WGRCHN is to analyze, evaluate and strengthen the rural health care infrastructure in Haralson, Heard and Carroll Counties. The network will cross county boundaries to improve access to health services in these rural counties.

The ultimate goal of the WGRCHN is to improve the health status of low-income, uninsured and underserved rural individuals in the three-county area by creating a plan to provide the right care, at the right time, in the right setting for the rural, underserved citizens of the area. Some of the access barriers to healthcare in Haralson, Heard, and Carroll counties are financial or geographical, while others are related to language or education.

The network will begin with a consortium of representatives from thirteen health care and social service agencies in Haralson, Heard and Carroll Counties to address health care problems that could not be solved by any single entity working alone. Under the WGRCHN plan, scarce resources will be allocated more effectively, access to essential health care services will be efficiently increased, and beneficial linkages to other nearby providers will be built. The consortium will focus on the areas of developing a Rural Clinic Outreach Strategy and an Electronic Medical Records Implementation plan. Additionally, an evaluation of Medication Assistance Programs and Behavioral Health Services will be conducted.

“When health care and social service organizations join in partnership, each group is able to bring their unique perspective and expertise to the quality improvement table,” says Robbie Smith, Administrator of Higgins General Hospital. “We look forward to being a part of this network to plan increased healthcare access for rural residents of Haralson, Heard and Carroll Counties,” Smith says.