THOMASVILLE, Ga. (WTXL) — Started in 2018, the state of Georgia created the Heart Program.
Partnering with Ameris Bank this program investments in rural community hospitals.
To qualify, hospitals must be in a county under 50,000 people and must be a non-profit organization. This only qualifies 55 hospitals in the state of Georgia.
This money is crucial for these rural communities; bringing in resources to the area so that people do not have to travel for serious operations or critical treatments.
President of Archbold Foundation Vann Middletown says, “Prices are going up, it’s tougher to hire staff, and hospitals are starting to divest themselves of service line, and so smaller hospitals are starting to close which causes people to have to drive a long way to get to a major center.”
Middletown explains that the money will free up the ability to make improvements, add to new technologies, and recruit new physicians.
“Well a lot of hospitals are using it for various things. They are opening a new cancer center, they are being used to buy new equipment like da-vinci robots, that surgeons use on a regular basis,” says Middletown.
Hospitals are selected for this donation through a collaborative effort with the program and the state. In order to apply hospitals should head over to georgiaheart.org.
