11 months ago
Four Georgia health clinics, including Community Health Care Systems in Washington and Johnson Counties, will receive a portion of a $4.9 million grant from the federal government to continue helping those in need of health care.
According to a press release from the Department of Health and Human Services, President Barack Obama and Georgia Congressmen Sanford Bishop and John Lewis announced the release of the funds Tuesday morning, as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act -- Obama's economic stimulus package.
The money will be spread out between the following four health centers in Georgia:
Palmetto Healthy Council, Inc. in Atlanta
Community Health Care Systems in Sandersville and Wrightsville
Southwest Georgia Health Care, Inc. in Richland
Diversity Healthy Center, Inc. in Hinesville
The President said he hopes the money will create around 235 new jobs and serve more than 31,000 state residents.
Nationwide, grants totalling $155 million will assist 126 health centers and help provide health care to an estimated 740,000 low-income people across the country, many of them uninsured, according to the news release.
Odessie Bostic is one of 6,000 patients served by Community Health Care Systems throughout Central Georgia.
"It's good to know that the people here make you feel comfortable," she said.
Headquartered in Sandersville, CHCS employs 51 doctors, nurses, health care specialists and administrators and has been taking care of patients like Bostic since 1992.
"That's what it's all about, taking care of the people who may fall through the cracks and not have the health care they need," said Joyce Hartley, a registered nurse at the Sandersville center. "It's our vision to give them what they may not be able to get elsewhere."
CEP Carla Belcher says her center applied for the federal funds after noticing a 15% spike in the number of uninsured and under-insured patients needing care since September. Balancing an already tight budget, she says it was a relief finding out more resources are now on the way.
"We plan to use the funds to expand our operation to Laurens County," said Belcher. "We know that area needs more health care professionals."
She says a new community health center in Dublin would create 16 new jobs and have the potential to serve an additional six to seven thousand patients in the area. According to the Georgia Health Policy Center, that same area, along with Johnson County, has the 2nd highest rate of uninsured people in the state.
"We've got a great opportunity to continue providing care for a large number of people in a great community," she added.
Besides the location in Washington County, Community Health Care Systems also has offices in Twiggs County, Johnson County and Wilkinson County. Belcher says she hopes the new Laurens County facility will be open by the summer.
According to the Georgia district two office of Congressman Sanford Bishop, the funds went out to community health centers in areas where the number of low-income families without health care assistance was on the rise.
Last year, 22% of the people in south Central Georgia, a region that includes Laurens, Johnson and Washington Counties, lacked health insurance according to the Georgia Health Policy Center.
