Governor Kemp announces $6 million in grants for 13 rural GA hospitals

FILE – Georgia Governor Brian Kemp speaks to members of the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce regarding the death of nursing student Laken Riley, Feb. 26, 2024, in Athens, Wash. Georgia. Kemp signed a law on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, that requires jailers to check the immigration status of detainees, a measure he said could help prevent crimes committed by people who entered the United States illegally. (Nell Carroll /Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, file)

GEORGIA (WJBF) – Governor Kemp announces grants totaling up to $6 million to 13 rural Georgia hospitals, including Emanuel Medical Center in Swainsboro and Washington County Regional Medical Center in Sandersville.

According to officials, this round of grants is part of the Dual Track Rural Support Program that is administered by the Department of Community Health’s State Office of Rural Health.

Officials say graduate medical education funds are used to support existing or new GME programs that provide additional training to doctors who have completed medical school and want to learn more about a particular medical specialty, while graduate medical education funds Direct support to hospitals can be used to increase access to health care, ensure adequate staffing, and make financial and operational improvements.

“Since I took office, my administration has worked to deliver on the promise that we would work with state and local partners to grow Georgia’s rural communities, including efforts to improve our systems Rural Health Services,” Governor Kemp said in an official statement. “These awards will provide additional support to hospitals that serve rural Georgians and communities in need. »

Emanuel Medical Center and Washington County Regional Medical Center will each receive $500,000 in hospital support funding.

Officials say the Dual Track Rural Hospital Support Grant is funded by the state’s Rural Hospital Stabilization Grant, which was established in 2014 and has awarded more than $40 million in grants to rural hospitals in Georgia since its creation.