COCHRAN, Ga. — The Bleckley Memorial Hospital Emergency Department was recognized for its commitment to strengthening pediatric emergency care in Bleckley County during an Oct. 25 ribbon-cutting ceremony. Bleckley Memorial Hospital was celebrated for reaching key milestones as a participating hospital in the Kids Alliance for Better Care (KidsABC). The Alliance, established in 2023, is a collaboration between Mercer University School of Medicine (MUSM), its Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center (GRHIC) and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (Children’s).
Georgia rural hospitals face unique challenges in their ability to treat and keep pediatric patients in their communities, and KidsABC is focused on improving access to quality pediatric care.
“Prior to KidsABC, when a sick child came into our Emergency Department, our goal was to stabilize the child and get them to the closest, appropriate pediatric facility,” said John Roland, CEO of Bleckley Memorial Hospital. “Now, with the help of KidsABC, we have the appropriate policies and procedures, equipment and education to provide emergency care right here at home to our most vulnerable population.”
KidsABC helps participating hospitals, like Bleckley Memorial Hospital, acquire child-friendly equipment, complete pediatric-specific emergency care staff training and implement the latest protocols and policies for treating children with critical conditions, such as asthma and diabetic ketoacidosis.
“With the training and equipment provided to Bleckley Memorial Hospital by KidsABC, our staff is able to utilize their knowledge and training to take care of the children in our community ranging from newborns to adolescents. Specifically, with our asthma clinical guidelines in place, we are able to treat asthmatic patients using a nurse and respiratory-driven protocol to provide asthmatics with the appropriate care. Our goal here at Bleckley Memorial Hospital is to, always, provide quality care, close to home,” said Roland.
Bleckley Memorial Hospital commemorated its KidsABC participation and completion of milestones with a ribbon cutting hosted by the Cochran-Bleckley County Chamber of Commerce and attended by hospital, Children’s, MUSM and GRHIC representatives. As part of the celebration, community members were invited to a free fall festival event.
“Today marks a very important moment for kids in rural Georgia and in Bleckley County,” said Mercer University School of Medicine Dean Jean R. Sumner, M.D., FACP. “We are honored to recognize the ED staff for their dedication to pediatric emergency care training and refining their skills to provide the best care for kids. Children are not just tiny adults when it comes to the practice of emergency medicine. They require special care and appropriate equipment and tools to help keep their care here at home. Bleckley Memorial Hospital has been a strong, committed KidsABC participant and has set the bar very high for pediatric care. We commend the efforts of the staff and leadership. They are making a difference in children’s lives and will continue to do so for years to come.”
“Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta congratulates Bleckley Memorial Hospital on achieving this milestone,” said Marc Welsh, Children’s vice president of child advocacy. “The objectives of KidsABC align with Children’s vision to ‘Do Everything Possible to Make Anything Possible for Kids.’ We want to ensure all the children of Georgia have access to quality health care and, by participating in KidsABC, hospitals like Bleckley Memorial Hospital are building capacity to serve even more kids in their own communities.”
KidsABC brings together a network of rural hospital emergency departments, pediatric offices, regional and state pediatric tertiary care hospitals, and school systems to address the challenge of health care access, which many rural families face. KidsABC participants are equipped with the necessary tools, protocols, training and education, so families have access to subspecialty care, mental health care and emergency medical care in their hometowns.
Programs within KidsABC address the challenges of distance to specialty care and limited resources. KidsABC emphasizes the importance of early intervention in achieving positive outcomes. Children’s provided specialized pediatric clinical guidance to launch and sustain these programs.
About Mercer University School of Medicine (Macon, Savannah, Columbus and Valdosta)
Mercer University’s School of Medicine was established in 1982 to educate physicians and health professionals to meet the primary care and health care needs of rural and medically underserved areas of Georgia. Today, more than 60% of graduates currently practice in the state of Georgia, and of those, more than 80% are practicing in rural or medically underserved areas of Georgia. Mercer medical students benefit from a problem-based medical education program that provides early patient care experiences. Such an academic environment fosters the early development of clinical problem-solving and instills in each student an awareness of the place of the basic medical sciences in medical practice. The School opened additional four-year M.D. campuses in Savannah in 2008 and in Columbus in 2021, and a clinical campus in Valdosta in 2024. Following their second year, students participate in core clinical clerkships at the School’s primary teaching hospitals: Atrium Health Navicent The Medical Center and Piedmont Macon Medical Center in Macon; Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah; Piedmont Columbus Regional Hospital and St. Francis Hospital in Columbus; and SGMC Health in Valdosta. The School also offers master’s degrees in preclinical sciences and family therapy and Ph.D.s in biomedical sciences and rural health sciences.
About Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center
In 2018, Georgia lawmakers dedicated special funds to establish a new Rural Health Innovation Center tasked with confronting the complex health care challenges and wellness disparities facing rural communities. Mercer University School of Medicine was awarded the grant funds in 2019 and formally established the Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center on its Macon campus. MUSM boasts a longstanding commitment to serving rural Georgia’s health needs, with a mission to educate physicians dedicated to tackling the health challenges in rural Georgia. The Rural Health Innovation Center serves as a critical resource to rural communities to improve access and effectiveness of health care by offering research, collaboration, and training opportunities.
About Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
As the only freestanding pediatric healthcare system in Georgia, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta is the trusted leader in caring for kids. The not-for-profit organization’s mission is to make kids better today and healthier tomorrow through more than 60 pediatric specialties and programs, top healthcare professionals, and leading research and technology. Children’s is one of the largest pediatric clinical care providers in the country, managing more than one million patient visits annually at three hospitals (Arthur M. Blank, Hughes Spalding and Scottish Rite), Marcus Autism Center, the Center for Advanced Pediatrics, the Zalik Behavioral and Mental Health Center, urgent care centers and neighborhood locations. Consistently ranked among the top children’s hospitals by U.S. News & World Report, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta has impacted the lives of kids in Georgia, across the United States and around the world for more than 100 years thanks to generous support from the community.
