MACON, Ga. — Mercer University School of Medicine (MUSM) and its Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center (GRHIC), with continued support from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (Children’s), are expanding their statewide rural pediatric health initiative for the third consecutive year. The Kids Alliance for Better Care (KidsABC) now includes 22 rural hospitals across the state.
The newest hospitals selected to join KidsABC in Year 3 include:
- Donalsonville Hospital, Seminole County
- Irwin County Hospital, Irwin County
- Jenkins County Medical Center, Jenkins County
- Liberty Regional Medical Center, Liberty County
- SGMC Health Berrien, Berrien County
- St. Mary’s Good Samaritan Hospital, Greene County
- Stephens County Hospital, Stephens County
- Warm Springs Medical Center, Meriwether County
Launched in February 2023, KidsABC addresses the significant challenges rural hospitals face in delivering pediatric care. Many of these hospitals struggle to retain and treat children in their local emergency departments. KidsABC helps bridge that gap by providing tools, training and support to enhance emergency, mental health and primary care services for children—keeping care close to home.
“It’s exciting to see the impact KidsABC is making in rural communities. It’s inspiring to see the dedication from participating hospitals to enhance the care they already provide to the members of their communities,” said MUSM Dean Jean R. Sumner, M.D., FACP. “Keeping care for kids as close to home as possible is a major goal of the program. Through specialized training and pediatric equipment installations, we’re seeing these hospitals strengthen their ability to deliver high-quality pediatric care in their facilities.”
“It is so exciting to see how much progress has been made in a short amount of time toward improving access to quality pediatric health care for all of Georgia’s kids,” said Donna Hyland, Chief Executive Officer, Children’s. “We are thrilled that these adult hospital systems are working with KidsABC to better support their physicians and local patient families seeking care close to home.”
KidsABC creates a statewide network of rural hospital emergency departments, pediatric and family medicine physicians, regional pediatric hospitals and school systems, working collaboratively to:
- Provide rural hospital emergency department support through pediatric training, clinical guidance and regional network building
- Deliver physician-to-physician telehealth and provider training for pediatricians, advanced practice providers and nurses
- Expand behavioral and mental health services, including virtual counseling for students and school-based mental health assessments and training
Ensuring these gains are sustainable by expanding the rural pediatric workforce is essential to increasing access to primary care and mental health care for children. With this in mind, the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Rural Pediatric Scholarship Program offers 10 annual scholarships to Mercer medical students committed to practicing in rural Georgia. The Children’s Family Therapy Scholarship Program supports students training to provide mental health services in rural communities.
KidsABC will continue its expansion over the next seven years, with the goal of strengthening pediatric care throughout all of rural Georgia.
For More Information:
KidsABC Initiatives: https://den.mercer.edu/school-of-medicine-announces-community-partners-in-rural-pediatric-health-care-initiative/
KidsABC Rural Hospital Emergency Department Collaborative Expansion: https://den.mercer.edu/musm-and-grhic-expand-major-rural-pediatric-health-care-initiative-to-newly-selected-hospitals/
