Industry Update including Workforce Shortage, Technology Shortages, Pandemic Crisis Matters

I presented to the GA Healthcare Workforce Commission Forum in September and wanted to share that with you.  Below is information regarding the commission and also the link to the (youtube) live presentation.  Here also is the presentation for your review.

Rural Georgia Healthcare & Workforce

Georgia Healthcare Workforce Commission Forum Presentation
September 29, 2022, 10am – 12pm
Augusta University’s Summerville campus

Purpose

(established from Governor Kemp’s executive order in April 2022) The commission was created by Executive Order to tackle the significant challenges facing the healthcare industry in hiring and retention of workers. The commission will submit a report on their findings by the end of the year.

  • Jimmy Lewis Opening Narrative – HomeTown Health, LLC as well as Jimmy’s video link for Workforce Commission meeting held on Sept 29: (Jimmy Lewis Speaks from 8:40 Minutes through 21:07 minutes on the video)

Health care and the access to quality health care is the lifeblood to a successful rural community. This applies to both rural health care and economic development. As health care becomes more technologically complex and difficult, it becomes both a health care issue and a political issue. In order to peel back just a small part of the challenges of health care, the following comments are offered as discussion points for future planning for rural Georgia.

 

Workforce Topics as problems with solutions

  1. Georgia unemployment approximates 2.9% as of October 2022 which means there is very little employment pool for rural hospital to draw from
  2. OB Desert and economic development shortfall below I-20 due to closing OB units
  3. Insufficient acute care and mental health providers
  4. Insufficient rural hospital CEO Succession plans that will lead to hospital closure due to insufficient C-Suite leadership
  5. Overall lack of provider care throughout rural Georgia
    1. Example Dr. David Bridges “presentation HomeTown Spring Meeting”
    2. At least nine counties of 159 have no doctor within the county
  6.  Lack of nursing supply resulting in many counties in Georgia have less bed capacity with lack of attending nursing capacity
  7. Loss of locally trained claims and reimbursement specialists that can produce cash flow from health care services rendered
  8. Advances in technology require
    1. Internet Capability
    2. Capital sourcing
    3. Trained technicians

Proper claims funding for reimbursement in insurance including commercial, Medicaid, Medicare

Workforce Solutions

  1. OB Desert – south of Interstate 20 in Georgia
    1. Either accept economic starvation and OB insufficient maternal care for below I-20 or Budget for and implement OB subsidy to replace lost systems in at least 10-12 communities that have closed OB units
    2. Resulting in very limited economic growth and catastrophic health care access
  2. Telehealth
    1. Can be used to supplement access to virtually non-invasive acute/health care
    2. Can be used to supplement mental health experts as in psychologists and psychiatrists
    3. Succession plan for hospital leadership
  3. Require all rural hospitals applying for rural tax credit to submit 5-year succession plans for rural hospital CEOs, CFOs, CNOs and pharmacists
  4. Overall lack of providers
  5. Expand services and scope for nurses
  6. Shortage of care givers in local rural hospitals to cover unfilled beds
  7. Incentivize locally trained reimbursement specialists to become certifiably educated claims specialists from an accredited reimbursement program such as HomeTown Health University which currently has 20,000 online students
  8. Technology
    1. Requires a statewide strategy to budget and implement state budget funding, capital projects and tax credit programs as does Georgia currently have

Given

  1. 8 rural hospitals have closed in the last ten years
    1. Calhoun County Hospital
    2. Randolph County Hospital
    3. Wheeler County Hospital
    4. Charlton County Hospital
    5. Telfair County Hospital
    6. Stewart County Hospital
    7. Dooly County Hospital
    8. Northridge Hospital
  2. Potential future loss of at least 6 C-suite leaders in next two years due to retirement and burnout
    1. Annual Rural C-suite turnover exceeds 20% annually for the last several years
  3. Closed at least twelve OB units in last ten-fifteen years
    1. Washington Regional Medical Center
    2. Memorial Hospital
    3. Emanuel Medical Center
    4. Taylor Regional Hospital
    5. Dorminy Medical Center
    6. Dodge County Hospital
    7. Stephens County Hospital
    8. Appling County Hospital
    9. Evans Memorial Hospital
    10. Elbert County Hospital
    11. Banks-Jackson Hospital
  4. HomeTown Health, LLC has trained at least 20,000 locally reimbursement specialists that afford them the opportunity to stay local and maintain cash flow in local hospitals

Thank you for the pleasure of your time from HomeTown Health in reading this! Thank you for allowing us to serve you and your hospital! We are dedicated to preserving access to health care for rural Georgia! We appreciate your comments and suggestions so feel free to share them with us.