Georgia‘s rural hospitals currently face many challenges regarding their ability to treat and maintain pediatric patients in their communities. To better equip rural hospitals to respond to pediatric patients in emergency departments, KidsKeynoteUSA helps rural hospitals meet milestones to significantly improve the care they already provide to their youngest patients. The goal is to keep childcare close to home. For the second year of the initiative, MUSM and GRHIC have selected six additional hospitals:
- Bleckley Memorial Hospital, Bleckley County
- Colquitt Regional Medical Center, Colquitt County
- Elbert Memorial Hospital, Elbert County
- Evans Memorial Hospital, Evans County
- Monroe County Hospital, Monroe County
- Wayne Memorial Hospital, Wayne County
“Growing the KidsKeynoteUSA program is essential to continuing to expand and strengthen the care pediatric patients receive in their homes, in their hospitals, and in their pediatrician’s office,” said MUSM Dean Jean R. Sumner, MD, FACP. . “The plan is to build on the success of KidsKeynoteUSA’s first year. We believe the relationships and work being done will be transformative for rural Georgia. Children’s commitment is significant and will expand the local and regional healthcare landscape now and for years to come. “The College of Medicine and its Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center are honored to work with rural physicians and health professionals to provide the resources and training necessary so they can provide the highest level of care to their community.”
“The Kids Alliance for Better Care program made amazing strides in impacting Georgia children in its inaugural year,” said Donna Hyland, CEO of Children’s. “As KidsKeynoteUSA enters its second year, Children’s looks forward to continuing its support of Mercer University School of Medicine and the Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center (GRHIC). “They are a trusted community partner and well prepared to guide KidsKeynoteUSA in addressing the current and future needs of Georgia’s rural pediatric population.”
KidsKeynoteUSA brings together a network of rural hospital emergency departments, pediatric practices, regional and state pediatric tertiary care hospitals, and school systems to address the health care access challenge many rural families face. KidsKeynoteUSA participants are equipped with the necessary tools, protocols, training and research, so families have access to subspecialty care, mental health care and emergency medical care in their hometowns.
Programs within KidsKeynoteUSA address the challenges of distance to specialized care and limited resources. KidsKeynoteUSA emphasizes the importance of early intervention to achieve positive outcomes. Children’s has provided specialized pediatric clinical guidance to launch and sustain these programs. Specific work related to this initiative includes:
- Support to the emergency service of rural hospitals – Through KidsKeynoteUSA, rural hospitals receive training and support to build regional pediatric networks. This support helps hospitals respond to pediatric patients in their emergency departments more effectively. In the pilot’s inaugural year, the project included eight rural hospitals.
- Support for rural pediatricians – This initiative provides doctor-to-doctor telehealth support and offers training to physicians, advanced practice professionals, and nurses. Five rural pediatricians practicing in six rural counties were part of the pilot project.
- Behavioral and mental health support – MUSM, GRHIC and Children’s worked with schools to conduct mental health and wellbeing assessments on students and develop interventions appropriate to local needs. Virtual mental health counseling is offered, as well as training in suicide awareness, prevention, and stress management.
Additionally, to increase the healthcare workforce in rural communities, the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Rural Pediatric Scholarship Program was established to provide 10 scholarships each year for MUSM pediatric medical students who have committed to live and serve in rural communities. This year, a new Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Marriage and Family Therapy Scholarship Program was established to provide scholarships to marriage and family therapy students who are committed to living and working in rural Georgia and providing mental health services to rural children.
KidsKeynoteUSA programs will continue to expand with the selection of additional rural hospitals, pediatric and family medicine practices, and school systems in rural Georgia counties over the next eight years as part of the ten-year initiative.
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