Kids Alliance for Better Care to Celebrate Clinch Memorial Hospital’s Emergency Department as Part of the Pediatric Emergency Care Project
WHO: Mercer University School of Medicine, its Georgia Rural Innovation Center and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Clinch Memorial Hospital
WHAT: Ribbon cutting by the Clinch County Chamber of Commerce at Clinch Memorial Hospital’s Emergency Department, followed by a free Back-to-School Bash and Community Health Fair
WHEN: Saturday, July 20, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
WHERE: Clinch Memorial Hospital, 1050 Valdosta Hwy, Homerville, Georgia
WHY: Clinch Memorial Hospital’s Emergency Department is a participant in the Kids Alliance for Better Care (KidsABC) — a collaboration established in 2023 between Mercer University School of Medicine, its Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. KidsABC is focused on improving access to quality pediatric care. Through KidsABC, rural hospitals receive the training and support in building regional pediatric networks. This support helps the hospitals respond more effectively to pediatric patients in their emergency departments. In KidsABC’s inaugural year, the Rural Hospital Emergency Department Collaborative included eight rural hospitals. Clinch Memorial has completed a set of criteria to strengthen pediatric emergency care in Clinch County, including procuring child-friendly equipment, completing staff training and implementing protocols and policies.
For more:
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/
About Mercer University School of Medicine (Macon, Savannah and Columbus)
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 percent of graduates currently practice in the state of Georgia, and of those, more than 80 percent 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, Marcus Autism Center, the Center for Advanced Pediatrics, 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.
