Sunday, May 11, 2025
5/11/2025
Rural Public Health Workforce Training Network Program - Project Title: Southwest Georgia Rural Community Paramedicine Network Program Applicant Organization: Southwest Georgia Area Health Education Center (SOWEGA-AHEC), 1512 W 3rd Ave, Albany, GA 31707 www.sowega-ahec.org Facility Type: Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Project Director: Michelle Huskey, MS, RRT-NPS, 229-439-7185 mhuskey@sowega-ahec.org Workforce Training Track: 3-Community Paramedicine Target Service Area: The proposal covers Southwest Georgia (SOWEGA) specifically the 5 Network member hospitals in Clinch, Coffee, Colquitt, Irwin, and Tift counties. All 5 are in federally designated Rural counties, Primary Care HPSA and MUA/P. Network Partners: SOWEGA-AHEC, State Office of Rural Health (SORH), Clinch Memorial Hospital, Coffee Regional Medical Center, Colquitt Regional Medical Center, Irwin County Hospital, Tift Regional Medical Center. Total Funding Request: $1,332,608.21 Capacity: Established in 1991, SOWEGA-AHEC, a community-driven, nonprofit organization, has been meeting its mission to increase access to healthcare by improving the number and distribution of healthcare providers in 38 SOWEGA counties. Our long-range goal is to cultivate a healthcare workforce that closely matches the state’s population in diversity and assure that each community has enough practitioners in the appropriate disciplines to improve access to healthcare. SOWEGA-AHEC’s region includes 36 Rural and 37 MUA/P.¹ Our capacity and success reflect we have increased the Georgia healthcare workforce with over 3,860 Pipeline Graduates, including 2,315 practicing in SOWEGA. Increasing our workforce improves access and outcomes for our rural and underserved populations. Problem: Limited access to primary care increases ER visits with chronic and non-emergent patients, exacerbating workforce shortages, limiting access to EMS services for critical emergencies, adding financial strain on the hospital, and further expanding disparities for disadvantaged popu lations.² Summary: The project will build upon the success of SORH’s Community Paramedicine (CP) Pilot Project and develop a sustainable CP Training Program for SOWEGA. By implementing a CP Program, rural hospitals can reduce non-emergent Superuser Emergency Room (ER) visits and improve the hospital’s financial health and the communities’ health outcomes. Proposal: SOWEGA-AHEC proposes creating the Southwest Georgia Community Paramedicine Network (SOWEGA-CPN) to include SOWEGA-AHEC, SORH & 5 SOWEGA rural hospitals. The SOWEGA-CPN will develop a CP program to include a CP workforce provider training curriculum & guidelines, processes, and reporting matrix to identify the hospital superusers enrolled in CP department programs. Program Goals: 1) Establish a strong network of regional hospitals and service providers to create a CP Workforce Training Program, 2) Develop a regional CP training program to train 5 CP providers and future workforce, and 3) Support implementation of hospital-based CP departments in 5 SOWEGA rural hospitals. Program Outcomes: 1) Establish SOWEGA-CPN, 2) Develop a CP Training Program, 3) Expand the CP Workforce, 4) Reduce hospital non-emergent superuser ER visits, readmittance rates, and costs. Funding Preference: SOWEGA-AHEC is requesting funding preference based on Qualification 1. Dougherty, Crisp, Clinch, Coffee, Colquitt, Irwin & Tift Counties (Network members) are in Primary Care HPSA designated counties. Special Consideration: SOWEGA-AHEC is requesting special consideration based on the inclusion of a signed MOU from all network partners included in Attachment 11. ¹GA Dept of Community Health, State Office of Rural Health Maps. https://dch.georgia.gov/divisionsoffices/state-office-rural-health/sorh-maps-georgia ² Greenwood-Erikson MB, Kocher K, Trends in Emergency Department Use by Rural and Urban Populations in the United States. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6481434/. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ pmc/articles/PMC6481434/
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