I write today with appreciation for the team members at East Georgia Regional Medical Center (EGRMC) who help make Statesboro and southeast Georgia a healthier, better place to live and gratitude for patients who choose our hospital for their care. The impact of EGRMC adds up as the skilled and compassionate hands of physicians, nurses, hospital auxiliary volunteers and other team members deliver safe, quality care around the clock every day. Last year, patients received the medical care they needed through more than 213,900 interactions with our hospital and physician clinics as the pandemic heightened the need for medical care.
The hospital has supported more than 1,420 COVID inpatients since March 2020 while sustaining our other services. To help protect the community from the COVID-19 virus, our team vaccinated 4,249 individuals and administered monoclonal antibody treatments to more than 750 outpatients helping them avoid serious symptoms and hospitalization.
Employees and medical staff brought their skills and compassion to support more than 46,900 emergency department visits, more than 7,900 inpatients and more than 8,700 surgeries. Over 149,000 patients received care across the three primary care clinics, four specialty cares physician clinics, the pain management center, wound healing center, outpatient endoscopy center, outpatient rehabilitation services clinic, sleep lab and the satellite imaging center.
We also delivered joy to local families as more than 1,470 babies were born.
Beyond clinical care, East Georgia Regional Medical Center is a major employer and regularly invests resources to expand and enhance the services available locally.
East Georgia Regional Medical Center continues to invest in medical services, facilities and technologies that are important to patients. These capital improvements totaling more than $4.25 million include our purchase of new surgical and imaging equipment, expansion of our cardiac monitoring system, the addition of specialized laboratory equipment and respiratory technologies to enhance patient care. Also, the recruitment of primary care providers and physician specialists means providing more service options here locally. With the addition of new surgeons and the availability of our robotic surgical system you can continue to have complex, minimally invasive, surgical options in specialties of gynecology, thoracic, vascular, bariatric weight loss and general surgical procedures.
Currently, the only oncology infusion practice in Bulloch County is located on the campus of EGRMC inside the Medical Office Building. The Nancy N. & J.C. Lewis Cancer & Research Pavilion of St. Joseph’s Candler location on our campus is expected to help expand and enhance local medical resources for Statesboro, Bulloch County, and the surrounding region. Our organizations have a shared commitment to quality and pursuing excellence in care delivery, and we’re excited by the possibilities ahead.
East Georgia Regional Medical Center also gives back to the broader southeast Georgia region. In the last year, the hospital provided over $90.66 million in charity and uncompensated care for the community’s most vulnerable. And the $4.867 million paid in property, sales and GRT taxes helps support civic resources and services.
We are pleased to provide more than $30,000 in donations and work with local charitable and community organizations such as The Hearts + Hands Clinic promoting healthy living and health education by providing free primary health services for citizens of Bulloch County, the SHE Women’s Expo where we offer free health assessments for all women empowering them to make better decisions about their health and Safe Haven’s Dancing with the Statesboro Stars, a program that supports adult and child victims of domestic violence.
The hospital’s payroll of more than $74.87 million ripples across the local economy as employees buy goods and services, making the economy healthier as well.
Through partnerships with Georgia Southern University and Ogeechee Technical College we continue to train healthcare students to ensure an even stronger healthcare workforce in the future. EGRMC also serves as a clinical site for medical school students, physician assistants and nurse practitioners to grow healthcare leaders in southeast Georgia.
Each of these initiatives and investments helps make southeast Georgia healthier and better for all. We are honored to help Statesboro, Bulloch County thrive and extremely proud of our hospital’s $183.15 million community impact in 2021.
Stephen Pennington is the Chief Executive Officer for East Georgia Regional Medical Center.
