Nathan Deal: Health care Q & A
The campaign for governor featured lots of commercials, promises, charges and countercharges. Sometimes the issues got lost in the shuffle. But for those interested in health topics, here is a guide...
View ArticleProblem with pre-existing conditions
The latest news about pre-existing conditions and health care reform reminds me of a man I’ll call Ed. I met Ed in the mid-1990s while reporting on the state’s health care system. A self-employed...
View ArticleState health report card a mixed bag
Given that there are 50 states, a health ranking of 36th isn’t much to brag about. Yet Georgia’s overall ranking on health measures such as patterns of behavior, government health policies, and...
View ArticleDavid Cook picked as DCH commissioner
The executive director of Georgia’s largest physicians organization has been picked to head the state Department of Community Health. David Cook, an attorney and longtime head of the Medical...
View ArticleMedical sites to get volunteers for service day
The Good News Clinics began treating low-income patients in a community center at a Gainesville housing project in 1992. Now, in a location that resembles a regular doctor’s office, Good News is the...
View ArticleBill would allow out-of-state health policies
Insurance ‘’mandates.’’ Many conservatives use the term disparagingly in describing the health insurance coverages required by state or federal law. The mandates are criticized for being costly and...
View ArticleFunding cuts force Grady to shut two clinics
The news that Grady is closing two neighborhood clinics and raising prescription co-pays shows how cutbacks in government funding can squeeze front-line medical services. Grady Memorial Hospital has...
View ArticleState HIV funds sought as waiting list grows
The state’s waiting list for people with HIV to get government drug assistance is steadily growing — intensifying concerns that patients won’t get the medications they need. More than 1,100 Georgians...
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Health workers say Title X funds are vital (video)
Melba Kida, nurse practitioner at the Hall County Health Department, screens patient samples for cervical cancer. Gainesville — The recent battle over federal funding for Planned Parenthood is still...
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The gift of mobility — through recycling
Lauren O'Brien (left) helps an unidentified family through her nonprofit Embraced organization. Lauren O’Brien’s career path changed when she fell off a horse. She suffered orthopedic injuries in a...
View ArticleDialysis deal for immigrants nears end
The agreement providing dialysis for immigrants who were former Grady patients expires at the end of August, and it’s unclear what will happen next. A year ago, Massachusetts-based Fresenius Medical...
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Free clinics face rising demand in services to uninsured
Dr. Charles Johnson meets with uninsured patient Caron Anderson at the Good Shepherd Clinic in Morrow. The clinic’s waiting room filled up quickly Wednesday morning, and there were still more patients...
View ArticleHealth worse in rural counties, study shows
An analysis comparing health statistics for Georgia counties shows a wide gap between rural and urban/suburban areas in the state. The top seven counties in the state in the new health rankings —...
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For uninsured Georgians, specialty care can be hard to come by
Jayme Robinson, shown with one of her daughters, was hurting and apprehensive late last year, hoping to get surgery for a strangulated hernia. Tammie Cox of Calhoun needed a cervical polyp removed. She...
View ArticleGa. uninsured rate remains high; U.S. number dips
The U.S. Census Bureau reported Wednesday that the estimated number of Americans without health insurance in 2011 fell from almost 50 million, or 16.3 percent, to 48.6 million, or 15.7 percent. It’s...
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Car owners can help fight breast cancer
Buying a special license plate is making a difference in fighting breast cancer in Georgia. October is breast cancer awareness month, and a state health agency has awarded a total of $1.1 million to 16...
View ArticleMedicaid expansion: A danger or a blessing?
Too much expense. Too few doctors. Too little trust in the feds. State Rep. Sharon Cooper (R-Marietta), who chairs the House Health and Human Services Committee, laid out her party’s arguments Thursday...
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Nevada medical plan inspires new program in Athens (video)
Betting on Reno Sara Schopper was doubled over with pain from gallstones when she arrived last May at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Reno, Nev. To make things even worse, she had no health...
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Another rural hospital closing
Lower Oconee Community Hospital in southeast Georgia has closed due to financial problems, becoming the state’s fourth rural hospital to do so in the past two years. The 25-bed “critical access”...
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Healthcare Georgia Foundation unveils grants to nonprofits
Healthcare Georgia Foundation has announced fourth-quarter grant awards to 20 nonprofit organizations totaling almost $1.5 million. Gary Nelson The grants include funding to three evidence-based...
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