Piedmont Macon hospitals provide resources to improve community health
The Community Impact Report identified specific health issues and resources needed in the Middle Georgia community.
MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — Piedmont Macon and Piedmont Macon North hospitals want to improve access to healthcare and offer education services tailored to the middle Georgia community.
Piedmont Macon’s Community Impact Report addressed specific health issues and resources needed to improve community health.
Stephen Daugherty, CEO of Piedmont Macon and Piedmont Macon North, explained what he hopes to achieve in the community.
“First and foremost, we want you to be healthy,” Daugherty said. “A healthy community is good from an economic development standpoint, and economic development is good for the health of the community.”
Piedmont Macon partnered with local organizations such as Daybreak, United Way of Central Georgia and Macon Volunteer Clinic to make healthcare more accessible, and remove barriers like poverty, homelessness or lack of transportation.
For example, at Daybreak, mental health specialists from Piedmont Macon visit two days a week to assess needs and prescribe medication.
Daybreak Director, Sister Theresa Sullivan, says she has seen improvements in her clients’ ability to maintain a job or housing.
“It’s really exciting because mental health care is an issue that many of our people have,” said Sister Sullivan, “and sometimes it’s hard for them to get to a mental health facility or to follow all the steps to get in.”
Piedmont Macon isn’t just using partnerships. It’s also providing free health screenings to reduce deaths from preventable diseases such as heart disease and cancer.
“The biggest thing in middle Georgia that’s impacting that is the number of people that live below the poverty level,” Daugherty explained. “The rate here I think is around 24%, which is about double the national average, so we’ve gotta find a way to help people lift themselves out of poverty.”
Daugherty says identifying and managing disease early on can improve the health of the community overall.
Piedmont’s other health goals for middle Georgia include affordable access to healthcare, and promoting healthy behaviors.
Piedmont is required to fulfill a Community Health Needs Assessment as a not-for-profit health system. The CEO says regardless of the requirement, Piedmont Macon is committed to their mission of making a positive impact in the community.
