The importance of a vibrant healthcare system and its impact on economic development was highlighted by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s 1Q report.
The Foundation examined the first of five pillars that the Chamber has identified in its Georgia 2050 initiative: Regional Prosperity and Healthy Communities.
“Georgians need access to quality healthcare to sustain vibrant communities with a quality of life that attracts and retains the next generation of talent,” the report began.
It is a message that resonates with Russell Lahodny, President and CEO of the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce. He said the current healthcare workforce is outstanding, but the need is even greater. He pointed to the hospital under construction in Grovetown as an asset that will boost the local healthcare landscape.
“People come to areas because of the quality of healthcare, because why you’re not going to move to a community if you can’t get doctors, or you have different needs that aren’t met in your community,” he said. “The focus on really building that healthcare and supporting that healthcare community is a critical piece to every community.”
The report identified the top challenges facing healthcare in Georgia as an aging population and talent shortages. Coupled with low reimbursement rates, uncompensated care, and increased regulation, many of the state’s hospitals, particularly in rural areas, are struggling to remain open and provide a full spectrum of services.
The report says Georgia is working to address workforce needs by creating the new University of Georgia School of Medicine in Athens and the new dental school at Georgia Southern University to complement the educational opportunities at the Medical College of Georgia (MCG).
The Foundation report also points to technology as a component of providing healthcare needs, particularly in rural areas. A new partnership with the MCG Center for Digital Health and the Wellstar Digital Care Network is addressing that opportunity. It has nearly 20 rural hospitals connected to the network.
‘It’s really about using digital technologies to reach patients where they are, and the Digital Care Network specifically is about working to improve rural health care throughout Georgia. The Digital Care Network is our collaboration with rural hospitals, where we’re partnering together to improve health care,” explained Dr. Matt Lyon, Director of MCG’s Center for Digital Health and a specialist in emergency medicine.
Lahodny said the digital healthcare network is one of the solutions to provide top-level healthcare to patients close to their homes.
“We have technology, let’s take advantage of it, where we can. And I think the healthcare industry is one of those,” he said. “It’s a lot cheaper to use technology to serve people than to build a building and then staff it, and then all of the different things. So, I think technology is one of our great opportunities where we can grow.”
Currently, Georgia has 182 hospitals and 34 designated trauma centers supporting 570,000 jobs. The report said 18 hospitals across Georgia have closed since 2018, in both rural and urban areas. At least nine counties have no physicians, and a high number of counties lack specialists.
Lyon said those numbers are looked at by companies looking to build or expand in Georgia.
“Economic development is critical to our state, and when you highlight it from the business standpoint, the benefits become obvious,” he said. “It’s really hard to get an industry to move into a county that has very low healthcare resources, because you’re bringing people into a place where you know they’re not going to have a long lifespan or have more difficulty accessing healthcare.”
Lyon pointed to the Hyundai plant building near Savannah. He said every hospital in the surrounding counties that had been struggling now reports that patient beds are filled.
“As this economic development was coming along, we helped them show how strong of a healthcare environment it is because of digital connectivity,” he said. “They provide excellent healthcare. They’re not a band-aid station, and it helps industry have confidence to invest in those counties and bring more people in.”
Among the solutions the Chamber foundation’s 1Q report recommends is investing in health IT infrastructure to streamline access to services and expand use of telemedicine to provide timely patient care without extensive travel.
The Foundation’s full report is available at https://www.gachamber.com/data/q1-quarterly-economic-report-2025-supporting-healthy-communities/.
In addition to Regional Prosperity and Healthy communities, the other four pillars of Georgia/2025 are:
- Talent & Workforce Preparedness
- Infrastructure & Energy
- Innovation & Entrepreneurship
- Competitiveness & Economic Development
An overview of Georgia/2050 is at: https://www.gachamber.com/georgia-2050/
