CUMMING, Ga. (PRWEB)
March 03, 2021

HomeTown Health (HTH) is pleased to announce that nineteen Georgia Rural Hospitals have completed their required state board training through the HomeTown Health Board & Leadership Training Program.

In 2018, the Georgia General Assembly implemented a training requirement for rural hospital executives, board members, and hospital authority members. The legislation, HB 769, delegated responsibility for the creation of training standards, approval of vendors, and monitoring of compliance to the Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center (GRHIC).

Hospitals subject to the training requirements must complete an approved board training program by GRHIC, one of which was offered by HomeTown Health. The HomeTown Health Board Training curriculum was certified on 10.14.19 by the Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center at Mercer University School of Medicine as having satisfied the training requirements defined in O.C.G.A. § 31-2-16. The HTH Hospital Board & Leadership (HBL) Training Program also met the standards of accreditation from IACET.org allowing learners to receive continuing education units that meet the highest international best practice ANSI/IACET standards.

In accordance with O.C.G.A. § 31-2-16, training approved by the GRHIC must be completed by “the chief executive officer, the chief financial officer, every board member, and every hospital authority member, if operated by a hospital authority pursuant to Article 4 of Chapter 7 of this title, of a rural hospital organization as defined in Code Section 31-8-9.1.” Every individual who is required to complete training must complete a minimum of eight hours of education prior to December 31, 2020 and an additional 6 hours of training every two calendar years for the duration of their participation in their board at their organization.

The hospitals that successfully completed their hospital board training through HomeTown Health’s training program include:

• Appling Healthcare
• Bleckley Memorial Hospital
• Burke Medical Center
• Candler County Hospital
• Clinch Memorial Hospital
• Dorminy Medical Center
• Elbert Memorial Hospital
• Evans Memorial Hospital
• Habersham Medical Center
• Irwin County Hospital
• Jeff Davis Hospital
• Jefferson Hospital
• Piedmont Mountainside Hospital
• SGMC Berrien Campus
• SGMC Lanier Campus
• South Georgia Medical Center
• Stephens County Hospital
• Taylor Regional Hospital
• Washington County Regional Medical Center

“We congratulate all hospital board members who have completed the hospital board and leadership training during this initial term. Thank you to each board and leadership team member for your dedication to your hospital and service to your community. This education was no small endeavor, and we are so proud of the work each member accomplished as part of their training. We look forward to seeing the impacts of this training and the leadership of well-educated and industry-versed board members on their healthcare systems.” says HomeTown Health CEO Jimmy Lewis.

Topics in the program are organized into standards which include:

Standard 1 – Governance, Liability & Accountability

Standard 2 – Regulatory Agencies and Legal Considerations

Standard 3 – Finances and Fiduciary Responsibility

Standard 4 – Compliance and Contracts

Standard 5 – Ethics

Standard 6 – Patient Care and the Community

Standard 7 – Strategic Planning and Evaluation

Standard 8 – Grants and Other Funding Management

The HomeTown Health “Hospital Board and Leadership Program” Training is offered with training support from these rural hospital subject matter expert organizations: Draffin Tucker, LLP, Health Management Associates, HomeTown Health University, and Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP.

Lewis continued, “Georgia’s hospital board and leadership training requirements and guidelines, established by the Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center (GRHIC) at Mercer University, form a rural hospital leadership model that is worthy of national attention. It has been an honor to work with GRHIC and with each of the facilities that chose our program throughout the past year to establish a knowledge baseline for hospital board education. We look forward to offering continued education and support for hospital leaders and hospital board members.”

“Despite the challenges of 2020, Georgia’s hospital board members, trustees, and executives completed the rural hospital leadership training program; demonstrating their dedication to the communities they serve and the value of the education received. The Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center continues to partner with vendors and hospitals in rural Georgia to improve healthcare through reliable research, creative strategies, consistent community support, and sustainable solutions.” said Tiffany Nelson, Executive Director, Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center

About HTH

HomeTown Health, LLC, celebrating its 21st anniversary this year, serves rural hospitals throughout the United States. HomeTown Health, LLC offers advocacy, education, business partner services and support, healthcare industry conferences, and strategic support to its member hospitals as well as expansive grant-based resources through key partnerships with the Department of Public Health and Department of Community Health in many states. HomeTown Health, LLC is a network of rural hospitals, healthcare providers, and best practice business partners who collectively pursue ways to help its membership survive in the environment of constant change in reimbursement, operations and technology. HomeTown Health, LLC is committed to providing legislative representation, best practice solutions and continuing education and training through research and the continuous improvement of processes for healthcare providers. HomeTown Health’s vision is to support rural healthcare organizations in providing high quality, accessible, and competitive care through a heavily regulated and increasingly technology-dependent environment. HomeTown Health University (HTH’s education department) has a more specific vision to provide continuing education in various live and online formats that is high quality, current, effective, and applicable for its intended audience. Learn more at http://www.hometownhealthonline.com and more about its online education at http://www.hthu.net.

About GRHIC

Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center partners with rural Georgia to improve healthcare through reliable research, creative strategies, and sustainable solutions. The Mercer University School of Medicine has identified 10 grand challenges facing rural Georgia, called Grand Challenges of Rural Health. The Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center addresses these challenges with innovative thinking, collaborative strategies, and interdisciplinary resources. These challenges were selected based on the extent of its impact on rural Georgia and the documented need to begin developing an effective, innovative solution to resolve the challenge.

In 2018, Georgia lawmakers dedicated special funds to establish a new Rural Health Innovation Center. Legislators identified and established numerous charges for the Center, to include the development of research programs, analyzing significant health system problems, and proposing solutions. With that mandate, the Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center partners with rural counties to improve health outcomes in their communities. Informed by the data and community stakeholders, our diverse team develops targeted improvement projects, evaluates rural healthcare delivery systems and their fiscal stability, conducts Rapid Action Assessments based on health risk status of the County, and maintains our rural physician and healthcare access point locator. Learn more at: http://www.georgiaruralhealth.org/

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