An Archway Partnership community in rural Georgia is sharing resources and equipment with nearby counties in an area of the state with limited health care options.
Taylor Regional Hospital, in Pulaski County, has loaned ventillators to neighboring communities and has partnered with Crisp Regional Hospital in Cordele to share or transfer patients to ensure those with COVID-19 get the critical care they need.
“When we call on each other we are no longer silos but patient care providers,” said Jon Green, CEO of Taylor Regional and a member of the Pulaski Archway executive committee.
Another regional partner, Coliseum Health Sytems in Macon, about 50 miles from Hawkinsville, has also admitted patients from Pulaski County that need care for other illnesses so that Taylor Regional’s staff can be more available for patients with COVID-19.
“If there has ever been any doubt about how important hospitals are, or how pure the intentions of healthcare professionals—front line registration, housekeeping, dietary, radiology, lab, respiratory, nurses and physicians—who went outside the norm, this is a prime example of healthcare in its purest form,” Green said.
Pulaski County is also home to a manufacturing company that makes filtration materials for N95 respirators and ventilators, materials used in the production of medical gowns and surgical hoods, all necessary personal protection equipment for hospital employees during the pandemic.
Hollingsworth & Vose, Pulaski County’s largest employer, also produces products that are essential for trucks delivering goods across the country to keep the supply chain going, agricultural equipment to keep food growing and harvested, telecommunications infrastructure and power generation.
Gary Sharpe, operations manager at Hollingsworth & Vose, is also on the Pulaski Archway executive committee.
“We are taking many precautions to protect the workforce, including following CDC guidance, temperature checks, mask usage, social distancing, providing hand sanitizer, encouraging hand washing, extra cleaning and sanitation, and using hands free devices,” Sharpe said. “We are grateful for the dedication of our employees during this time and the contribution they are making to fighting COVID-19.”
Pulaski Tomorrow, a nonprofit leadership organization, received two grants to provide food to senior residents in the community. The county has a mobile COVID-19 testing site, administered by the South Central Health District.
“It’s heartwarming to see everyone supporting each other,” said Jenna Mashburn, Pulaski County’s sole commissioner. “We’ve had tons of local donations of hand-made masks from our talented citizens that have been donated to our hospital, long term care, and medically fragile along with our first responders. It makes me very proud to live in a small town where people truly care. Our tagline of “Come Home” is so fitting in these uncertain times.”
Writer: Baker Owens, baker.owens@uga.edu, 706-510-9622
Contact: Sherrie Raleigh, lisa.raleigh@uga.edu, 706-765-7036