Federal funding offers hope in effort to re-open Randolph County Hospital

CUTHBERT – A federal grant of $11.8 million will go a long way toward helping residents in Randolph County re-open their hospital, but it is not the entire answer to the puzzle, U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff said on Wednesday.

When the Southwest Georgia Regional Hospital closed in the county of about 6,000 in 2020, it left residents with life-threatening emergencies miles away from a medical facility. Hospitals close to home, including in neighboring Clay County, also have closed in recent years as the closure of rural hospitals has taken place across the county.

The nearly $12 million approved last month in a bipartisan congressional spending package is only the beginning of returning those services to Randolph County, Ossoff said during a Wednesday-morning conference call that also included Randolph County Hospital Authority Chairman Steve Whatley.

“I want to emphasize we have a long way to go,” the Democratic senator said. “There is a long way to go to return health care for Randolph County. This is a first step in a long and challenging journey. It is a journey I am committed to, but victory is not assured.”

The long distance between residents and a hospital is “deeply disturbing” for sick and injured children as well as individuals who have a medical emergency such as a stroke or heart attack, Ossoff said.

The senator said that providing the funding was a bipartisan effort.

Others who have championed the cause include state Rep. Gerald Greene, a Cuthbert Republican, Democratic state Sen. Freddie Powell Sims of Dawson, as well as top Republican state officials including Gov. Brian Kemp and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones.

“As everyone knows, Cuthbert’s hospital closed at the height of the pandemic,” Ossoff said. “That’s why I have made it one of my office’s highest priorities to make sure Randolph County (residents) have access to health care.

“This is a historic federal investment, but I want to emphasize this is a first step. This is the foundation for this effort.”

Whatley, the hospital authority chairman, said that moving forward the body will have to select a hospital model that will allow the facility to be financially self-sustaining once it is re-opened.

“The funds will be used for equipment and to remodel a facility that is in bad need of upgrades,” he said. “The federal money is a huge shot in the arm, and it gives our constituents hope.”

File PhotoAlanMauldin[email protected]