Georgia Highlands Medical Service Receives Funding Boost Through Affordable Care Act

Staff Report

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell today announced $684,979 in Affordable Care Act funding to 27 health centers in Georgia to recognize health center quality improvement achievements and invest in ongoing quality improvement activities. Georgia health centers receiving awards today are proven leaders in areas such as chronic disease management, preventive care and the use of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) to report quality data.

“This funding rewards Georgia health centers that have a proven track record in clinical quality improvement, which translates to better patient care, and it allows them to expand and improve their systems and infrastructure to bring the highest quality primary care services to the communities they serve,” said Secretary Burwell. “With these funds, health centers in Georgia will continue to provide access to high quality, comprehensive primary and preventive health care to the patients that need it the most.”

Georgia Health centers receiving these funds are being recognized for high levels of quality performance in one or more of the following categories.

• Health center quality leaders received awards if they were among the top 30 percent of all health centers that achieved the best overall clinical outcomes, demonstrating their ability to focus on quality in all aspects of their clinical operations; 9 Georgia health centers received funding in this category for approximately $226,977.
  
• Clinical quality improvers received awards if they demonstrated at least a 10 percent improvement in clinical quality measures between 2012 and 2013, showing a significant improvement in the health of the patients they serve; 25 Georgia health centers received funding in this category for approximately $352,999.
  
• Electronic Health Record reporters received funding if they used EHRs to report clinical quality measure data on all of their patients, a key transformational step in driving quality improvement for all health center patients across the nation; 7 Georgia health centers received funding in this category for approximately $105,000.

“These funds reward and support those health centers that have taken steps to achieve the highest levels of clinical quality performance and improvement,” said Health and Resources Administration (HRSA) Administrator Mary K. Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N.

Cumming’s own Georgia Highlands Medical Service, Inc. was a beneficiary of a quality improvement award in the amount of $55,817, HHS reports. $26,659 in award money was granted due to Georgia Highlands’ health center quality leader status, and $15,000 was awarded due to the system’s Electronic Health Record reporters, HHS documents show.

In Georgia, 33 HRSA-supported health centers operate more than 180 service delivery sites that provide care to nearly 338,996 patients. Nationally, nearly 1,300 HRSA-supported health centers operate more than 9,200 service delivery sites that provide care to nearly 22 million patients in every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Pacific Basin.