SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) -
Georgia health care leaders are in Savannah on Tuesday for a forum looking at how to balance the rising needs of the state's health care issue with the rising costs.
Coastal health care leaders are working together at the 2020 Georgia Initiative to find solutions that will help generate revenue from the state budget for the short and long needs of all Georgians.
They gathered in the Hoskins Center at Memorial University Medical Center. The workshop was sponsored by 2020 Georgia, which is a coalition of more than 90 organizations all concerned about public health and other government issues.
The group got in-depth look at Georgia's health care budget shortfalls and learned about the linkages of public health in a community and it's economic vitality.
As Georgia's population grows many health leaders are concerned by not having the resources they need funded, Georgia's health care future is in jeopardy.
"We got serious problems up and down the coast. one of the things pointed out is we are losing about 1.5 million dollars from our public health infrastructure and that pays for public health nurses and environmentalists. I said it clearly here, without those people i can't respond properly if a hurricane hits the coast or some other emergency that causes a multi county response," said Dr. Douglas Skelton, district health director.
Other concerns include Georgia's underfunded Medicaid program, loss of health care system jobs, service cuts and lack of investment into community based programs, to name a few.
The group is urging citizens to tell their lawmakers to fund these programs that are important to the future of the state. They want Georgians to show support for investment in keeping people healthy and preventing disease.
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