1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,399 Welcome to the Becker's Healthcare Podcast. I'm Chris 2 00:00:02,399 --> 00:00:04,319 Sosa, your host. And I'm thrilled to be 3 00:00:04,319 --> 00:00:06,319 joined today by Mark Welsh, who is vice 4 00:00:06,319 --> 00:00:08,720 president of children's advocacy for children's health care 5 00:00:08,720 --> 00:00:11,279 of Atlanta, and doctor Jean Sumner, who is 6 00:00:11,279 --> 00:00:13,439 dean of the Mercer University School of Medicine. 7 00:00:13,439 --> 00:00:15,039 Mark and doctor Sumner, thank you so much 8 00:00:15,039 --> 00:00:16,934 for joining us today. Thank you. Glad to 9 00:00:16,934 --> 00:00:18,635 be here. Thank you for having us. 10 00:00:19,175 --> 00:00:21,495 Excellent. Thank you, guys. We are, of course, 11 00:00:21,495 --> 00:00:23,574 here to talk about your kids' alliance for 12 00:00:23,574 --> 00:00:25,894 better care program. I'm so excited to learn 13 00:00:25,894 --> 00:00:28,230 about that. But off the top, could you 14 00:00:28,230 --> 00:00:29,989 just please introduce yourselves and tell us a 15 00:00:29,989 --> 00:00:31,910 bit about your backgrounds? Doctor Sumner, why don't 16 00:00:31,910 --> 00:00:32,729 you go first? 17 00:00:33,270 --> 00:00:35,909 Well, I'm Jean Sumner. I'm a internist by 18 00:00:35,909 --> 00:00:38,229 training. I'm the dean at Mercy University School 19 00:00:38,229 --> 00:00:40,649 of Medicine, and I'm approaching my tenth year. 20 00:00:40,835 --> 00:00:43,075 I've spent most of my life practicing in 21 00:00:43,075 --> 00:00:45,234 rural Georgia, some of the poorest counties in 22 00:00:45,234 --> 00:00:45,975 the state. 23 00:00:46,515 --> 00:00:48,755 And the school is driven by its mission, 24 00:00:48,755 --> 00:00:50,135 which is helping alleviate 25 00:00:50,594 --> 00:00:53,175 health disparities in in rural Georgia. 26 00:00:54,340 --> 00:00:56,500 And, Mark, how about you? I'm Mark Welsh. 27 00:00:56,500 --> 00:00:58,179 I'm the, as you've mentioned, the vice president 28 00:00:58,179 --> 00:00:59,939 of child advocacy here at Children's. I've been 29 00:00:59,939 --> 00:01:00,759 with the organization 30 00:01:01,219 --> 00:01:03,859 for eight years, and our work here focuses 31 00:01:03,859 --> 00:01:05,939 on how do we impact the community. My 32 00:01:05,939 --> 00:01:08,099 team does both prevention work in the community, 33 00:01:08,099 --> 00:01:08,759 but also 34 00:01:09,085 --> 00:01:10,605 is so proud to do work like this 35 00:01:10,605 --> 00:01:12,305 rural health initiative. I am a 36 00:01:12,605 --> 00:01:14,685 epidemiologist by training, but I spent most of 37 00:01:14,685 --> 00:01:15,344 my career 38 00:01:15,645 --> 00:01:18,305 leading large, public health focused programs. 39 00:01:19,484 --> 00:01:21,885 Fantastic. Alright. As you we've mentioned, we're here 40 00:01:21,885 --> 00:01:23,790 to talk about a wonderful program that you 41 00:01:23,870 --> 00:01:25,170 have combined forces, 42 00:01:25,709 --> 00:01:28,670 to launch into the health care sphere, so 43 00:01:28,670 --> 00:01:29,329 to speak. 44 00:01:29,709 --> 00:01:31,549 Doctor Salmer, I wanna start with you. So 45 00:01:31,549 --> 00:01:33,069 could you paint a picture of what health 46 00:01:33,069 --> 00:01:35,489 care for kids looks like in rural communities, 47 00:01:35,870 --> 00:01:37,549 and also what inspired you to work to 48 00:01:37,549 --> 00:01:38,849 address this lack of access? 49 00:01:39,515 --> 00:01:41,274 Well, thank you, Chris, for the opportunity to 50 00:01:41,274 --> 00:01:43,915 talk about something that we're passionate about. Health 51 00:01:43,915 --> 00:01:46,634 care in rural Georgia for children is probably 52 00:01:46,634 --> 00:01:49,274 the most underserved area of care. There are 53 00:01:49,274 --> 00:01:50,314 120 54 00:01:50,314 --> 00:01:51,594 of the 159 55 00:01:51,594 --> 00:01:53,854 counties in our state that are considered rural 56 00:01:54,170 --> 00:01:56,569 by Georgia's definition, which is 50,000 57 00:01:56,569 --> 00:01:57,229 or less. 58 00:01:57,530 --> 00:01:59,229 Of the 120 counties, 59 00:01:59,689 --> 00:02:01,709 65 do not have a pediatrician. 60 00:02:02,649 --> 00:02:04,969 And and of the ones that do, many 61 00:02:04,969 --> 00:02:06,189 have one pediatrician. 62 00:02:07,129 --> 00:02:07,629 So 63 00:02:08,094 --> 00:02:10,655 I believe that the most underserved area of 64 00:02:10,655 --> 00:02:11,155 medicine 65 00:02:11,455 --> 00:02:14,175 is care for children. Now there are great 66 00:02:14,175 --> 00:02:16,655 family medicine docs who fill in and take 67 00:02:16,655 --> 00:02:17,875 care of kids as well. 68 00:02:18,254 --> 00:02:19,474 But having a pediatrician 69 00:02:19,935 --> 00:02:20,995 that's accessible, 70 00:02:21,294 --> 00:02:23,634 I think, in many ways offers things 71 00:02:23,990 --> 00:02:26,310 that improve the care of children across the 72 00:02:26,310 --> 00:02:26,810 state. 73 00:02:27,510 --> 00:02:29,349 We we're fortunate to live in a great 74 00:02:29,349 --> 00:02:31,909 state, and our legislators have been very focused 75 00:02:31,909 --> 00:02:34,469 on trying to improve care. And Georgia has 76 00:02:34,469 --> 00:02:36,949 invested a great deal of resources into rural 77 00:02:36,949 --> 00:02:37,449 health, 78 00:02:37,835 --> 00:02:39,854 But making the health status better, 79 00:02:40,555 --> 00:02:43,275 has not happened. I do believe that we're 80 00:02:43,275 --> 00:02:45,275 very honored to have an alliance with Children's 81 00:02:45,275 --> 00:02:47,754 Healthcare of Atlanta and that this program is 82 00:02:47,754 --> 00:02:48,735 laying the foundation 83 00:02:49,610 --> 00:02:51,209 for a program that could use be used 84 00:02:51,209 --> 00:02:52,270 as a model nationally 85 00:02:52,729 --> 00:02:54,509 to make a difference in these communities. 86 00:02:56,090 --> 00:02:58,169 It's a worthwhile program to say the very 87 00:02:58,169 --> 00:03:00,409 least, and I'm sure both your organizations are 88 00:03:00,409 --> 00:03:01,930 very proud of the work you're doing and 89 00:03:01,930 --> 00:03:03,229 will continue to do. 90 00:03:04,145 --> 00:03:06,145 For one of you, let whoever wants to 91 00:03:06,145 --> 00:03:08,544 take this question tackle it. I'm just looking 92 00:03:08,544 --> 00:03:10,784 for an overview of the collaboration between both 93 00:03:10,784 --> 00:03:11,525 your organizations. 94 00:03:12,944 --> 00:03:14,145 Yeah. I mean, I can I I can 95 00:03:14,145 --> 00:03:15,824 take a the first go, and I'm sure 96 00:03:15,824 --> 00:03:17,665 doctor Sumner will jump in and fill in 97 00:03:17,665 --> 00:03:19,680 what I missed? You know, for us at 98 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:22,080 Children's, we, in any given year, will serve 99 00:03:22,080 --> 00:03:23,599 kids from all a 159 100 00:03:23,599 --> 00:03:24,979 counties across the state. 101 00:03:25,519 --> 00:03:28,799 The 120 rural counties that doctor Sumner mentioned, 102 00:03:28,799 --> 00:03:30,959 we know have unique needs and and that 103 00:03:30,959 --> 00:03:31,780 those families 104 00:03:32,104 --> 00:03:34,264 are doing amazing things to raise kids, but 105 00:03:34,264 --> 00:03:36,264 face unique challenges in ensuring those kids get 106 00:03:36,264 --> 00:03:38,584 cared. And so when we set about this 107 00:03:38,584 --> 00:03:40,824 project, we really looked at, okay, how do 108 00:03:40,824 --> 00:03:43,384 we ensure that we are not only thinking 109 00:03:43,384 --> 00:03:45,659 about what will best impact those kids, but 110 00:03:45,659 --> 00:03:48,459 that we engaged with a partner, engaged with 111 00:03:48,459 --> 00:03:51,120 an organization that would allow us to really 112 00:03:51,180 --> 00:03:53,180 understand the needs of rural communities. And that's 113 00:03:53,180 --> 00:03:55,020 why we began this work with with the 114 00:03:55,020 --> 00:03:56,699 Mercer School of Medicine and the Rural Health 115 00:03:56,699 --> 00:03:58,939 Innovation Center because these are folks who live 116 00:03:58,939 --> 00:04:01,865 in rural communicate communities and dedicate every single 117 00:04:01,865 --> 00:04:02,844 day to serving, 118 00:04:03,705 --> 00:04:06,665 communities across our state. And so we set 119 00:04:06,665 --> 00:04:08,504 about really trying to better understand how to 120 00:04:08,504 --> 00:04:10,264 meet those needs. And from an initial meeting 121 00:04:10,264 --> 00:04:12,205 that doctor Sumner organized with 122 00:04:12,504 --> 00:04:15,239 pediatricians from the communities and hospitals, we landed 123 00:04:15,239 --> 00:04:17,339 on four core areas of focus. 124 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:21,240 The first is really helping rural hospitals be 125 00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:23,160 better able to meet the needs of kids 126 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:23,979 in their communities. 127 00:04:24,279 --> 00:04:26,600 These are wonderful facilities that are doing amazing 128 00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:28,915 work to serve their communities, but they're primarily 129 00:04:28,915 --> 00:04:31,095 serving adults. And in many of these cases, 130 00:04:31,235 --> 00:04:33,555 they weren't really ready and prepared to respond 131 00:04:33,555 --> 00:04:35,154 to the needs of kids. And so we 132 00:04:35,154 --> 00:04:37,394 set about understanding how do we best support 133 00:04:37,394 --> 00:04:39,714 them, best meet those needs, and and ensure 134 00:04:39,714 --> 00:04:41,475 that they have what they need to meet 135 00:04:41,475 --> 00:04:42,754 the needs of that kid that may walk 136 00:04:42,754 --> 00:04:43,560 through their doors. 137 00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:46,519 The second was really supporting pediatricians. And so 138 00:04:46,519 --> 00:04:48,459 we heard from a wonderful group of pediatricians 139 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:51,160 who said, hey. We are we are doing 140 00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:53,560 great things for our community, but often, we're 141 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:55,079 out here on an island. We're on our 142 00:04:55,079 --> 00:04:57,019 own. I I we they don't have 143 00:04:57,444 --> 00:04:59,125 a partner down the hall who they can 144 00:04:59,125 --> 00:05:00,404 go and say, hey. Come and take a 145 00:05:00,404 --> 00:05:01,384 look at this case. 146 00:05:02,085 --> 00:05:04,004 So they really wanted to not only create 147 00:05:04,004 --> 00:05:06,404 that connection amongst each other, but have that 148 00:05:06,404 --> 00:05:09,605 ongoing support through telehealth and through opportunities for 149 00:05:09,605 --> 00:05:12,025 ongoing learning from the experts in children's. 150 00:05:12,599 --> 00:05:14,779 So there was an opportunity to facilitate that. 151 00:05:15,159 --> 00:05:17,740 The third area of behavioral and mental health, 152 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:19,560 we know that that's a challenge across the 153 00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:22,379 nation, certainly a a challenge in Metro Atlanta. 154 00:05:22,599 --> 00:05:25,159 But in our rural communities in particular, that 155 00:05:25,159 --> 00:05:26,300 challenge is amplified 156 00:05:26,680 --> 00:05:30,245 by not only, the the continuation of stigma 157 00:05:30,245 --> 00:05:31,845 around mental health, but also a lack of 158 00:05:31,845 --> 00:05:33,605 access to care. And so we wanted to 159 00:05:33,605 --> 00:05:35,365 think about how do we best work with 160 00:05:35,365 --> 00:05:37,685 schools to not only do screening, but more 161 00:05:37,685 --> 00:05:40,185 importantly, as doctor Sumner always stress stresses, 162 00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:42,959 connecting kids to care. It's not about just 163 00:05:42,959 --> 00:05:45,279 screening and identifying and leaving. You have to 164 00:05:45,279 --> 00:05:47,120 close the loop and connect to care. So 165 00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:48,879 really thinking about models that allow us to 166 00:05:48,879 --> 00:05:51,120 do that. And the last area is probably 167 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:52,879 the area that I continue to be the 168 00:05:52,879 --> 00:05:55,414 most proud of, and that is thinking about 169 00:05:55,555 --> 00:05:58,115 sustainable way ways to build the health care 170 00:05:58,115 --> 00:06:01,154 workforce across the state. Doctor Sumner mentioned the 171 00:06:01,154 --> 00:06:03,334 number of counties that are without a pediatrician 172 00:06:03,474 --> 00:06:05,735 throughout our state. And so we set about, 173 00:06:06,115 --> 00:06:08,160 through through the guidance of the Mercer School 174 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:09,920 of Medicine to say, what would it look 175 00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:11,379 like to offer scholarships 176 00:06:11,759 --> 00:06:14,000 to med students who in turn commit to 177 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:16,480 serving rural communities post their training? And so 178 00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:18,800 we are excited to have 27 young people 179 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:21,514 who made that commitment. There's they have scholarships 180 00:06:21,514 --> 00:06:24,154 that'll cover their full med school tuition, and 181 00:06:24,154 --> 00:06:25,915 they'll come into four years of serving in 182 00:06:25,915 --> 00:06:28,175 a in a rural community post that training. 183 00:06:28,475 --> 00:06:31,514 In addition, we said, hey. That's that's working. 184 00:06:31,514 --> 00:06:33,115 That's amazing. What would it look like to 185 00:06:33,115 --> 00:06:34,589 do that on the side of mental health? 186 00:06:34,829 --> 00:06:37,889 And so we've we've begun that same program 187 00:06:38,189 --> 00:06:40,189 for marriage and family therapists who are also 188 00:06:40,189 --> 00:06:42,290 making a commitment to serving in rural communities. 189 00:06:42,350 --> 00:06:44,910 So thinking about these sustainable models to build 190 00:06:44,910 --> 00:06:46,370 the workforce in rural Georgia. 191 00:06:47,694 --> 00:06:50,175 Yeah. And that commitment to collaboration, Mark, that 192 00:06:50,175 --> 00:06:50,834 you just 193 00:06:51,535 --> 00:06:53,694 outlined so eloquently, I'm glad it's alive and 194 00:06:53,694 --> 00:06:56,014 well, and not only with your organizations, but 195 00:06:56,014 --> 00:06:57,694 as I speak to other health care leaders, 196 00:06:57,694 --> 00:07:00,029 it's alive there as well, which is terrific. 197 00:07:00,029 --> 00:07:01,629 And now, doctor Summer, I wanna give you 198 00:07:01,629 --> 00:07:02,850 an opportunity to 199 00:07:03,230 --> 00:07:05,310 to have the floor and discuss just what 200 00:07:05,310 --> 00:07:07,470 Mercer's role looks like in this program and 201 00:07:07,470 --> 00:07:08,129 this effort. 202 00:07:08,670 --> 00:07:11,330 Chris Mercer was created back in the eighties 203 00:07:11,745 --> 00:07:14,165 to be a medical school that trained physicians 204 00:07:14,225 --> 00:07:16,485 and health care professionals for rural Georgia. 205 00:07:16,865 --> 00:07:19,185 Everything we do here from our research to 206 00:07:19,185 --> 00:07:20,725 our selection of students 207 00:07:21,264 --> 00:07:23,925 is focused on making Georgia healthy 208 00:07:24,279 --> 00:07:27,479 and finding sustainable solutions to rural health. I 209 00:07:27,479 --> 00:07:29,399 don't know if anything we do that has 210 00:07:29,399 --> 00:07:31,899 been more impactful than this effort. 211 00:07:32,360 --> 00:07:34,439 Because to in order to impact a rural 212 00:07:34,439 --> 00:07:37,180 community, rural communities are often looked at as 213 00:07:38,694 --> 00:07:39,194 unsophisticated, 214 00:07:40,215 --> 00:07:41,595 as not educated, 215 00:07:41,975 --> 00:07:42,475 as 216 00:07:42,775 --> 00:07:45,095 not caring about their families or not caring 217 00:07:45,095 --> 00:07:47,335 about their community, and nothing could be further 218 00:07:47,335 --> 00:07:49,435 from the truth. They're actually resilient. 219 00:07:50,055 --> 00:07:52,634 There may be less levels of education, 220 00:07:53,490 --> 00:07:55,490 but people care about their families and they 221 00:07:55,490 --> 00:07:57,329 want to do well. But there's so many 222 00:07:57,329 --> 00:07:58,709 obstacles to care 223 00:07:59,089 --> 00:08:01,889 in these communities. They've been left out of 224 00:08:01,889 --> 00:08:04,610 the loop. They have to drive many miles 225 00:08:04,610 --> 00:08:05,350 for care. 226 00:08:06,035 --> 00:08:06,935 They're often 227 00:08:07,235 --> 00:08:07,735 implied 228 00:08:08,274 --> 00:08:09,175 to be not 229 00:08:09,875 --> 00:08:11,574 motivated to care for themselves, 230 00:08:11,955 --> 00:08:14,595 when actually it's so hard to access care 231 00:08:14,595 --> 00:08:16,134 that often they give up. 232 00:08:16,514 --> 00:08:19,495 What we do is build long term trust 233 00:08:19,555 --> 00:08:20,455 with these communities. 234 00:08:20,839 --> 00:08:22,939 When Mercer comes, we don't go away, 235 00:08:23,240 --> 00:08:25,560 and we listen to the community, and we 236 00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:27,100 learn what the issues are. 237 00:08:27,639 --> 00:08:29,560 You will find that every rural community in 238 00:08:29,560 --> 00:08:32,679 Georgia is different. It has strengths, and it 239 00:08:32,679 --> 00:08:33,500 has weaknesses. 240 00:08:34,085 --> 00:08:36,245 But it always has, you will find, a 241 00:08:36,245 --> 00:08:37,144 group of people 242 00:08:37,524 --> 00:08:38,664 who will work together 243 00:08:39,125 --> 00:08:40,585 to engage their community 244 00:08:41,125 --> 00:08:43,524 and to rise to the challenge of of 245 00:08:43,524 --> 00:08:45,304 changing the health in that community. 246 00:08:45,845 --> 00:08:46,745 So trust 247 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:50,139 is is very important in health care, but 248 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:52,839 it's required if you're gonna impact the health 249 00:08:52,839 --> 00:08:53,820 of a rural system. 250 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:56,620 You can't be a mobile doctor. The scholarships 251 00:08:56,679 --> 00:09:00,459 that Mark mentioned, these students are by 252 00:09:01,065 --> 00:09:03,705 contract or required to live and work in 253 00:09:03,705 --> 00:09:05,644 those rural communities. They don't commute. 254 00:09:06,105 --> 00:09:07,085 But our students, 255 00:09:07,465 --> 00:09:09,384 Mercy is a little different that we only 256 00:09:09,384 --> 00:09:12,205 accept Georgians and we preferentially accept rural students. 257 00:09:12,799 --> 00:09:14,500 So if you look across the country, 258 00:09:15,199 --> 00:09:17,919 about 5% or less of students in MD 259 00:09:17,919 --> 00:09:20,240 programs came from a small town. And at 260 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:22,579 Mercer, we're between 4050%, 261 00:09:22,879 --> 00:09:25,199 and we continue to rise. And 70% of 262 00:09:25,199 --> 00:09:28,100 our students come from outside of Metropolitan Atlanta. 263 00:09:28,475 --> 00:09:30,495 We will always take Atlanta students, 264 00:09:30,955 --> 00:09:33,375 but we look for young people who love 265 00:09:33,434 --> 00:09:35,595 where they grew up, who wanna go home, 266 00:09:35,595 --> 00:09:37,375 and we find a path for them. 267 00:09:37,754 --> 00:09:40,715 And so, they're very motivated to get the 268 00:09:40,715 --> 00:09:43,339 skills. I personally think to be an independent 269 00:09:43,480 --> 00:09:45,559 practitioner in a small town, you need stronger 270 00:09:45,559 --> 00:09:46,059 skills 271 00:09:46,440 --> 00:09:48,759 because you can call a code or need 272 00:09:48,759 --> 00:09:50,519 help. And as Mark said, there's nobody there 273 00:09:50,519 --> 00:09:51,879 to help you. So you need to build 274 00:09:51,879 --> 00:09:53,100 a team around you, 275 00:09:53,725 --> 00:09:55,485 and you need to be really good at 276 00:09:55,485 --> 00:09:56,384 what you do. 277 00:09:56,764 --> 00:09:59,965 But we we impact those by doing what 278 00:09:59,965 --> 00:10:00,705 we say, 279 00:10:01,325 --> 00:10:02,865 not giving up, listening, 280 00:10:03,644 --> 00:10:05,424 understanding the needs of the community, 281 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:08,960 and providing the resources they need and also 282 00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:11,220 the training they need to use those resources. 283 00:10:11,840 --> 00:10:13,919 And we build the coalition. I think the 284 00:10:13,919 --> 00:10:16,480 coalition between these counties is so important. It 285 00:10:16,720 --> 00:10:19,365 the counties geographically are large, and you may 286 00:10:19,365 --> 00:10:21,644 be in Coffee County and not realize there's 287 00:10:21,764 --> 00:10:22,904 that there's a pediatrician 288 00:10:23,764 --> 00:10:25,365 two counties over that you could pick up 289 00:10:25,365 --> 00:10:27,465 the phone or chat with with a telehealth 290 00:10:27,524 --> 00:10:29,144 unit or share a case. 291 00:10:29,684 --> 00:10:32,264 So we build that coalition and best practices 292 00:10:32,485 --> 00:10:33,705 come out of that coalition. 293 00:10:34,569 --> 00:10:37,470 And so it's really been exciting to work. 294 00:10:37,850 --> 00:10:40,009 You know, I was had an interview one 295 00:10:40,009 --> 00:10:42,009 time, and the the woman who was interviewing 296 00:10:42,009 --> 00:10:43,870 me said, when you when this is over, 297 00:10:44,569 --> 00:10:46,995 they'll just go back to their bad ways. 298 00:10:47,075 --> 00:10:48,595 And I said, you've never lived in a 299 00:10:48,595 --> 00:10:51,495 county. In a small town, you know everybody. 300 00:10:52,034 --> 00:10:54,595 You know you know who smokes secretly. You 301 00:10:54,595 --> 00:10:56,934 know who drives too fast. You know who, 302 00:10:57,634 --> 00:11:00,595 does other things. But you care about you 303 00:11:00,595 --> 00:11:02,850 you it's a diverse group of people who 304 00:11:02,850 --> 00:11:05,089 need each other, and they care about each 305 00:11:05,089 --> 00:11:05,589 other. 306 00:11:05,889 --> 00:11:08,450 And so you're the doctor, and you know 307 00:11:08,450 --> 00:11:10,690 that patient. You're the nurse in that ER. 308 00:11:10,690 --> 00:11:13,509 Your children probably go to play softball with 309 00:11:13,964 --> 00:11:15,884 with the other kids. They go to school 310 00:11:15,884 --> 00:11:18,044 with other kids. You know, the mothers, the 311 00:11:18,044 --> 00:11:19,664 grandmamas, the great grandmothers. 312 00:11:20,605 --> 00:11:22,605 So you want to be the best you 313 00:11:22,605 --> 00:11:24,284 can be, and you want them to have 314 00:11:24,284 --> 00:11:24,784 confidence 315 00:11:25,164 --> 00:11:26,144 in your institution. 316 00:11:26,870 --> 00:11:29,190 When when you have a major emergency in 317 00:11:29,190 --> 00:11:29,769 a child, 318 00:11:30,230 --> 00:11:32,070 you have a short time frame to get 319 00:11:32,070 --> 00:11:33,990 that child to a center. You have to 320 00:11:33,990 --> 00:11:36,149 stabilize them, and and that is one of 321 00:11:36,149 --> 00:11:38,970 our goals, being able to stabilize critical emergencies. 322 00:11:39,350 --> 00:11:41,269 But there are also so many things that 323 00:11:41,269 --> 00:11:42,250 could stay home 324 00:11:42,644 --> 00:11:43,945 and be treated well. 325 00:11:44,325 --> 00:11:46,504 And we've set up through this initiative 326 00:11:47,125 --> 00:11:49,764 the ability for these hospitals to regain their 327 00:11:49,764 --> 00:11:53,205 found foundational values in pediatrics and the skills 328 00:11:53,205 --> 00:11:55,445 they need to to care for that child 329 00:11:55,445 --> 00:11:58,299 at home and then refer if appropriate. But 330 00:11:58,299 --> 00:11:59,980 many of the cases can be kept at 331 00:11:59,980 --> 00:12:01,899 home. A family that has to go to 332 00:12:01,899 --> 00:12:04,779 Atlanta or go 60, a 100 miles for 333 00:12:04,779 --> 00:12:07,179 care, that means days off from work. It 334 00:12:07,179 --> 00:12:09,519 means gas they don't have. It means, 335 00:12:10,375 --> 00:12:12,695 you know, missing school. And so if we 336 00:12:12,695 --> 00:12:15,334 can provide care at home with guidance and 337 00:12:15,334 --> 00:12:18,454 with building a inner world team that can 338 00:12:18,454 --> 00:12:19,355 help each other 339 00:12:19,735 --> 00:12:21,735 or maybe sending them to the next county 340 00:12:21,735 --> 00:12:24,154 instead of sending them a 100 miles away, 341 00:12:24,669 --> 00:12:25,970 That helps the family. 342 00:12:26,429 --> 00:12:29,309 Children do better in school and are just 343 00:12:29,309 --> 00:12:31,950 healthier and more happy with what their lives 344 00:12:31,950 --> 00:12:34,110 are like. And so we help families achieve 345 00:12:34,110 --> 00:12:36,509 the care they need, and we hope we 346 00:12:36,509 --> 00:12:37,570 change that culture. 347 00:12:38,694 --> 00:12:40,394 Doctor Summer, thank you for signing 348 00:12:41,495 --> 00:12:43,735 a very powerful spotlight on on all the 349 00:12:43,735 --> 00:12:45,194 issues that are affecting 350 00:12:46,134 --> 00:12:49,095 rural communities and rural children in particular. I 351 00:12:49,095 --> 00:12:50,475 mean, I love how you 352 00:12:51,679 --> 00:12:54,339 illuminated the connectivity that 353 00:12:54,879 --> 00:12:57,600 exists in all these communities and how important 354 00:12:57,600 --> 00:13:00,320 that is and how resilient they are. And 355 00:13:00,320 --> 00:13:02,559 I'm so glad that you two have found 356 00:13:02,559 --> 00:13:03,299 each other, 357 00:13:03,615 --> 00:13:06,195 you know, not only, you know, you yourselves 358 00:13:06,254 --> 00:13:07,794 as colleagues, but as organizations. 359 00:13:08,735 --> 00:13:09,955 On that note, Mark, 360 00:13:10,654 --> 00:13:11,794 you've given us 361 00:13:12,174 --> 00:13:14,995 a lot of details, wonderful details on how 362 00:13:15,790 --> 00:13:18,029 Children's Healthcare of Atlanta plays a role in 363 00:13:18,029 --> 00:13:19,490 this. What else 364 00:13:20,029 --> 00:13:21,950 do you want our audience to know about 365 00:13:21,950 --> 00:13:24,450 how your organization is involved with this effort? 366 00:13:25,070 --> 00:13:26,110 Well, I mean, I think one of the 367 00:13:26,110 --> 00:13:27,790 things I I I want folks to know 368 00:13:27,790 --> 00:13:29,309 is is really to shine a light on 369 00:13:29,309 --> 00:13:31,715 all of the wisdom that doctor Sumner just 370 00:13:31,715 --> 00:13:33,575 shared, and I I use the word wisdom 371 00:13:33,715 --> 00:13:34,455 on purpose. 372 00:13:34,915 --> 00:13:37,095 I think it's easy to sit in a 373 00:13:37,235 --> 00:13:39,715 big city and say, I know best. I 374 00:13:39,715 --> 00:13:41,575 know what is best for this community. 375 00:13:41,955 --> 00:13:44,700 We're the experts. We know. We we'll never 376 00:13:44,700 --> 00:13:46,940 have that wisdom and the lived experience of 377 00:13:46,940 --> 00:13:48,459 what it means to live in one of 378 00:13:48,459 --> 00:13:51,019 these one of our rural communities, to understand 379 00:13:51,019 --> 00:13:51,839 that interconnectedness, 380 00:13:52,220 --> 00:13:52,959 to understand 381 00:13:53,500 --> 00:13:56,139 the importance of trust and building trust. And 382 00:13:56,139 --> 00:13:57,659 so I think the biggest thing for us 383 00:13:57,659 --> 00:13:58,480 here at Children's 384 00:13:58,934 --> 00:14:01,014 has been to be willing to have the 385 00:14:01,014 --> 00:14:03,274 humility to come and say, hey. Teach us. 386 00:14:03,335 --> 00:14:05,335 Help us understand where we can make the 387 00:14:05,335 --> 00:14:06,154 biggest impact. 388 00:14:06,695 --> 00:14:09,174 And from that perspective, we've we've done really 389 00:14:09,174 --> 00:14:11,254 two core things. We've said we will invest 390 00:14:11,254 --> 00:14:12,075 in this initiative 391 00:14:12,570 --> 00:14:14,730 financially, and we will invest in terms of 392 00:14:14,730 --> 00:14:16,990 the pediatric expertise that sits at children's. 393 00:14:17,290 --> 00:14:20,009 But we will look to, our collaborators at 394 00:14:20,009 --> 00:14:22,250 Mercer to say, how do we best impact 395 00:14:22,250 --> 00:14:22,910 the communities, 396 00:14:23,610 --> 00:14:25,610 that we wanna serve and that you all 397 00:14:25,610 --> 00:14:28,274 are are so interconnected with? And I think 398 00:14:28,274 --> 00:14:30,754 that that's important. As as others listen to 399 00:14:30,754 --> 00:14:33,554 this this podcast and as other health systems 400 00:14:33,554 --> 00:14:35,475 think about how they can do more, it 401 00:14:35,475 --> 00:14:37,554 is important that you connect with folks who 402 00:14:37,554 --> 00:14:39,634 are in the communities you're trying to serve. 403 00:14:39,634 --> 00:14:41,714 I think it's vital to hear those voices, 404 00:14:41,714 --> 00:14:43,254 to understand those needs. 405 00:14:43,559 --> 00:14:45,399 And then from there, think about how you 406 00:14:45,399 --> 00:14:46,940 can best make an impact. 407 00:14:47,960 --> 00:14:48,860 Looking ahead, 408 00:14:49,240 --> 00:14:51,160 certainly, this is a program that I understand 409 00:14:51,160 --> 00:14:53,160 is in its third year, which is terrific 410 00:14:53,160 --> 00:14:55,639 that it's come this far. So looking ahead 411 00:14:55,639 --> 00:14:57,960 three to five years, even beyond that, doctor 412 00:14:57,960 --> 00:14:59,914 Sumner, Mark, what what do you see this 413 00:14:59,914 --> 00:15:01,455 program looking like in that time? 414 00:15:01,914 --> 00:15:04,315 Children's has committed to ten years of this 415 00:15:04,315 --> 00:15:04,815 program. 416 00:15:05,434 --> 00:15:08,075 And, you know, we hope that we we 417 00:15:08,075 --> 00:15:10,735 use the resources that are available to us 418 00:15:10,875 --> 00:15:12,174 to help these communities, 419 00:15:12,769 --> 00:15:15,409 and we use their expertise to guide these 420 00:15:15,409 --> 00:15:15,909 communities. 421 00:15:16,610 --> 00:15:18,870 I hope this is a a lifelong commitment. 422 00:15:19,009 --> 00:15:21,330 I I think that you will see that 423 00:15:21,330 --> 00:15:21,830 mothers 424 00:15:22,929 --> 00:15:25,190 and daddies care about their children, 425 00:15:25,695 --> 00:15:28,735 and healthy children become healthy young people become 426 00:15:28,735 --> 00:15:29,634 healthy adults. 427 00:15:30,174 --> 00:15:32,835 And children's health transforms the family. 428 00:15:33,455 --> 00:15:34,514 And so 429 00:15:35,134 --> 00:15:36,915 Georgia needs rural Georgia. 430 00:15:37,774 --> 00:15:41,279 Rural Georgia is a wealth of industry in 431 00:15:41,279 --> 00:15:44,000 terms of mining and farming and food and 432 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:45,059 timber and 433 00:15:45,679 --> 00:15:46,419 but industry 434 00:15:46,799 --> 00:15:47,620 won't come 435 00:15:48,160 --> 00:15:50,320 to communities where there is no health care, 436 00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:52,019 particularly health care for children. 437 00:15:52,575 --> 00:15:54,754 Children who are well do better in school. 438 00:15:54,975 --> 00:15:56,434 They have more opportunity. 439 00:15:57,455 --> 00:15:59,615 And so we believe that not only are 440 00:15:59,615 --> 00:16:02,014 we transforming the health of children, and we'll 441 00:16:02,014 --> 00:16:05,049 continue to work diligently to do that. We're 442 00:16:05,049 --> 00:16:05,790 transforming economically 443 00:16:06,570 --> 00:16:07,629 some of these communities 444 00:16:08,250 --> 00:16:11,049 that give the opportunity for industry to come 445 00:16:11,049 --> 00:16:13,470 in or businesses and have good health care 446 00:16:13,610 --> 00:16:16,090 and have expertise in children. I have to 447 00:16:16,090 --> 00:16:18,490 say that that Children's Healthcare of Atlanta is 448 00:16:18,490 --> 00:16:20,330 a treasure, and they do things that nobody 449 00:16:20,330 --> 00:16:20,654 else 450 00:16:21,615 --> 00:16:23,475 does. They didn't have to do this, 451 00:16:23,855 --> 00:16:25,975 but we are so honored to be in 452 00:16:25,975 --> 00:16:28,035 a in alliance with them and to have 453 00:16:28,415 --> 00:16:31,855 this association that allows us to go into 454 00:16:31,855 --> 00:16:32,595 these communities 455 00:16:33,055 --> 00:16:34,754 and transform them, 456 00:16:35,379 --> 00:16:36,980 with the help of the local people. And 457 00:16:36,980 --> 00:16:38,199 and and don't underestimate 458 00:16:39,139 --> 00:16:41,779 the value of those local communities that are 459 00:16:41,779 --> 00:16:43,399 110% 460 00:16:44,259 --> 00:16:47,264 engaged. It's the the communities where we've been, 461 00:16:47,345 --> 00:16:49,504 we where we are, and we never leave 462 00:16:49,504 --> 00:16:51,264 over the 10 every even though we had 463 00:16:51,264 --> 00:16:53,985 the, you know, the third year, we stay 464 00:16:53,985 --> 00:16:55,825 very close and visit with the first and 465 00:16:55,825 --> 00:16:58,144 second years. We don't abandon them. But we're 466 00:16:58,144 --> 00:16:59,845 building this family of 467 00:17:00,169 --> 00:17:02,089 network that we will stay in touch with 468 00:17:02,089 --> 00:17:04,169 and continue to bring them the the best 469 00:17:04,169 --> 00:17:06,410 that we can bring them. We have continuing 470 00:17:06,410 --> 00:17:08,269 education every month. It's free. 471 00:17:08,809 --> 00:17:09,369 We have, 472 00:17:09,929 --> 00:17:13,345 specialty clinics where if a child in Worth 473 00:17:13,345 --> 00:17:14,804 County needs a nephrologist, 474 00:17:15,105 --> 00:17:17,284 there's a clinic where that child can 475 00:17:17,984 --> 00:17:21,125 be in Sylvester, see the nephrologist in Augusta, 476 00:17:21,505 --> 00:17:23,345 and never have to take a day out 477 00:17:23,345 --> 00:17:25,264 of school or a day mama didn't have 478 00:17:25,264 --> 00:17:26,644 to take a day out of work. 479 00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:28,839 So there's so many things to this project 480 00:17:28,839 --> 00:17:30,839 that grow, and then we learn every day 481 00:17:30,839 --> 00:17:33,320 new things that we could do and new 482 00:17:33,320 --> 00:17:35,160 approaches that we could have. And a lot 483 00:17:35,160 --> 00:17:37,500 of that comes from suggestions from the community. 484 00:17:37,720 --> 00:17:40,464 What do you think about this? And, so 485 00:17:40,464 --> 00:17:42,944 we listen intensely, and then we try to 486 00:17:42,944 --> 00:17:44,085 address those needs. 487 00:17:44,625 --> 00:17:47,664 So it's it's exciting. I I've spent my 488 00:17:47,664 --> 00:17:49,204 whole life in rural health, 489 00:17:49,984 --> 00:17:51,125 and I don't know 490 00:17:51,809 --> 00:17:53,829 anything more exciting to me than this project. 491 00:17:53,970 --> 00:17:55,990 We're committed to transforming 492 00:17:56,529 --> 00:17:58,849 the care of children in our state. And 493 00:17:58,849 --> 00:17:59,829 I think, also, 494 00:18:00,849 --> 00:18:02,690 our we ask our young people to live 495 00:18:02,690 --> 00:18:05,589 and work in rural communities, but these children's 496 00:18:05,730 --> 00:18:06,230 scholars, 497 00:18:07,054 --> 00:18:08,835 both the marriage and family therapist 498 00:18:09,775 --> 00:18:13,054 and the pediatric scholars, I'm I'm always interested 499 00:18:13,054 --> 00:18:15,054 when I interview them. These young people seem 500 00:18:15,054 --> 00:18:16,914 to know they wanted to be a pediatrician 501 00:18:17,054 --> 00:18:18,815 when they came to medical school. They all 502 00:18:18,815 --> 00:18:19,315 recount 503 00:18:19,855 --> 00:18:20,355 interactions 504 00:18:21,119 --> 00:18:23,220 with their doctor or their pediatrician, 505 00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:26,099 but now that pediatrician's not there. 506 00:18:26,480 --> 00:18:27,460 He went away. 507 00:18:27,839 --> 00:18:30,240 So we're we're giving hope again to those 508 00:18:30,240 --> 00:18:30,740 communities 509 00:18:31,279 --> 00:18:33,059 and having a workforce that 510 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:34,980 that will be sustainable, 511 00:18:35,279 --> 00:18:36,015 we hope. 512 00:18:36,894 --> 00:18:38,255 Mark, anything you would like to add to 513 00:18:38,255 --> 00:18:40,575 that? I think doctor Sumner covered it really 514 00:18:40,575 --> 00:18:42,174 well. I think the the the biggest thing 515 00:18:42,174 --> 00:18:43,535 for me as I look ahead to the 516 00:18:43,535 --> 00:18:45,634 next five years is 517 00:18:46,095 --> 00:18:48,654 that we will continue to innovate and look 518 00:18:48,654 --> 00:18:50,494 for new ways to make an impact and 519 00:18:50,494 --> 00:18:52,730 learn. The the way that this has been 520 00:18:52,730 --> 00:18:54,009 developed and the way that it is set 521 00:18:54,009 --> 00:18:56,490 up is exactly what doctor Sumner expressed. It's 522 00:18:56,490 --> 00:18:58,490 an opportunity for us to continue to hear 523 00:18:58,490 --> 00:19:00,569 and learn from the communities that we serve. 524 00:19:00,569 --> 00:19:02,970 There's already been that example. We started with 525 00:19:02,970 --> 00:19:05,724 the, pediatric scholars, and we said, hey. Well, 526 00:19:05,724 --> 00:19:07,804 you know, why not why not think about 527 00:19:07,804 --> 00:19:09,565 how we can impact mental health and and 528 00:19:09,565 --> 00:19:10,704 began with the MFTs? 529 00:19:11,244 --> 00:19:12,605 Those are the types of things that I 530 00:19:12,605 --> 00:19:15,005 think will continue to happen, innovation to meet 531 00:19:15,005 --> 00:19:16,304 the needs in these communities. 532 00:19:16,605 --> 00:19:18,450 And, also, I think, you know, a lot 533 00:19:18,450 --> 00:19:20,369 about the growth that will happen in these 534 00:19:20,369 --> 00:19:22,529 communities. I think about the kids that will 535 00:19:22,529 --> 00:19:24,529 be exposed to a pediatrician because of the 536 00:19:24,529 --> 00:19:26,609 work that we're doing, that they themselves will 537 00:19:26,609 --> 00:19:28,450 decide that they want a career as a 538 00:19:28,450 --> 00:19:28,950 pediatrician, 539 00:19:29,569 --> 00:19:31,323 because of the exposure that they're getting. And 540 00:19:31,323 --> 00:19:33,392 I think those are the transformative things as 541 00:19:33,392 --> 00:19:35,460 we look five, ten years down the line. 542 00:19:35,460 --> 00:19:37,528 And I think we'll begin to see the 543 00:19:37,528 --> 00:19:39,597 real impact of this program. I, for one, 544 00:19:39,597 --> 00:19:41,665 can't wait to see where this program goes. 545 00:19:41,665 --> 00:19:43,992 Jean, doctor Sumner, Mark, thank you so much 546 00:19:43,992 --> 00:19:46,061 for being part of this. Your passion for 547 00:19:46,061 --> 00:19:48,079 this program definitely shines through, and that is 548 00:19:48,079 --> 00:19:49,059 not to be underestimated 549 00:19:49,679 --> 00:19:51,519 in any respect. So thank you again for 550 00:19:51,519 --> 00:19:53,759 being on the podcast and sharing what this 551 00:19:53,759 --> 00:19:55,679 program is all about. And, honestly, we can't 552 00:19:55,679 --> 00:19:57,940 wait till our paths cross again. 553 00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:01,220 Thanks, Chris. Thanks, Chris. We appreciate your interest.