Appling Healthcare leaders and staff urge county support after CEO asks for $3.5 million

Appling Healthcare Chief Executive Officer Andrea Graham asked the Appling County Board of Commissioners on July 9 to increase the county’s annual budgeted support for the hospital from $1 million to $3.5 million as the facility confronts staffing shortages and financial strain.

County Manager Al Meadows told the board he had received a June 27 letter from Graham requesting the larger appropriation and said the county has engaged Berkley Research Group to perform a performance improvement assessment to identify operational and financial options. "BRG will work closely with the Board and the hospital staff to find a solution," Meadows said.

Hospital staff and community members described the local impact if the hospital were to close. "There are 400 plus employees at Appling Healthcare and 70% of those live in Appling County," said Tonya Weaver, Unit Director for the Adult Psychiatric Unit, urging the board to weigh long-term community effects. Melisa Bass, manager of the radiology department, asked residents to "write letters, come to meetings, and help preserve the hospital."

Andy Sellers, a nurse practitioner who began his career cleaning rooms at the hospital, told commissioners that "healthcare doesn't make money and there's no quick fix" and asked the board to work with hospital leadership rather than dwell on negative coverage.

Graham told the board the hospital faces a shortage of mid-level clinical staff and warned that recruiting physicians is difficult amid local negativity. "A general practitioner (fresh out of school) will possibly accept no less than $250,000 a year in our area," she said, while urging cooperation between the county and hospital to stabilize services.

The meeting also recognized a final donation from the Appling Healthcare Auxiliary: Cary Long said the auxiliary is dissolving and will give the county $104,819.02 to purchase an ambulance.

The board did not vote to increase county funding at the July 9 meeting. County staff noted budgeting decisions will be finalized in the FY2025 adoption process; Robyn Evans, county clerk, said the goal is to adopt the budget and millage rate on Sept. 10, and an additional budget workshop is scheduled for Aug. 6. BRG’s assessment is expected to inform the board’s budget deliberations.

What’s next: The county will continue budget workshops through August and into September as it considers the hospital’s request and awaits BRG’s recommendations.