Piedmont Macon Medical Center and Piedmont Macon North Hospital mark their first year under the Piedmont banner on Aug. 1, capping off 12 months that include millions of dollars invested in upgrading equipment and the launch of a new patient-centered medical records system that links midstate patients’ records to the entire Piedmont network.

The Macon hospitals became part of Piedmont as a result of an agreement with HCA Healthcare that also included Piedmont Cartersville Medical Center, Piedmont Eastside Medical Center and Piedmont Eastside South Campus.

“As a Georgia-based provider, Piedmont has an excellent reputation in the communities we serve around access to care and taking care of our employees. Our purpose is to make a positive difference in every life we touch, and we are committed to high-quality care, employee satisfaction and commitment to the community,” said Stephen J. Daugherty, chief executive officer of both Piedmont hospitals in Macon. “By joining the Piedmont network, we have benefitted from new investments, being a part of the largest network of physicians and providers in the state, and a focus on community involvement and stewardship.”

Among Piedmont Macon and Macon North’s highlights during the past 12 months:

• Piedmont has provided $8.4 million for capital improvement projects, which have replaced or modernized various healthcare equipment throughout the hospitals. This includes:

       - New ventilators for Respiratory Therapy;

       - New ICU beds;

       - A special scanner for Radiology that better accommodates larger patients;

       - Safer furniture for Behavioral Health; and,

       - The creation of a simulation training lab for medical residents at Piedmont Macon. The lab, which has not yet opened, will include a lifelike mannequin that can be programmed for different health emergencies and will give Graduate Medical Education residents and others hands-on training, said Dr. Gary Bernstein, chief medical officer for both hospitals.

• Expanding access to Piedmont’s services in Middle Georgia has been one of the year’s top priorities. In addition to ongoing work to increase the number of Piedmont primary care physicians, a new Urgent Care center opened on Ingleside Avenue in February, and Daugherty said two others currently are in the works.

• Piedmont’s Macon hospitals have a total of more than 1,200 employees, and during the past year the hospitals logged more than 80,600 Emergency Department visits and cared for more than 14,750 inpatients and nearly 35,500 outpatients. The total number of surgeries from the two hospitals topped 6,700 over the past 12 months.

• In June, the hospitals converted to Epic, a medical records system which is used in all Piedmont facilities, including Piedmont’s Urgent Care centers and physician practices. Patients have a single medical chart, which means that no matter which Piedmont location they are seen – as well as at more than 250 healthcare organizations across the country – their medical teams have real-time access to patient information such as test results, reports and medical history without having to wait for it to be sent to them.

• As part of the transition to Piedmont, the two hospitals moved to not-for-profit status on July 1, 2022. As a result, the hospitals can receive charitable donations through its newly-formed foundation, Piedmont Macon Hospital Inc. Daugherty said the not-for-profit status means the hospitals, as part of a Community Health Needs Assessment, will be working to address four key areas in the community:

       - Ensuring affordable access to health care, including dental and mental health;

       - Reducing preventable cancer and cancer deaths;

       - Promoting healthy behaviors to reduce preventable chronic conditions and diseases; and,

       - Reducing preventable cases and death from heart disease.

• Piedmont Macon and Macon North received several awards and recognitions over the past year including scoring an “A” on the Fall 2021 and Spring 2002 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade. Additionally, Macon North was named a 2021 top general hospital by Leapfrog, and the Piedmont Macon Rehabilitation Center was named America’s best rehabilitation center in Georgia by Newsweek Magazine. Macon North received a 2022 Orthopedic Surgery Excellence award from Healthgrades, and Piedmont Macon earned Advanced Primary Stroke certification. Earlier this year, Piedmont Macon received two awards from the American Heart Association: the Mission Lifeline: STEMI: Gold Plus Receiving and the Mission Lifeline: NSTEMI: Gold. In early July, digital platform Money, in collaboration with Leapfrog, named Macon North one of the 148 best hospitals in the country.

For more information about Piedmont Macon Medical Center, visit https://www.piedmont.org/locations/piedmont-macon-medical/about.

For more information about Piedmont Macon North, visit https://www.piedmont.org/locations/piedmont-macon-north/about.