The Georgia Hospital Association (GHA) presented Atrium Health Navicent with its Community Leadership Award at a ceremony last week. The award honors Atrium Health Navicent The Medical Center for programming and services which aim to reduce health disparities in central and south Georgia.

Atrium Health Navicent formed an interdisciplinary Healthy Communities department in 2016 to prioritize and elevate community-based health care. Healthy Communities provides targeted one-on-one interventions and also collaborates with the community to form partnerships to improve health. The team of registered nurses, masters level care coordinators, health educators, community health workers and certified medical assistants provide care for high-risk patients while also innovating to find ways to better serve patients in the community who may face barriers in receiving traditional clinical care.

“Atrium Health Navicent and the Healthy Communities team are actively working to bridge gaps in health equity and improve access to health care for all of central and south Georgia,” said Atrium Health Navicent President Delvecchio Finley. “Thanks to the Georgia Hospital Association for this recognition, and to all of our teammates who work daily to improve health, elevate hope and advance healing for all!”

Examples of programs instituted by Healthy Communities include:

• The Atrium Health Navicent Healthy Communities Food as Medicine Market and Food Farmacy provides access to food and nutrition education for anyone facing food insecurity for whom food assistance would positively impact their health.

• The Congestive Heart Failure and Diabetes Disease Management programs provide education and assistance to patients about their conditions to help them better manage their medical conditions at home and prevent their future need for readmission to the hospital.

• Peach County School-Based Virtual Care provides access to an on-campus virtual visit with a medical provider for all Peach County Schools students, faculty and school staff.

• A high-risk obstetrics care coordinator assists Atrium Health Navicent’s High Risk OB Clinic’s patients in receiving vital prenatal care.

• Virtual care options integrated into the team’s offerings increase access for patients who otherwise may not be able to receive the health care they need.

The GHA Community Leadership Award was established in 1997 to recognize a GHA-member hospital that has made exemplary contributions to the health and well-being of the people of Georgia through leadership in the area of community health improvement. Nominations are judged on making an outstanding contribution to their community, meeting the specific needs of their community and concrete evidence of results.

“Atrium Health Navicent The Medical Center’s creative approach to addressing community needs has resulted in significantly improved health and well-being for the citizens of Macon and surrounding areas,” said GHA President and CEO Earl Rogers. “We applaud their innovative methods of addressing the impact of social determinants of health and their dedication to forming important community partnerships. We are pleased to present them with this esteemed award.”