The Coffee Regional Medical Center Emergency Department was recognized for its commitment to strengthening pediatric emergency care in Coffee County during a Dec. 10 ribbon-cutting ceremony. Coffee Regional was celebrated for reaching key milestones as a participating hospital in the Kids Alliance for Better Care (KidsABC). The alliance, established in 2023, is a collaboration between Mercer University School of Medicine (MUSM), its Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center (GRHIC) and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (Children’s).
Georgia rural hospitals face unique challenges in their ability to treat and keep pediatric patients in their communities, and KidsABC is focused on improving access to quality pediatric care.
Vicki Lewis, president and CEO of Coffee Regional shared, “The mission of Coffee Regional Medical Center is to provide exceptional care and wellness close to home. The KidsABC collaborative has provided our team with education, training, equipment and access to pediatric care protocols and practices that have helped our team meet our mission and care for the youngest and often most vulnerable members of our community. We are truly grateful to be part of this outstanding collaboration.”
KidsABC helps participating hospitals, like Coffee Regional, acquire child-friendly equipment, complete pediatric-specific emergency care staff training and implement the latest protocols and policies for treating children with critical conditions, such as asthma and diabetic ketoacidosis.
“The apnea monitors funded by KidsABC have allowed us to keep pediatric patients requiring close respiratory monitoring at Coffee Regional Medical Center,” said Lewis. “Transferring pediatric patients to another city for monitoring is difficult and stressful for both our pediatric patients and their families. Staying close to home for care is so important, and we are proud to be part of KidsABC and applaud their efforts to support pediatric care in rural communities.”
Coffee Regional commemorated its KidsABC participation and completion of milestones with a ribbon cutting hosted by the Douglas-Coffee Chamber of Commerce and attended by hospital, Children’s, MUSM and GRHIC representatives.
“Today marks a pivotal moment for kids in rural Georgia and in Coffee County,” said MUSM Dean Jean R. Sumner, M.D., FACP. “We are honored to recognize the ED staff for their dedication to pediatric care. Through emergency care training, expanding their skills and setting an expectation of excellence in all they do, they offer outstanding care for children. Children are not just tiny adults when it comes to the practice of emergency medicine. They require special care and appropriate equipment and tools to help keep their care here at home. Coffee Regional Medical Center has been a strong, committed KidsABC participant and has set the bar very high for pediatric care. We commend the efforts of the staff and leadership. They are making a difference in children’s lives and will continue to do so for years to come.”
“Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta congratulates Coffee Regional on achieving this milestone,” said Marc Welsh, Children’s V.P. of child advocacy and chief diversity officer. “The objectives of KidsABC align with Children’s vision to ‘Do Everything Possible to Make Anything Possible for Kids’. We want to ensure all the children of Georgia have access to quality health care and, by participating in KidsABC, hospitals like Coffee Regional are building capacity to serve even more kids in their own communities.”
KidsABC brings together a network of rural hospital emergency departments, pediatric offices, regional and state pediatric tertiary care hospitals and school systems to address the challenge of health care access, which many rural families face. KidsABC participants are equipped with the necessary tools, protocols, training and education, so families have access to subspecialty care, mental health care and emergency medical care in their hometowns.
Programs within KidsABC address the challenges of distance to specialty care and limited resources. KidsABC emphasizes the importance of early intervention in achieving positive outcomes. Children’s provided specialized pediatric clinical guidance to launch and sustain these programs.