Southeast Georgia Health System's 340B Story

October 14, 2019 – Southeast Georgia Health System was originally established in 1888. At that time, Mrs. Theodore Crovatt, along with the help of other prominent ladies of Brunswick, began a drive to solicit funds to build a hospital to serve the community’s health care needs. John J. Spear donated the building site at the corner of Norwich Street and First Avenue and the 40-bed Brunswick and Seaman’s Hospital was established.

From those humble beginnings, and with the support of the communities we serve, the Health System has progressed and expanded to provide quality health care for the residents of Brantley, Camden, Charlton, Glynn, McIntosh and Wayne counties. Our mission is to provide safe, quality, accessible and cost-effective care to meet the health needs of the communities we serve. As a community not-for-profit health system, we pride ourselves on being at the forefront of best-care practices and offering cutting-edge technologies that provide big city medicine with a small town touch.

We are constantly challenged with making sure each patient receives quality care regardless of their ability to pay. Over 10.1 percent of our total patient services are provided to Medicaid patients, and 11.2 percent to uninsured/underinsured patients. A fast-growing uninsured population and inadequate payments from government insurance programs like Medicare and Medicaid have made it increasingly difficult to meet the community’s health care needs. According to a report released in April 2018 by the Georgia Hospital Association, the state’s largest hospital trade association, Southeast Georgia Health System provided approximately $25,655,000 in uncompensated care in 2017*.

The Health System’s participation in the 340B prescription drug program is an essential element of our ability to provide critical health care services in our communities, which might otherwise be unobtainable for many of our local residents.

Benefits of the 340B Program

Savings from the 340B program have enabled the Health System to offer a variety of community health education programs and events. Educational outreach and screenings reach residents who may have barriers to access health care due to a lack of a physician, education, transportation or insurance. Health screening and education efforts allow residents the opportunity to build awareness of potential health problems, identify risks, and improve self-care to promote better outcomes.

In general, the 340B program savings provide significant support for Southeast Georgia Health System to:

• Ensure access to lifesaving health care for Medicaid and uninsured/underinsured patients;
• Enable access to specialty care that is not otherwise available to low-income or uninsured/underinsured individuals in our community;
• Partner with local community organizations to focus on targeted health issues through screenings and education;
• Make use of a mobile health unit to conduct mammography and other types of screening, including blood pressure;
• Support local efforts to target specific health concerns, areas in which residents are disproportionately affected;
• Host annual health fairs that include screenings and education on high health risk areas, including smoking cessation, managing medications, exercise promotion, stress management and diabetes;
• Work with local employers to provide screenings in high risk areas and follow up with opportunities for education;
• Sponsor meetings with emergency medical services, mental health providers and law enforcement to address barriers to mental health treatment;
• Provide space and leadership for support groups.

340B by the Numbers:

Impact if 340B is Scaled Back

Southeast Georgia Health System is the primary guardian of health care in Glynn and Camden counties, as well as our surrounding communities in Brantley, Charlton, McIntosh and Wayne counties. In addition, we’re proud to serve as a major component of the area’s economic strength and to be counted among the leading employers in our region. However, the Health System’s leadership, like the rest of the Georgia hospital community, is concerned about economic challenges that affect the hospital’s ability to deliver timely and efficient care. In 2018, savings from the 340B program totaled more than $2.8 million for the Brunswick Campus and $2.1 million for the Camden Campus. Given the amount of uncompensated care the Health System provides to the community, the 340B program savings is essential and has allowed our Health System to continue providing safe and quality care to all of our residents, including low-income and uninsured/underinsured patients, our most at-risk residents. If the 340 B program was to be scaled back, it would significantly impact our ability to offer many of the services described above and to continue to meet the health care needs of our community

*The data comes from the Department of Community Health, Division of Health Planning, Hospital Financial Survey for 2017. The 2017 data is the latest that is currently available from the Georgia Department of Community Health.

**May 1, 2018-April 30, 2019