Phoebe Community Report Highlights Health System’s Impact on Southwest Georgia

Albany, GA | July 22, 2024 – Phoebe provides a higher percentage of its operating expenses on charity care for indigent patients than almost any health system in the country. That’s just one aspect of Phoebe’s impact on southwest Georgia that is highlighted in the health system’s 2024 Community Report.

According to a recent report in Modern Healthcare magazine – the healthcare industry’s leading source of news, research and information – Phoebe Putney Health System dedicated 6.61% of its total operating expenses to charity care in 2022. Only one other health system in the country with total revenue of less than $1 billion exceeded Phoebe’s percentage of charity care.

“We serve an area that has unusually high rates of people who live in poverty, people who are uninsured and people who have serious chronic illnesses. Many of those folks cannot afford to pay for high-quality healthcare, but it is our duty and our mission to provide that care to anyone who needs it. We also have a very generous financial assistance policy to help patients, and last fiscal year (FY23) alone, we provided $61 million in charity care,” said Scott Steiner, Phoebe Putney Health System President & CEO.

As the region’s largest employer, Phoebe’s economic impact on southwest Georgia is just shy of $2 billion a year, and that impact will continue to grow as Phoebe expands its services and its workforce.

“We’re looking forward to opening our new Trauma & Critical Care Tower soon, which will not only house south Georgia’s only Level 2 Trauma Center but will greatly expand our neonatal intensive care and adult intensive care capabilities. And we’re currently looking for the best ways to expand our ambulatory care services to ensure easy access to outpatient care,” Steiner said.

The Community Report also highlights Phoebe’s region-leading specialty care services, education and community partnerships, and the Living & Learning Community which will open in August as the new home of Albany Technical College’s nursing program.

“I believe Phoebe is more connected to the communities we serve than ever, and I have never been more proud to be part of an organization,” Steiner wrote in an open letter printed in the report. “Phoebe has been a vital institution in southwest Georgia for more than 110 years, and I can’t wait to see what we accomplish together in the years to come.”

To view the entire Community Report online, visit www.phoebehealth.com/communityreport.