Tax Credits Available for Georgia Residents Through Georgia HEART Hospital Program
If you pay income taxes to the state of Georgia, you have a unique opportunity to use those tax contributions to benefit rural hospitals including Atrium Health Navicent Baldwin and Atrium Health Navicent Peach through the Georgia HEART (Help Enhance Access to Rural Treatment) Hospital Program.
For many years, due to demographic, economic and health care industry challenges, Georgia’s rural hospitals have been facing a financial crisis that has jeopardized rural Georgians’ access to adequate health care. At a time when many rural hospitals are closing, this program allows 54 Georgia hospitals to increase their funding and their ability to provide for the health care needs in their communities.
Through the program, Georgia taxpayers can receive a state income tax credit for 100 percent of the amount they contribute to qualified rural hospitals.
“Atrium Health Navicent Baldwin is incredibly thankful for the $850,000 taxpayers contributed through the Georgia HEART program in 2023, helping us to upgrade radiology and fluoroscopy equipment and purchase MRI compatible monitors,” said Atrium Health Navicent Baldwin Chief Operating Officer Thomas Goss. “It’s not often that you get the opportunity to designate how your tax money is spent, but with this program, you can keep those dollars close to home by supporting local rural hospitals.”
Georgia HEART program participants also contributed nearly $240,000 to Atrium Health Navicent Peach in 2023, helping the hospital to purchase additional telemetry equipment, and to convert the radiology images to a digital platform that decreases radiation exposure, improves turnaround times and improves the resolution of the images.
“Keeping our equipment updated is vital to ensuring all patients receive the best care, no matter where they live,” said Atrium Health Navicent Peach CEO Laura Gentry who also serves as vice president for Atrium Health’s Georgia market primary care service line. “Hospitals like ours provide essential services to residents of rural communities, and we’re thankful to Georgia HEART program participants for their support!”
To sign up, visit www.georgiaheart.org. For additional information, email Joy.MotenThomas@atriumhealth.org.
About Atrium Health Navicent
Atrium Health Navicent is the leading provider of health care in central and south Georgia and is committed to its mission of elevating health and wellbeing through compassionate care. Atrium Health Navicent is part of Advocate Health, which is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, and is the third-largest nonprofit health system in the United States, created from the combination of Atrium Health and Advocate Aurora Health. Atrium Health Navicent provides high-quality, personalized care in 53 specialties at more than 50 facilities throughout the region. As part of the largest, integrated, nonprofit health system in the Southeast, it is also able to tap into some of the nation’s leading medical experts and specialists with Atrium Health, allowing it to provide the best care close to home – including advanced innovations in virtual medicine and care. Throughout its 125-year history in the community, Atrium Health Navicent has remained dedicated to enhancing health and wellness for individuals throughout the region through nationally recognized quality care, community health initiatives and collaborative partnerships. It is also one of the leading teaching hospitals in the region, helping to ensure viability for rural health care for the next generation. For more information, please visit www.NavicentHealth.org.
About Advocate Health
Advocate Health is the third-largest nonprofit integrated health system in the United States – created from the combination of Advocate Aurora Health and Atrium Health. Providing care under the names Advocate Health Care in Illinois, Atrium Health in the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama, and Aurora Health Care in Wisconsin, Advocate Health is a national leader in clinical innovation, health outcomes, consumer experience and value-based care, with Wake Forest University School of Medicine serving as the academic core of the enterprise. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Advocate Health serves nearly 6 million patients and is engaged in hundreds of clinical trials and research studies. It is nationally recognized for its expertise in cardiology, neurosciences, oncology, pediatrics and rehabilitation, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs. Advocate Health employs nearly 155,000 team members across 68 hospitals and over 1,000 care locations and offers one of the nation’s largest graduate medical education programs with over 2,000 residents and fellows across more than 200 programs. Committed to equitable care for all, Advocate Health provides nearly $6 billion in annual community benefits.