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The ADVANCE, March 24, 2021/Page 12A
(Eift Aiiuancg
IN LOVING MEMORY — Vidalia High School students wore green and stood in front of
the VHS Media Center memorial to offer support for the students of Dublin High School
following fhe sudden passing of DHS principal, Dr. Jaroy Stuckey, his wife Alisa, and his
son AJ. These and other students wrote cards of condolence and encouragement
which were sent to DHS for the students and faculty in this time of bereavement. L to R:
Hailey Metts, Hannah Dean, Christian Williams, Tenajia Tanner, Logan Mennard, Mason
Galbreath, Matt Bell, Jake Vinson, Tori Foster, Bailey Holland, Brynna Wheeler, Bryce
Davis, and Cha'kashia Futch.
HCA
continued from page 1A
ical Center, signed a let
ter of intent for a merger
with HCA in September
2019. In January, MHA,
the Board of Directors of
Meadows Health Regional
Medical Center, and the
Toombs County Hospital
Authority approved the
sale of the medical center
and most of its assets for
$73 million.
Kent noted that HCA
has agreed to assume the
hospital’s existing HUD
debt of $52.8 million in its
entirety. Net proceeds after
the assumption of the debt
are expected to be $30 mil
lion. These funds will be
managed by a newly-creat
ed Meadows Foundation, a
not-for-profit organization
that will directly benefit
the community. Kent said
that $10.3 million will be
placed in escrow against
potential future liabilities.
In addition to the purchase
price, HCA has commit
ted to capital expenditures
of at least $10 million over
the five-year period follow
ing closing.
Some of Meadows as
sets are not included in the
acquisition: the Thompson
property adjacent to Mead
ows Park, 22 acres east of
the hospital currently un
der option to the Toombs
County Development Au
thority, and the Sweet On
ion Hospitality House.
As a for-profit stock
corporation whose shares
are traded on the New York
Stock Exchange, HCA will
pay income, sales and lo
cal property taxes, which
was not the case with the
tax-exempt, not-for-profit
MRMC, Kent pointed out.
“HCA is expected to gener
ate significant tax revenue
which will benefit the local
governments and schools,”
Kent emphasized.
HCA will establish
an advisory board whose
purpose is to fulfill any
governance accreditation
requirement of the hospi
tal such as reviewing an
nual budgets, capital plans,
provider credentialing,
and overseeing HCA’s cov
enants relating to commu
nity benefit provided in the
purchase agreements. The
advisory board will initially
be composed of three indi
viduals from the communi
ty appointed by Meadows
and three individuals ap
pointed by HCA.
HCA has agreed to
maintain core services for
a period of 10 years (with
some conditions) and has
guaranteed to preserve
and enhance high-quali
ty healthcare services in
Toombs County and the
surrounding areas. Mead
ows Cancer Center, the
Interventional Cardiology
Program and the Obstet
rics Program will be con
tinued by HCA, Kent said.
HCA has a policy to
serve Medicaid and indi
gent patient populations
that includes providing
free, nonelective care for
uninsured patients whose
income is less than 200%
of the Federal Poverty
Level (FPL), with a tiered
approach up to 400% of the
FPL. This policy is more
extensive than MRMC’s,
Kent said.
Kent explained that
HCA will offer employ
ment to all Meadows em
ployees who are in good
standing as of the closing
of the proposed transac
tion at current salary levels
and with similar job titles
and responsibilities. HCA
will not terminate employ
ees without cause for one
year following the closing
except in the event of a fur
ther COVID-related resur
gence. HCA has the ability
to flex the number of hours
worked by hourly paid
employees. He added that
HCA offers employees the
opportunity for upward
mobility and growth with
in the HCA organization.
Meadows employees
will transition to HCA
benefit plans with recogni
tion and credit for tenure
at Meadows and partici
pation in all plans on day
one without regard to any
preexisting health condi
tions with respect to the
health and disability plans.
Contracts for all physi
cians now under contract
at Meadows will be imme
diately extended by HCA.
In commenting on
the future of the current
boards serving MRMC,
Kent said these entities
will have continuing re
sponsibility to wind down
the operation of MRMC
over the next few years.
“We still have to do final
audits, income tax re
turns and cost reports to
the federal government.
These cost reports take
three years or more for
the government to audit
and settle.” Kent said go
ing forward it is likely that
some of the boards will
eventually be modified or
merged. He said it is yet to
be determined who will be
serving on the new HCA
board.
The inaugural board of
the new Meadows Foun
dation will be made up of
the five current members
of the executive commit
tee from the MRMC and
the MHA boards. It will be
the job of the Foundation
board to manage the $30
million in proceeds from
the sale of MRMC and
to establish a foundation
to serve the community.
The operations of this self-
perpetuating board will be
defined and published.
“This foundation will
be a grant-making foun
dation. It will not make
grants to individuals and
it is not for indigent care
since HCA will provide
that. It is being established
for the community’s bene
fit and possible uses might
be for health education
and community wellness,”
Kent said. This Founda
tion, expected to be put
into place quickly, will
not create programs on its
own but will receive grant
applications from organi
zations and groups within
the community.
How to Participate
in the Hearing
DATE, TIME & PLACE OF
PUBLIC HEARING: Thursday,
March 25, at 2 PM, Southeastern
Technical College-Toombs Audi
torium, 3001 E. 1st Street, Vidalia,
Georgia 30474.
To attend the hearing virtu
ally go to www.webex.com. Below
are the meeting details: Meeting
number (access code): 17 9
561 2962
Meeting password: hospi-
tal2021 4.
SUBMISSION OF WRIT
TEN COMMENTS: Comments
regarding the proposed transac
tion may be submitted in writing
to the following address:
Georgia Department of Law
Attn: Keisha F. Green, Hearing
Coordinator Business and Finance
Section 40 Capitol Square, SW At
lanta, Georgia 30334-1300 haa(a)
law.ga.gov
For special needs addressed
by the Americans with Disabilities
Act, please notify Keisha Green at
(404) 458-3228.
Summary for 10th Week of 2021 Session
The 10th week of
the legislative session
kicked off on Mon
day, March 15. During
this week, Senate bills
made their way out of
their assigned House
committees and were
voted on in the House
Chamber. Legislative
Day 40, or “Sine Die,” is quickly approach
ing, but there is still much more work to
be done before we adjourn on March 31.
On Tuesday, we convened for a joint
session with some of our Senate col
leagues to hear Georgia Supreme Court
Chief Justice Herold D. Melton deliver
the annual State of the Judiciary address.
During this meeting, we received an up
date on what Georgia’s courts have ac
complished during the previous year and
what lies ahead for our judicial branch.
During his speech, Chief Justice Melton
reflected on his upcoming retirement
from the Supreme Court, where he has
served for the last 16 years. He also an
nounced that the Supreme Court unani
mously voted to name Presiding Justice
David Nahmias, who also joined us for
the address, as the next chief justice.
My colleagues and I passed Senate
Bill 163 this week to provide a solution to
the court’s handling of backlogged cases.
Although the trial suspension, which was
a result of the pandemic, was lifted in re
cent weeks, it could take the courts up
to three years to catch up on these trials.
When the Statewide Judiciary Emergen
cy eventually ends, SB 163 would allow
chief judges of Georgia’s superior court
judicial circuits or state courts to con
tinue to suspend statutory speedy trial
deadlines until the deadlines could be
reasonably met.
This week, the House overwhelm
ingly passed Senate Bill 88, which offers
several innovative solutions meant to
strengthen the teacher pipeline for Geor
gia schools. First, SB 88 would allow the
Georgia teacher of the year to serve as
advisor ex officio to the State Board of
Education. Additionally, this bill would
require local school systems to support
a nontraditional teacher certification
pathway for veterans to become certified
teachers.
Senate Bill 34 was also passed, which
supports survivors of human traffick
ing as they rebuild their lives in Georgia.
This bill would also allow human traffick
ing victims to petition for a name change
“under seal,” which means these petitions
would be processed by the court confi
dentially and would not become a part
of public record. Senate Bill 34 has been
sent to the governor’s office to be signed
into law.
We only have five legislative days
remaining this session. Next week, we’ll
return to vote on more Senate bills on
the House floor, as well as give final ap
proval to House bills that were amended
by the Senate. Even with the end of ses
sion in sight, I hope to continue to hear
what you think about legislative matters
that impact our community and our state.
You may reach me directly at 404-656-
0116, or by email at robert.pruitt(a)house.
ga.gov. As always, thank you for allowing
me to serve as your representative and I
look forward to seeing you soon.
As the State Representative for District
149, Robert Pruitt serves Dodge County, Telfair
County, Wheeler County, Cadwell, and
Hazlehurst. During the second week of the
2021 Legislative Session, Rep Pruitt was
appointed to serve on the Industry and Trade,
Economic Development, and Small Business
committees for the next two years. Robert
and his wife Kelly have been long time
residents of Eastman.
By Rep. Robert Pruitt
(District 149)
The BPC Lion's Den Panel answering the audience's questions. (L to R): Front: Dr. Justin
Russell, Dr. Flelene Peters, Nate Pristavec, Sydney Fink, Thomas Rhodes, Back: Dr. Ste
ven Echols and Christian Walton.
Brewton-Parker College
Hosts Second Lion’s Den
By Raylyn DeJong
BPC Student Writer
The Lion’s Den is a
crowd favorite for the stu
dents at Brewton-Parker
College (BPC). This
annual event is held by
BPC’s Ministerial Asso
ciation (MA). The previ
ous Lion’s Den was held
in October of 2020, but
the Association decided
to have a second Lion’s
Den on March 2 due to
its popularity. Christian
Studies major, Christian
Walton, the president of
MA explained, “It is just
something people have
asked to have multiple
times and it is an easy,
COVID friendly, event
that students can get in
volved in.”
The Lion’s Den is
made up of a panel of
five to six people that are
asked difficult, theologi
cal, apologetic, and sci
entific questions about
God, the Universe, and
sin. This year, the panel
included BPC professors
Dr. Helene Peters and
Dr. Justin Russell, BPC
Alumnus Nate Pristavec
(’19), as well as current
students Thomas Rhodes
and Sydney Fink, with
Christian Walton as Mod
erator.
Each year there is a
process when choosing
the panelists. The presi
dent of MA, as well as
Dr. Billy Puckett, Chris
tian Studies Professor,
look for people who are
not only knowledgeable
in theological and apolo
getic topics but who are
also spiritually mature.
Dr. Peters is asked to be
on the panel often, due to
her knowledge of science,
which she gives from a
biblical worldview.
Thomas Rhodes,
Christian Studies major,
said at the 2018 Lion’s
Den that he would be
“honored to one day be
a part of such an event.”
This year, when asked
how it felt to finally be
asked to be part of the
panel, Thomas Rhodes
expressed, “I was excited
because I have been want
ing to do this for a while.
Leading up to the Lion’s
Den, I was nervous, but
once I was up there, I was
not nervous. I had a mix
of emotions!”
The Lion’s Den is an
event where students and
faculty are given the op
portunity to ask difficult
questions that they may
have struggled with for
years (i.e. “How do we
know God exists? Is the
Bible trustworthy? How
do we know God is the
creator of the world?).
Becoming a member of
the panel allows two im
mediate benefits. While
the panelist encourages
the students to grow
spiritually, the students
motivate the panelist to a
deeper walk with Christ.
Dr. Puckett expressed
how it felt to see former
student Nate Pristavec
and current students Syd
ney Fink and Thomas
Rhodes on the panel. He
responded with a smile
exclaiming, “It is certainly
a sense of joy and pride to
see them so capable and
passionate!” He went on
to call them his “pride
and joy,” and that “it is
these moments that make
it all worth it.”
