Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2021
BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL
PAGE 5A
State/area roundup
Georgia expanding funding for child-care program
By Dave Williams
Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA - More Georgia
families will be getting help from
the state paying for child care un
der an initiative Gov. Brian Kemp
announced Monday.
Starting Nov. 1. Georgia will
expand its Childcare and Par
ent Services (CAPS) program by
10,000 children. The program cur
rently serves 50,000 children from
indigent and low-income families.
“Since the start of the COVID-19
pandemic in March 2020, we have
made child care a top priority in
Georgia for assisting first respond
ers, essential workers, and other
hardworking families who could
not stop their important work or
work from home during this chal
lenging time,” Kemp said.
“CAPS is a great example of a
public initiative that helps fami
lies, their children, and providers
alike. This expansion will allow us
to serve more Georgians.”
To make covering more children
possible, the expansion will raise
the program's eligibility criteria.
New guidelines will increase the
entry income threshold from 50%
of the State Median Income (SMI)
to 85% of SMI.
Child-care providers also will
receive additional help in the form
of bonus payments aimed at help
ing more providers become Qual
ity Rated.
The poorest Georgia families
will get extra help in qualifying
for the CAPS program. Those in
the lowest-income category will
see an income eligibility increase
from 50% of the Federal Poverty
Level (FPL) to 150% of FPL.
The expansion, funded through
the American Rescue Plan Con
gress passed earlier this year, will
run through Oct. 1, 2024.
Ossoff pushing $ 10 billion high-speed
rail plan in budget reconciliation bill
By Tim Darnell
Capitol Beat News Service
As President Joe Biden's
$1 trillion infrastructure plan
continues stalling in Congress,
Georgia U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff is
hoping to get $ 10 billion includ
ed in the budget reconciliation
bill for high-speed passenger
rail for Georgia and the South
east.
Last month, Ossoff wrote a
letter to Senate Majority Lead
er Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.,
and U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell,
D-Wash., who chairs the Senate
Committee on Commerce, Sci
ence and Transportation.
“As this Congress makes his
toric investments in America's
infrastructure, we should allo
cate robust resources for high
speed rail necessary to advance
the Southeast High-Speed Rail
Corridor, a long-planned project
of national significance neces
sary to connect the fast-growing
American Southeast.” Ossoff
wrote. “I strongly urge the Sen
ate's proposal to include at least
$10 billion in dedicated funding
for high-speed rail planning and
construction.”
Planning is currently under
way for an intercity rail line
between Atlanta and Charlotte,
North Carolina, with a pro
posed stop in Athens.
The Federal Railroad Admin
istration (FRA) and Georgia
Department of Transportation,
working with state transporta
tion departments in North Car
olina and South Carolina, have
identified the 274-mile route as
the “preferred corridor” for the
Charlotte-to-Atlanta portion of
a high-speed rail line that would
continue northeast to Washing
ton, D.C.
“The projected increases
in population and economic
growth for the Piedmont Atlan
tic Megaregion create a need for
a carefully planned approach
to improving rail infrastructure
that will benefit Georgia, South
Carolina North Carolina, the
southeastern United States and
the nation,” the FRA wrote in
its final environmental impact
report on the project released in
July.
“Intercity passenger rail
is available for business and
non-business travelers that is
competitive with other modes
of travel in terms of travel time,
convenience and safety.”
The co-called Greenfield
Corridor Alternative chosen
for the project connects Harts-
held-Jackson Atlanta Interna
tional Airport with the planned
multimodal Charlotte Gateway
Station. The line would run
mostly along a new dedicated
alignment from northeast At
lanta to Charlotte Douglas In
ternational Airport.
Ossoff is also supporting a
proposed high-speed rail line
connecting Atlanta to Savan
nah with a stop in Macon. This
line would extend to Nashville,
Tennessee, through northeast
Georgia and down to Jackson
ville, Florida.
President Joe Biden, who
commuted daily between his
Delaware home and Washing
ton for decades while serving
in the U.S. Senate, is a pas
senger rail enthusiast. Biden
even mentioned the Atlan-
ta-to-Charlotte high-speed rail
project in a speech last spring
marking Amtrak's 50th anni
versary.
Hospital system adjusting critical
care capacity returning mobile unit
A positive legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic
will be increased access to critical care north of
Atlanta, according to plans announced by North
east Georgia Health System (NGHS).
“While the pandemic is far from over, we
know we will increase the number of critical
care beds across our hospital system,” said Lany
Dudas, MD, Northeast Georgia Medical Cen
ter’s medical director of Critical Care, in a news
release. “That’s what our community needs long
term, regardless of COVID, as the population
continues to grow. We need to grow to anticipate
and meet the future need.”
Before the pandemic, Northeast Georgia Med
ical Center (NGMC) operated 67 critical care
beds in Gainesville and 18 in Braselton. Those
numbers climbed to 150 in Gainesville and 44
in Braselton at the peak of the pandemic back
in January - as NGMC converted existing space
to provide critical care, opened new critical care
units and added critical care physicians and staff.
“Our team has been amazingly flexible, and
we’ve received tremendous support from the
state that allows us to meet the needs as they con
tinue to ebb and flow,” says Elizabeth Larkins, a
registered nurse and NGMC’s executive director
of Medical Nursing. “We’re still adjusting the
number of critical cate beds each day based on
demand and the resources we have available. It's
stressful on everyone involved, especially given
the national nursing shortage, but we have to find
ways to continually adapt to meet the challenge
our community faces.’ ’
When the pandemic eventually reaches its end,
NGMC anticipates operating at least 81 critical
cate beds in Gainesville and 24 in Braselton on
a regular basis - an overall increase of 20 from
pre-pandemic levels.
More visible changes are also coming to
NGMC Gainesville, as the mobile medical unit
outside the North Patient Tower will be taken
down later this month. The state loaned the unit
to NGMC last fall to help the hospital manage
increased care demands due to COVID-19.
“We’re very thankful for the help the state
provided during a critical period of this pandem
ic,” says John Delzell, MD, MSPH, NGMC’s
COVID-19 incident commander. “The state re
quested we return the unit, and timing was right
as our number of COVID patients is declining
and site prep to build a future patient tower near
by ate beginning. We ate making other plans to
flex our capacity, though, just in case the numbers
creep back up.”
Workers ate currently renovating space inside
the existing North Patient Tower to create a new
medical observation unit to handle increased ca
pacity as needed. The 14,000 square-foot space
on the ground floor will include 24 observation
rooms and support space for staff. The unit is ex
pected to open by the end of the year. Plans for
a future tower, currently expected to open in late
2024, include features that will also aid critical
care - like rooms designed to easily convert to
negative pressure space and be more adaptable
based on the level of care a patient needs.
ELECT
Yvonne Greenway
City Council Ward 1
Rebuilding Trust through
Government Transparency and Accountability
TRANSPARENCY is government's obligation to share information with citizens
that is needed to make informed decisions and hold officials accountable.
IF ELECTED, I WILL PROMOTE
• TRANSPARENCY through citizen involvement in the actions being
considered by the City Council.
• TRANSPARENCY in government spending.
• TRANSPARENCY\n City employment.
• TRANSPARENCY in contracted services.
• TERM LIMITS for all City elected officials.
Let me be the one that helps bring Transparency back to our City Council so the decisions being made for you are not just by 7
people but by you as well. Help me be the voice of Ward 1 that says we want change today!