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Weekend Edition - JUNE 6-7,2020 | $2.00 | GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA | gainesvilletimes.com
Honestly Local
After Riverside Military cancels
fall sports, Dabney headed to
Cherokee Bluff, sports, 13b
No matter what your child enjoys,
there’s probably a summer camp for
that. LIFE, 10B
Pandemic hits NGHS hard in wallet
Health system cutting jobs and hours, plans furloughs as revenue sinks
BY MEGAN REED
mreed@gainesvilletimes.com
During the COVID-19 pandemic,
the Northeast Georgia Health Sys
tem has seen a decline in admis
sions at its hospitals, which has led
to an expected revenue loss of $200
to $250 million through September.
NGHS is eliminating 81 posi
tions, furloughing 27 employees
and reducing some employees’
hours through September, CEO
Carol Burrell said in a statement
Friday. The system is also freezing
recruitment for 167 open positions.
The system has seen reduc
tions in patient volumes in all
departments, including 50% in
the emergency department, 70%
in outpatient surgery and up to
100% in outpatient rehabilitation
and some physician practices,
Chief Financial Officer Brian
Steines said. NGHS fell 15% short
of expected admissions in March,
29% short in April and was pro
jected to fall 21% short in May as
of May 27.
“We want to encourage every
one to not be afraid to come to the
hospital if you need care. We’ve
seen a reduction in the number of
patients coming to our hospitals
for heart attacks, strokes, miscar
riages and other health emergen
cies — and delaying that care is
life-threatening,” Steines said in
an email. “The best place anyone
can be in those situations is in a
hospital, and our staff is taking all
precautions possible to keep them
safe while they are here.”
Extra costs such as personal
protective equipment, convert
ing rooms for COVID-19 patients
into negative pressure spaces
and changing medical and surgi
cal rooms into ICU spaces added
to the financial impact, he said.
While 7% to 8% of NGHS patients
are usually indigent, in March and
April, that number was more than
12%, Steines said.
Hospitals also saw price
increases on some supplies. For
example, N95 masks cost 50 cents
each before the pandemic, but
costs rose to as much as $5 per
mask, Steines said.
NGHS has received about $54
million in federal funding from
the CARES Act, the federal coro-
navirus relief funding legislation.
Those funds will offset about 21%
to 27% of the projected $200 to
$250 million revenue loss through
September.
Steines said that while the health
system was strong financially
before the pandemic, “no non
profit health system can take this
kind of financial loss without mak
ing adjustments.”
Senior leadership is taking a
25% to 30% pay cut for the year,
and NGHS paused matching
employees’ contributions to their
401(k) plans through September.
The system has adjusted staff
ing to match patient volumes in
non-essential areas and is evalu
ating other adjustments that may
be needed through September,
Steines said. Expansion and
improvement projects are also
being reconsidered.
“While these decisions are diffi
cult, they are necessary to ensure
NGHS can continue to provide safe
and high-quality care both now and
in the future. As we move forward
in this evolving landscape, we will
■ Please see NGHS, 4A
‘My voice isn’t the only voice’
Gainesville protesters share their perspectives
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KELSEY PODO I The Times
Joseph Jack, left, and Christen Lott Hunte, right, protest on the side of Jesse Jewell Parkway
on June 2.
Conversations on race
Today, The Times shares perspectives from those who
have protested on Gainesville’s streets in the wake of
George Floyd’s death. Those who would like to tell of their
experiences can reach out to news@gainesvilletimes.com to
be put in touch with a reporter. Full names must be provided.
Opinions inside
■ Editorial, 11A
■ Casas: Use outrage for
change, 11A
■ Letters to the editor, 12A
BY KELSEY PODO
kpodo@gainesvilletimes.com
Voices pierced through
the air as people of different
races, ages and backgrounds
protested daily in downtown
Gainesville.
The call to action sparked
after George Floyd, a 46-year-
old African American man,
died on May 25.
A video showed Derek
Chauvin, former Minneapo
lis police officer, pressing his
knee into Floyd’s neck for
nearly nine minutes. Chauvin
has since been charged with
second-degree murder and
the three other officers —
Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and
Tou Thao — who were at the
scene, were charged with
aiding and abetting second-
degree murder and second-
degree manslaughter.
Since the incident, people
around Hall County have pro
tested against systemic rac
ism and police brutality and
asked for change.
“My voice isn’t the only
voice,” Christen Lott Hunte
of Gainesville said. “I’m just a
drop in the bucket of the tons
of voices that need to be heard
on these issues.”
In the past week, The Times
has sought perspectives from
those protesting and spoke
with these five people who
have been protesting in down
town Gainesville.
Christen Lott Hunte
When Lott Hunte, 27, of
Gainesville, watched the
video of Floyd crying out for
his mother in pain, she said
been depressive as a black
American.”
Lott Hunte, who has a bach
elor’s in English from Geor
gia State University, said she
is currently working with
another woman to help cre
ate hate crime legislation in
Georgia.
She is also working to pro-
ing for a law firm in Gaines
ville, she said a representative
from a prosecutor’s office
referred to her as an “African
spy” in an email that was seen
by everyone in the court.
Lott Hunte said incidents
like this one make her feel dis
couraged to speak up for her
self. However, she has found
said. “But if my voice can help
in whatever way, I want to use
my voice for this community.
The people need to know that
we are done with the cru
elty, and we’re done with the
injustice.”
Romero said he is one of
millions who are fed up with
the justice system and how
■ Please see STORIES,13A
What voters
can expect
on Tuesday
BY MEGAN REED
mreed@gainesvilletimes.com
Although many voters in Hall County have
opted to vote by mail in the June 9 primary,
polls will be open countywide Tuesday with
changes including new machines and social dis
tancing regulations.
The county elections office had processed
about 14,700 absentee ballots as of Friday morn
ing, Elections Director Lori Wurtz said. Another
2,400 had arrived at the office but had not been
processed yet.
Although a third-party vendor contracted
with the state had been processing absentee
ballots, the responsibility shifted back to county
offices during the last week of early voting,
Wurtz said.
The county has received about 60,000 absen
tee ballot applications and sent out about 31,000
ballots. County spokeswoman Katie Crumley
said of the remaining applications, about 18,000
were duplicate requests, or people who sent
in multiple applications. Another 6,000 were
returned mail, including many people whose
mailing addresses were different from their
physical addresses, and the Secretary of State’s
vendor re-sent many of those ballots. She said
100 were being held for additional information,
such as if the voter did not sign the ballot or
designate a party. Elections officials had been
unable to reach those 100 voters.
Crumley said 400 of those ballots had been
meant for another county and were sent to the
correct county. Another 1,000 of the applica
tions had been canceled if the voter decided not
to vote by mail, changed their party or realized
they made a mistake on the application.
About 3,400 people had cast their ballots in
person during early voting as of Friday morn
ing, Wurtz said.
There are about 125,000 registered voters in
Hall.
If a voter has requested an absentee ballot
but decides to vote in person instead, they can
■ Please see VOTING, 6A
DEATHS 2B
Loyd Ayers, 74
Jessie Bridges, Jr., 72
Ivan Buice
Winford Cheeks Jr., 71
Mary Cochran, 93
Jean Cornett, 79
Kenneth Douglass, 84
Ann Duchow, 55
Edward Fortner, 52
Timothy Garner, 57
Edward Garrett, 77
William Griffith, III, 76
Frank Janik, 82
Linda Jones, 71
Danny Kirby, 73
Grade Lance, 75
Margie Linnartz
Charles Little
Merna Martin, 90
Paul Mitchum, 24
Agnes Moore, 80
Jean Olmsted, 87
Sylvia B. Palmer, 85
Kadeen Martin Pirkle, 86
Aileen Pardue Ray, 96
J. Jerome Rogers, 84
Jonathan Sanford, 18
James Scroggs, 69
Allene Sears, 78
William Shelton, 79
Charlotte Skinner, 76
Tommie Sorrow, 63
Larry Timms, 78
John Walton, 58
0
25 9
YOUR CARE FROM
ANYWHERE.
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