Rural U.S. health care is in a crisis. We went to a Georgia town to see how people there experience it
“Probably the most common things we handle are hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, stroke,” McAvoy said. For 72-year-old Sylvia Chapman, this clinic means access to health care near her home — and a chance to tell jokesChapman retired after 34 and a half years in public service and moved to Elberton seven years ago. She’s been a patient at the clinic for six years and she likes it here. “They let me tell my jokes. They tolerate me, so that’s not bad,” she said.
“Maybe I can’t clone myself, but if we can have more providers to help see our patients who have the same passion we do, that would be a great start,” Poon said.“Particularly, as some of us are aging, there’s going to be a need in the next few years for more physicians,” McAvoy said.“We have to find someone who likes the lifestyle of living in a small community and enjoys outdoors things, such as fishing and hunting,” McAvoy said.
“There are a significant number of counties here in Georgia that have no mental health providers at all,” she said. “And so, even when we look at trying to expand telehealth, we have areas that are not covered by the internet.”