CATALYST - FALL 2018 VOL 1 NO 2 | Page 7

FALL 2018 employment, have contributed to a growing healthcare crisis for many rural Georgians. “We know what the problems are,” said Daisy Jackson, a life-long Fort Gaines, GA resident. “This is the first effort I’ve seen that might be able to turn things around for my neighbors in Clay County.” Healthcare Georgia Foundation believes that local ideas and new partnerships can demonstrate what is possible when communities come together to address these critical issues. To date, the Foundation has awarded nearly two million dollars to the eleven coalitions. Each of the coalitions stands “ to benefit from more than half a million dollars in Foundation funding and technical resources through The Two Georgias Initiative to support their work over the next several years. Redesigning street signs with a health focus in Miller County, streamlining ways to access to healthcare services in Lumpkin County, expanding nutrition services for youth in Chattooga County, and improving health literacy for elderly Hancock County residents are just a few of the strategies the Two Georgias coalitions are beginning to implement in their communities. (Continued from page 8) We’re having the difficult conversations necessary to address the health inequities among rural Georgians. — GWEN HOUSTON, Blakely, Georgia ” Nathaniel Smith of the Partnership for Southern Equity leads a health equity workshop for the EarlyCares coalition in Blakely, GA. ADVANCING THE HEALTH OF ALL GEORGIANS 7