The Center for Rural Health is a council within the Georgia Hospital Association that embodies the interests of Georgia's small rural hospitals, which we define as an acute care or critical access hospital that meets one of the following criteria: 

• an average daily (inpatient) census of 75 or fewer and located in a county with a population of 75,000 people or fewer
• or, designated critical access hospitals (CAH)

There are 71 hospital members of the Center for Rural Health.

The Center for Rural Health is advised by a Rural Health Council, comprised of 11 small rural hospital CEOs and the president of GHA (ex-officio). The mission of the Center for Rural Health is to represent the needs of Georgia’s small and rural hospitals in a manner that promotes accessibility to high quality and cost-efficient health care and to act as a central agency for the study, discussion, resolution, and dissemination of ideas and information that addresses problems faced by small and rural hospitals.

The Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) is a federal initiative created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). See more information.

GHA and Georgia Southern University (GSU) have partnered to provide state-mandated educational training for hospital executives and board members.

• Georgia Heart Hospital Program - Employee Giving Guide
• Payroll Deduction Calculator (password protected)
• Department of Revenue Proposed Contribution Timeline
• Center for Rural Health Rural Hospital Tax Credit Program Eligibility - Keri Conley, General Counsel & EVP Healthcare Policy, and Carie Summers, CFO & EVP Healthcare Financing, Georgia Hospital Association
• Eligibility Flow Chart for SB 258- Rural Hospital Tax Credit Program
• Grassroots Fundraising - Patti Lyons, Executive Partner, Pride Philanthropy
• Rural Hospital Tax Credit: Legal Considerations - Sarah F. Kuipers, Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP
• Tax and Record Keeping for SB 258 - Jim Creamer, Partner & Bert Bennett, Partner, Draffin & Tucker
• Georgia Rural Hospital Tax Credit Program (SB 258) - Audio File - C. Bert Bennett, Partner, Draffin & Tucker

Established under the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, Critical Access Hospitals (CAH) are limited-service hospitals located in rural areas with no more than 25 acute-care beds. They receive cost-based payment for Medicare patients and are relieved from some Medicare regulations. There are 30 CAHs in Georgia.

• Archbold Brooks County Hospital
• Archbold Mitchell County Hospital
• Atrium Health Floyd Polk Medical Center
• Atrium Health Navicent Peach
• Bacon County Hospital and Health System
• Bleckley Memorial Hospital
• Blue Ridge Medical Center
• Candler County Hospital
• Chatuge Regional Hospital, Inc.
• Clinch Memorial Hospital
• Dorminy Medical Center
• Early Medical Center
• Effingham Health System
• Elbert Memorial Hospital
• Higgins General Hospital
• Jasper Memorial Hospital
• Jeff Davis Hospital
• Jenkins County Medical Center
• Liberty Regional Medical Center
• Miller County Hospital
• Monroe County Hospital
• Morgan Medical Center
• Mountain Lakes Medical Center
• Optim Medical Center - Screven
• Optim Medical Center - Tattnall
• Phoebe Worth Medical Center
• Putnam General Hospital
• South Georgia Medical Center Lanier Campus
• St. Mary's Good Samaritan Hospital
• Warm Springs Medical Center
• Wellstar Sylvan Grove Hospital, Inc.
• Wills Memorial Hospital