Funding Care, Fueling Hope: RJ Brooks and the Rural Health Initiative

RUTH STOIA & ASHAAR BAKSHI –

Lake Country Medical Group is a clinic based in Greensboro, GA that actively serves Lake Oconee and other neighboring counties since 2012. They are a privately owned and independent healthcare network that focuses on better serving those in need of medical attention. Under them, they have created an initiative called the Rural Health Initiative (RHI), in which they function as a non-profit organization in rural communities as well as countries abroad that have little to no medical access through free health clinics. Since 1945, Georgia has had 159 counties, and as of 2010, 124 are observed to be rural areas according to the Georgia Rural Development Council. Nonprofit organizations are dedicated to offering free services, where recipients of these services are free of charge. In the world of medicine, this is a big deal as medical equipment, consultations, and medication costs can rack up to be a very large number. Small medical groups like Lake Country as well as their sub-group RHI come face to face with these issues and have a few things that help them to battle them. We have had the privilege of speaking to Lake County’s director of operations, RJ Brooks, for their RHI in which he provided information on how they worked as a medical non-profit group to stay afloat and still serve both in and outside of the community with the top of the line care and comfort. 

In the interview, RJ highlights that RHI is a non-profit that emphasizes being beneficial to the community by providing free health screenings.  the fact that the RHI is a non-profit, where not a single volunteer is paid for their services and no patient who attends their free health screenings is charged. This includes doctors and nurse practitioners who are on-site and work to help diagnose their patients. When he was asked how the initiative was able to function with no revenue being derived from these clinics, he responded by saying that all of their funding is received through fundraisers and donations. One of their more notable fundraising events is their 5k runs. Raising enough money to support their equipment and facility costs without charging their patients is quite a challenge. Per the American Hospital Association, 6,120 hospitals, 5,000 community hospitals, and around 1,000 clinics are identified as for-profit facilities. These facilities can generate profit from their patients which allows them to remain stable and maintain a total revenue. In Lake Country’s case regarding their initiative, they can not generate the same revenue from their patients. Whatever money is donated or raised, is put right back into the system with no money taken for payroll or profit. This truly highlights the philanthropic stance Lake Country takes on rural health, where they truly care about the health service disparity there is between urban and rural areas. RJ stated, “Everyone deserves the right to health care…even if we are limited in what we can provide for these patients that see us at these free clinics, they at least have a direction in where to go and leave with the notion that someone truly does care for them and their well-being”.

Copy Editor – Dione Geiling

Photography Source – Ruth Stoia and Ashaar Bakshi

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fextension.uga.edu%2Ftopic-areas%2Ftimely-topics%2FRural.html&psig=AOvVaw3V7PoYUDMa5OP-rn8RQcYs&ust=1736900366636000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBQQjRxqFwoTCPDVsJ7484oDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAS