Series will examine healthcare issues unique to rural areas through a Phoebe lens.

ALBANY, Ga., Aug. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Phoebe Putney Health System today announced the launch of the Rural Health Report, a new public information series spotlighting healthcare challenges and solutions in underserved rural areas like southwest Georgia. The first edition takes a look at Phoebe’s 340B drug program and the range of services it helps fund to broaden access to care for vulnerable patients.

The state of healthcare in rural areas of the U.S. has emerged as a major issue in recent years. More than 100 community hospitals have closed across the country over the past decade, while countless others have slashed inpatient units or other service lines amid financial challenges, leaving patients with dwindling options for receiving care. A new report from the Center for Healthcare Quality & Payment Reform estimates that more than 700 rural hospitals, or one in three across the country, are at risk of closing due to extreme financial pressures.

These financial challenges underline the importance of the 340B program, a federal initiative that has come under scrutiny despite not relying on taxpayer funds. Phoebe’s 340B program savings help fund several important programs that enable it to fulfill its nonprofit mission, help patients manage their chronic conditions, and prevent unnecessary and costly hospitalizations.

It also plays a key role in helping Phoebe provide free or discounted care — $64.5 million in fiscal year 2025, equal to 5.7% of its operating revenue — to those who are unable to pay.

The new Rural Health Report spotlights several key initiatives made possible by 340B:

• Medication Management Clinic, opened in 2023
• Intensive Outpatient Care Program, opened in 2024 with the goal of preventing ER visits
• Expanded Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
• Expanded Behavioral Health staffing and services

“For Phoebe, 340B is much more than a drug purchasing program — it’s a patient access program,” said Darren Evans, PharmD, Vice President of Hospital Operations and System Pharmacy Services at Phoebe. “The savings generated from 340B allow us to reinvest resources directly into targeted services that improve care for vulnerable patients who would otherwise fall through the cracks of a fragmented healthcare system.”

Find the Rural Health Report here.

About Phoebe Putney Health System

PPHS is a not-for-profit healthcare delivery system based in Albany, GA that serves a population of more than 600,000 residents in about 40 counties throughout southwest Georgia and beyond. With more than 6,000 full-time, part-time and contract employees, the system is the region’s largest employer. It includes four hospital campuses and a physician group that employs more than 350 physicians and advanced practice providers who work in nearly 50 primary care, urgent care and specialty care clinics. 

In 2025, Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital – the system’s flagship hospital – opened the Phoebe Trauma & Critical Care Tower. It houses a significantly expanded Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, a 20-bed Surgical Intensive Care Unit and the Phoebe Emergency & Trauma Center, one of only two state-designated Level II Trauma Centers south of Atlanta. Phoebe’s facilities, advanced medical technologies and treatments, training programs, and highly-qualified professionals distinguish the system as a healthcare leader and the region’s most comprehensive health system.

As a trendsetter in healthcare workforce development, Phoebe has strong partnerships with numerous academic institutions and is home to the Medical College of Georgia Southwest Clinical Campus and the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy Southwest Georgia Pharmacy Program. Phoebe also invested nearly $50 million to build the Phoebe Living & Learning Community on its main campus which serves as the new home of an expanded Albany Technical College nursing program and includes 80 apartments for students. Additionally, Phoebe’s partnership with Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) will establish a regional MSM campus and new residency programs in multiple specialties at Phoebe, provide clinical training for MSM students and residents throughout PPHS, and advance health equity in the region through education, research and community benefit initiatives.

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SOURCE Phoebe Putney Health System