Atrium Health Navicent Peach is pleased to announce that SunMark Community Bank is reallocating $50,000 of its state tax liability to benefit the hospital in partnership with the Georgia HEART Hospital Program.
“Thank you, SunMark Community Bank for your generosity and assistance in our mission to elevate hope and advance healing for all patients and their families,” said Laura Gentry, Atrium Health Navicent Peach CEO and vice president for Atrium Health’s Georgia primary care service line. “Hospitals like Atrium Health Navicent Peach provide essential services to residents of rural communities, and donations we receive through the Georgia HEART program help keep care available close to home for countless central and south Georgia patients.
Founded in Hawkinsville in 1949 as the Pulaski Banking Company, SunMark Community Bank operates branches in Bonaire, Byron, Fort Valley, Hawkinsville, Perry and Warner Robins, and a loan production office in Eatonton.
"At SunMark Community Bank, we are thrilled to support the Georgia HEART Hospital Program, a vital initiative that bolsters rural hospitals in our community,” said SunMark Community Bank Marketing Director Bre Knowles. “By contributing to this program, we are reinforcing our commitment to enhancing local health care and ensuring that essential services remain accessible to those who need them most. It’s an honor to play a role in fostering healthier communities across Georgia. SunMark Bank is a community bank, committed to you."
Through the Georgia HEART (Help Enhance Access to Rural Treatment) Hospital Program, Georgia taxpayers can receive a state income tax credit for 100% of the amount they contribute to qualified rural hospitals, including Atrium Health Navicent Peach and Atrium Health Navicent Baldwin.
For many years, due to demographic, economic and health care industry challenges, Georgia’s rural hospitals have been facing a financial crisis that has jeopardized rural Georgians’ access to adequate health care. At a time when many rural hospitals are closing, this program allows 54 Georgia hospitals to increase their funding and their ability to provide for the health care needs in their communities.
Georgia HEART program participants contributed nearly $240,000 to Atrium Health Navicent Peach in 2023, helping the hospital to purchase additional telemetry equipment, and to convert the radiology images to a digital platform that decreases radiation exposure, improves turnaround times and improves the resolution of the images.
For more information about the Georgia HEART program, or to sign up, visit www.georgiaheart.org.