Congresswoman Terri Sewell visited Eutaw on Friday, November 10, 2023, to announce a grant of $521,000 from HHS for two new generators to the Greene County Health System.

Sewell said the grant to the hospital and nursing home is part of $42.8 million in earmarked funds for her Congressional District. “When Democrats took over the House of Representatives, we decided to restore ‘earmarked funds’ for needed projects in our districts. This is a helpful way to make sure that beneficial projects in the district get priority funding, under existing programs,” said Sewell.

“All hospitals, especially rural hospitals are under financial pressure.
“In my position on the House Ways and Means Committee, I am working to ensure equitable Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements to rural hospitals,” said Sewell.

She also observed that, “The Governor and Alabama Legislature have not agreed to expand Medicaid, under the Affordable Care Act, which would provide basic health insurance to 300,000 Alabamians, who are too rich to qualify for Medicaid and too poor to purchase insurance on the ACA exchanges. This means many residents come to our hospitals and health care facilities without the ability to pay for needed services and pushes our hospitals, like Greene County Hospital, further into operating deficits.”

Dr. Marcia Pugh, GCHS CEO and Administrator, thanked Congresswoman Sewell for the grant to purchase two new generators to provide electricity for the hospital and nursing home in case of an emergency loss of power.” We have been working on this project for two years, including a complete mapping of the electrical circuits in our buildings, before we could install the new generators,” said Pugh.

Congresswoman Sewell left the hospital and attended the Greene County Fall Festival on the old Courthouse Square grounds. She made some remarks and took questions from the participants.