Community and Government Relations

Our Impact in Georgia

Community Benefit Report

We know Georgians are counting on us to make a difference—both in the lives of kids and in the strength of our communities. In 2021, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta provided $299 million in community benefits, serving more than 414,000 children from all 159 counties in Georgia.

Medicaid’s impact on us

A reduction to the Medicaid budget means vital services would be at risk.

In 2021, we provided $153 million in care to families who could not cover the costs of their children’s care. Patients who received this care include the uninsured and children covered by Medicaid or PeachCare for Kids, for whom we are reimbursed less than what it costs to provide care.

Children comprise more than 40% of all Medicaid enrollees, but make up less than 20% of spending.

For every 1% reduction in Medicaid provider payments, Children’s is negatively impacted by approximately $6.7 million.

Increasing the number of families we assist

Nearly 60% of our patients in 2021 were on Medicaid, PeachCare for Kids or unable to cover the cost of their care. In 2022, to allow more patients and their families to qualify for free or discounted care, Children’s made several updates to our Financial Assistance Policy, including:

• Expanded income eligibility, increased from 340% of Federal Poverty Guidelines to 600% of Federal Poverty Guidelines.
• Families with incomes up to 400% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines to receive a 100% discount with a sliding discount scale for families up to 600% of the Federal Policy Guidelines.

Our economic impact on Georgia

Children’s directly employs more than 12,700 people and serves patients from all 159 counties, making our impact on Georgia’s economy significant.

Children’s operates three hospitals, Marcus Autism Center, the Center for Advanced Pediatrics and numerous neighborhood locations and Urgent Care Centers.

In 2022, Children’s:

• Saw more than 444,000 unique patients.
• Managed more than 1,158,600 million patient visits.
• Performed more than 43,800 surgical procedures (inpatient and outpatient).

When kids need care, most parents turn to our Emergency Department, where we had more than 249,000 visits in 2022.

• We provide access to specialized hospital care and treatment at our two dedicated pediatric trauma centers – The Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center at Children’s Egleston Hospital and the Level 2 Pediatric Trauma Center at Children’s Scottish Rite Hospital. Egleston is the only Level 1 pediatric trauma center in the state.

Studies show children need specialists.

• Our freestanding hospitals and strategically located programs help treat kids with complex childhood illnesses and provide access to 2,300 pediatric physicians across more than 60 specialties.
• Children's Healthcare of Atlanta is ranked among the nation’s top pediatric hospitals for 2022-2023 on the U.S. News & World Report Best Children’s Hospitals list. Children's has 4 specialties ranked in the top 10 and 8 specialties ranked in the top 20.
• There are a limited number of board-certified pediatric physiatrists in the U.S., and we have five on staff.
• We have built a robust transportation network of ambulances and helicopters that function as mobile intensive care units, safely delivering kids in need of specialized care to our facilities. In 2022, our transportation network answered 3,900 calls, including 625 helicopter flights.

Children’s has a long history of advocating for children’s health in the community by providing education for families, providers, schools and other key stakeholders while raising community awareness about issues impacting the health of our children. Strong4Life is Children’s child advocacy and prevention arm, backed by Children’s doctors, nurses, therapists, dietitians and other wellness experts. Strong4Life helps parents and caregivers raise safe, healthy, resilient kids. The initiative focuses on obesity prevention, behavioral and mental health, injury and illness prevention, and child protection. In 2021, we committed $8.6 million to support children's wellness in Georgia, reaching 654,511 Georgia children and working with 687 schools and early care centers.

Children’s primary academic partner, Emory University School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics, ranked No. 1 nationally in NIH funding for pediatric departments in 2022. Our research program has maintained a top five ranking for NIH funding since 2016.

Community Health Needs Assessment

To continue to advance the health and wellness of children and adolescents in our community, we conducted our fourth Community Health Needs Assessment. The assessment helps Children’s better understand the needs of the pediatric healthcare community, informs our community benefit activities and influences our strategic planning efforts.

The Children’s Board of Trustees has adopted the 2023 to 2025 Community Health Needs Implementation Plans for Egleston and Scottish Rite hospitals, and the board is committed to expanding and leveraging existing programs, services and resources. Children’s will also work with organizations across our state to address the health need priorities of children throughout Georgia.

Community Relations

Children’s has a long-standing tradition of community involvement. From employee volunteers to community outreach efforts, we strive to reach outside our hospital walls to educate and support families with clinical services in many neighborhoods across Atlanta.

Our community development officers collaborate with community leaders, and support the Children’s services and mission with local outreach activities. They work to develop community engagement plans that create recognition and acceptance for Children’s as the area’s premier pediatric healthcare provider.

This includes developing relationships with local governments, corporate employers, school systems, donors, volunteers and patient families for the purpose of linking Children’s services and programs to the communities it serves.

2021 Community Boards

Our community boards are composed of local business, community and nonprofit leaders who are not only dedicated to community service but also focused on the needs and well-being of children in their communities. Board members work as advocates and liaisons between the community and Children’s.

As liaisons, they often voice the needs and concerns of the community to Children’s, expressing how our System can better serve the community. The Children’s community boards play a vital role in advancing the Children’s Mission of making children better today and healthier tomorrow.

Meet our 2021 community board members:

Ways to Get Involved in Your Community

Are you a member of a service, professional or social group looking for a charity to support? Are you part of a business or organization that coordinates philanthropic events? Consider designating Children’s as your beneficiary. Big or small, your fundraisers—everything from road races and cycling events to golf and tennis tournaments, food and wine tastings, and black-tie affairs—can help us meet the critical needs of the patients we care for at Children’s.

Government Relations

Many aspects of healthcare are regulated by government policy, and there are opportunities for policies to affect the way a healthcare entity operates.

Because Children’s is one of the largest pediatric healthcare systems in the nation—and the largest provider of Medicaid services in Georgia—we must remain focused on public policy issues at the federal and state levels.

The government controls how many rooms and beds Children’s has, certain qualifications staff must meet and, in large part, how Children’s is paid for its services. Our government relations department works with state and federal officials to find legislative solutions for the issues affecting Children’s and to advance effective healthcare policies for Georgia’s children. In addition, public policy plays an integral role in the daily operations at Children’s.

Each year, the Georgia General Assembly meets to review and pass legislation, and the Children’s government relations team closely monitors legislation concerning child health and healthcare. Our team writes bills and speaks before the Georgia General Assembly to represent the needs of patients at Children’s and children statewide.

At the federal level, the department works with members of the Georgia congressional delegation, as well as other key congressional members, to advocate for programs and support the drafting of legislation that positively impacts the health of Georgia’s children. Additionally, the department manages the relationships with all the federal agencies to help influence federal policy.