--- title: SR 242. Stephens County Hospital; congratulate collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sr242 cite_as: SR 242, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr242 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr242.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr242/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70703 date: 2025-02-24 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr241.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr243.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 94 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr242.md?full=1 bill_number: SR 242 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: resolution status_date: 2025-02-24 last_action: Senate Read and Adopted sponsors: - Bo Hatchett - Blake Tillery text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SR242/2025 upstream_id: 1980050 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - hospital recognition - Stephens County - Georgia Senate resolution - rural healthcare --- # SR 242. Stephens County Hospital; congratulate ## Text Senate Resolution 242 By: Senators Hatchett of the 50th and Tillery of the 19th A RESOLUTION Congratulating Stephens County Hospital; and for other purposes. WHEREAS, a proud partner to the communities in its region, Stephens County Hospital provides crucial and excellent care to its patients and has been named the 2024 No. 1 Small Hospital in the State of Georgia by Georgia Trend magazine, earning a top ranking among hospitals in the state with 100 or less beds; and WHEREAS, Georgia Trend magazine evaluates Georgia hospitals that participate in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hospital Value-Based Purchasing program, ranking them by a total performance score derived from clinical outcomes, person and community engagement, safety and efficiency, and cost reduction; and WHEREAS, a pillar of healthcare for families in Northeast Georgia for more than 88 years, Stephens County Hospital has achieved award-winning goals and tremendous growth under its current administration and board leadership; and WHEREAS, the hospital's exceptional performance includes retaining 97 percent of emergency room patients for the entirety of their care without transfer, achieving a 300 percent increase in surgical volume over the past three years with nearly 20 percent being emergent surgeries made possible by maintaining 24/7 surgical call coverage, and reducing patient length of stay by 33 percent in the past year; and WHEREAS, the hospital has demonstrated superior patient safety with a hospital-acquired infection rate 10 times better than the national average and a surgical site infection rate five times better than the national average; and WHEREAS, Stephens County Hospital has additionally achieved "Center of Excellence" status with the Joint Commission for hip and knee replacement surgery and is currently Georgia's newest designated stroke center; and WHEREAS, it is abundantly fitting and proper that this exemplary healthcare institution be appropriately honored during this special time. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that the members of this body congratulate Stephens County Hospital upon being named the No. 1 Small Hospital in Georgia by Georgia Trend magazine, commend its continued dedication to providing exceptional healthcare services, and extend best wishes for continued success. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed to make an appropriate copy of this resolution available for distribution to Stephens County Hospital. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia Senate resolution congratulates Stephens County Hospital for being named the top small hospital in Georgia by Georgia Trend magazine in 2024. ### Plain-language summary This is a ceremonial resolution from the Georgia Senate, not a change to state law. It recognizes Stephens County Hospital, located in Northeast Georgia, for being ranked the No. 1 Small Hospital in Georgia by Georgia Trend magazine in 2024, a ranking based on the hospital's performance in a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services value-based purchasing program. The resolution lists the hospital's achievements, including high emergency room retention rates, a large increase in surgical volume, reduced patient hospital stays, low infection rates, Joint Commission recognition for hip and knee surgery, and status as a designated stroke center. The Senate formally congratulates the hospital and directs the Secretary of the Senate to send a copy of the resolution to the hospital for its records. ### What it does - Formally congratulates Stephens County Hospital on being named Georgia's No. 1 Small Hospital by Georgia Trend magazine for 2024. - Commends the hospital's dedication to providing healthcare services and extends best wishes for its continued success. - Directs the Secretary of the Senate to prepare and send a copy of the resolution to Stephens County Hospital. - Does not create, amend, or repeal any Georgia statute, funding, or regulation. ### Who it affects Stephens County Hospital and its staff, board, and administration are the direct subject of this resolution. Patients in Northeast Georgia who rely on the hospital's services are referenced in the resolution's description of its performance. ### Why it matters This resolution has no legal or regulatory effect. It serves as a formal, symbolic honor from the Georgia Senate, giving public recognition to the hospital's reported performance record without changing any law, funding, or requirement affecting hospitals in Georgia. ### Key provisions - The resolution's preamble ('whereas' clauses) describes the hospital's award from Georgia Trend magazine and cites specific performance metrics such as a 300 percent increase in surgical volume and a 33 percent reduction in patient length of stay. - The resolved clause has the Senate congratulate the hospital and commend its healthcare services. - A further resolved clause directs the Secretary of the Senate to make a copy of the resolution available for distribution to the hospital. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-02-24) - Last action: Senate Read and Adopted (2025-02-24) - Sponsors: Bo Hatchett, Blake Tillery - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70703 > The history, votes, and amendments (94 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr242.md?full=1