Editor, On behalf of all 170 hospitals across Georgia, I want to express appreciation to Gov. Deal for his steadfast resolve and determination to ensure the safety and welfare of hospital patients and caregivers during last week’s icy-road traffic jam.
His office proactively reached out to me early in the afternoon of the first day to ask if any of Georgia’s hospitals needed help with road access to the emergency room. Thankfully, our emergency preparedness center reported that all was reasonably accessible.
Later that afternoon, the governor’s office again contacted me to offer the services of the National Guard should the need arise. While stranded motorists and schoolchildren have received most of the press, I want your readers to know that Gov. Deal also had those among us who are the most vulnerable in mind — Georgia’s patients. Thank you, Gov. Deal.

— Earl V. Rogers, president and CEO, Georgia Hospital Association