Blue Ridge Medical Center

08/09/2026

🏥 Blue Ridge Medical Center Launches New Swing Bed Program!
Blue Ridge Medical Center is expanding local healthcare access with its new Swing Bed program, "Recover Close to Home."
What is a "Swing Bed"?
Despite the name, it isn't a specific physical bed! It refers to a hospital bed that can "swing" from acute inpatient care to skilled nursing or rehabilitation care as a patient’s medical needs change.
Key Benefits:
Care Close to Home: Keeps patients in Fannin County and the surrounding region near family, friends, and familiar surroundings during recovery.
Transitional Support: Ideal for patients who are medically stable after surgery, illness, stroke, or injury, but still need additional care (e.g., physical therapy, wound care, IV medications, or mobility rebuilding) before returning home.
Comprehensive Care: Provides tailored, short-term skilled nursing and rehab services overseen by a hospital-based clinical team.
Who to Contact:
For more information or to discuss a referral, contact Swing Bed Manager Joni Moss, RN, LNC at 706-632-4220
Helping patients regain strength, independence, and a safe return home—right in our local community!

08/05/2026

Congratulations to McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center, recognized by Becker’s Hospital Review as one of 312 hospitals nationwide with a MRSA infection rate of zero. This achievement reflects McKenzie-Willamette the daily commitment by hospital staff and physicians to patient safety and quality care. Read more:

312 hospitals lowest MRSA — Explore the list of 312 hospitals with the lowest MRSA infection rate, based on CMS data from July 2024 to June 2025.

08/04/2026

We are pleased to welcome Jamal Perry to Quorum Health!
He brings more than 25 years of experience driving enterprise modernization, operational excellence, and measurable financial outcomes across complex, highly regulated environments.

Jamal will lead enterprise architecture, infrastructure, and technology strategy across Quorum, with a near-term focus on modernizing our infrastructure to support the hospitals we serve.

07/31/2026

Congratulations to McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center (Springfield, OR), named a five-star hospital on Forbes' 2026 Top Hospitals by State list—the highest overall quality rating on the Forbes scale. The rating is built on patient outcomes, safety, value, and experience, which makes it a direct reflection of the care delivered every day. We're proud of the team that made it possible.

Read more:

Explore the top hospitals by state per Forbes 2026, ranked on patient outcomes, best practices, value, and experience.

07/27/2026

🏆 Honored & Grateful! 🏆
We are thrilled to share that Blue Ridge Medical Center was recently honored with a special award at the Dining with Fireflies event!
Our CEO, Gary Poquette, and CNO, Marsha Roberts, were proud to attend and accept this recognition on behalf of our entire team.
We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to:
✨ Fannin County Chamber of Commerce for hosting such a wonderful event and for their continued support of our community.
✨ Julie Shirah, Director of Georgia Heart & Cardiac Rehab, for her hard work and dedication in organizing and putting this together.
✨ Carmen Clines, Dietary/EVS Director, for beautifully decorating our cafeteria for Firefly Day!
Thank you to our incredible staff and strong community partners for making achievements like this possible! 💙

07/27/2026

A huge shoutout to Megan Cheatham, NP, and Lindsey Garland, PT, from Blue Ridge Medical Center for volunteering at the Fannin County Back-to-School Bash! 💙
They helped students get ready for a successful school year by providing free physicals and helping distribute school supplies to local families. Their dedication, compassion, and community spirit make a real difference for our kids! 🍎✏️📓
Thank you, Megan and Lindsey, for helping our students start the school year healthy, confident, and ready to learn!
💙

07/27/2026

Celebrating community health and local partnership at the annual Walk the Line 5K! 🏆 Blue Ridge Medical Center is proud to work alongside exceptional community leaders. Pictured center stage are Cliff, Julie Shirah (Director of Georgia HEART & Cardiac Rehab), and Matthew Cole, standing together with Galenski Enterprises and the Race Director.

07/20/2026

We're pleased to announce the appointment of Mark Robinson as Chief Executive Officer of McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center, effective July 20.

With nearly 30 years of hospital leadership experience and a people-first approach, Mark comes to Springfield from Great Falls Hospital and Clinic in Montana.

"Listening and learning from our teams will be one of my first priorities." — Mark Robinson

We look forward to the future he'll help build at MWMC.

07/16/2026

Congratulations to Forrest City Medical Center on earning two American Heart Association achievement awards! This national recognition reflects the team's commitment to providing research-based, quality heart care to the communities they serve. Learn more: heart.org/quality.

07/16/2026

07/06/2026

Exceptional Care, Close to Home. At Blue Ridge Medical Center, patients can receive high-quality surgical care right here in the community. Dr. Ronald Pearson and the surgical team are committed to providing compassionate care every step of the way. Call us today at 706-632-4217

07/04/2026

07/04/2026

Happy Independence Day from all of us at Quorum Health!

07/02/2026

Congrats to the Wound Care Team at Forrest City Medical Center for earning the Healogics Clinical Excellence Award!

To receive this recognition, teams have to clear a high bar—including a patient satisfaction score of 92% or greater. The FCMC team hit that mark through the kind of dedication and day-to-day compassion that doesn't happen by accident.

We're proud of this team and the difference they make for patients in the Forrest City community.

07/01/2026

Congrats to Odessa Regional Medical Center for earning the 2026 IBCLC Care Award from the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners (IBLCE) and the International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA).

The recognition acknowledges hospitals that provide access to International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs) and support breastfeeding education and resources as part of maternal-child health services.

We're proud of the ORMC team—from lactation consultants and nurses to every caregiver on the Maternal Child Services team—for the dedication they bring to support families throughout the breastfeeding journey.

07/01/2026

Meet Cosmo, Wanda, and Timmy—ORMC's newest innovation to support team members.

"They're a tool to make us better at our jobs so we can spend more time with the patients." — Jami Brothers, ER Director

Three AI-powered robots. One mission: more time for nurses to focus on patients.

At Quorum Health, innovation is a core focus and we're proud to see it in action at Odessa Regional Medical Center.

Full story and video here: https://www.firstalert7.com/2026/06/10/odessa-regional-medical-center-introduces-service-robots/

06/30/2026

We gathered to surprise and celebrate Brandon Rorer, honoring his Carnegie Medal for civilian heroism and the incredible bravery behind it. Seeing our teams come together to recognize one of our own was a reminder of what makes this organization so special: support, connection, and genuine care for one another.

Brandon, thank you for inspiring all of us. We are proud to celebrate you and your family.