State Senate Summary

State Senate

Summary CHUCK

HUFSTETLER

Finance Chair District 52

Looking back at last year, there were many happenings of note, such as Georgia’s selection, for the eighth year in a row, as the number one state to do business—and I am proud to be a small part of it.

Economically, Georgia has done very well during the health crisis. We received $10 billion in new company investments in Georgia. Our state revenue far exceeded the previous level, and we have the highest fund balance by far with over 40 days of revenue in the bank. (During the recession, before I was in the senate, the revenue was down to only one day of state revenue in the bank.)

Through good management and a good market, our teacher’s retirement system has gone from being 76% funded to 92% funded. Some states have only 17% funding—and could regrettably create a deficient that will require significant cuts in benefits in future years.

Our Savannah port has been at a record level and is the second busiest port on the east coast. It continues to set new records. However, in the last year, I saw 22 massive cargo ships eleven miles out at sea waiting to unload. Georgia-made goods were piled up, waiting to be exported. We have seen shipping charges for cargo containers go from $2,000 each to $20,000 per container—whether exporting or importing.

Our biggest challenges will be the supply chain which is preventing companies from receiving needed supplies and equipment and exporting their finished goods. The second most important challenge is for companies to find qualified workers that their businesses need in a thriving economy.

As Finance Chair, it is my committee’s responsibility to bring in revenue to the State of Georgia. And, to approve or disapprove various tax incentives for Georgia companies or those considering a move to Georgia. While I don’t always get my way, I believe Georgia is doing a much better job of evaluating tax incentives.

There has also been much interest in the redistricting and redrawing of the district maps for Georgia’s House of Representatives, State Senate, and the US House of Congress. By law, this must be done every ten years.

The senate districts have the same population requirements. For the 56 Georgia Senate districts, this means we need about 200,000 residents per district. The new congressional district map was signed on December 30th, with the majority of senate district 52 remaining much of the same.

As the 2022 session begins, it is a great time to be in the legislature and I am honored that you have trusted me to represent you in the process and look forward to a prosperous new year.

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story physicians’ parking deck into a 100-bed field hospital and opened two floors of the vacant northeast wing, which previously had housed a long-term acute care hospital. The Georgia Emergency Management Agency also placed a 20bed mobile COVID-19 unit in the hospital’s main parking lot. In the span of a few months, Floyd Medical Center had added capacity for up to 165 additional patients, giving the hospital the ability to be a resource for both its service area and overtaxed hospitals in other regions.

“We innovated during COVID,” Stuenkel said. “In addition to being one of the first to face the pandemic, we were one of the first facilities in the Southeast to administer monoclonal antibodies. Dr. Daniel Valancius, head of the hospitalist program, made it his personal mission to lead the way with this ground-breaking treatment. For over 3,500 patients, outcomes have been so much better because of it.

“To lead Atrium Health Floyd’s efforts during these recent troubling times and work with all our talented people has been my privilege,” Stuenkel continued. “Seeing and experiencing how everyone stepped up to deal with the challenges has been awe inspiring.”

A Bright Future

A little more than three months before the first COVID-19 patient was diagnosed at Atrium Health Floyd, the hospital system announced its intention to strategically combine with North Carolina’s Atrium Health.

“I have been working on setting the stage for the strategic combination for three years,” Stuenkel said. “It is an outgrowth of envisioning the future. It is part of my job to lead us to examine what we must do to ensure and assure the communities we serve that Atrium Health Floyd will be here for generations to come. We were at the strongest point we have ever been—facilities-wise, financially, strategically, and operationally. We were at a high point and still are, but the question loomed before us, what does the future hold?

“Most hospital organizations our size either already have or should go through this reflective process, and ask, ‘What does the future look like?’ I believe most hospitals our size will have to ask and answer this question at some point.

“While strong, Atrium Health Floyd still had strategic vulnerabilities. Our boards spent a lot of time thinking about those issues and through a very thoughtful process, we all recognized the need to find a larger regional partner.”

“We reviewed a dozen organizations that we invited to talk with us confidentially,” Stuenkel said. “We began to see what it might look like to combine with another organization, and our board of directors saw that it was the way to go. Atrium Health has a compelling vision that presented the right fit. And, Atrium wants to expand into Georgia and has already associated with Atrium Health Navicent Health in Macon.”

With a promise of $570 million in capital over the next eleven years, Floyd Medical Center officially became part of Atrium Health in July of 2021. In addition to the capital promise, the definitive agreements allow much of the historically accumulated cash to be transferred to a healthcare foundation that will focus on addressing disparities of care in the communities served by Atrium Health Floyd. This foundation has an initial $141 million in assets that will grow to over $160 million in the next few years. The foundation will seek to preserve its capital while spending investment proceeds on important projects to address those disparities of care that are identified. “As time goes by,” Stuenkel said, “I believe that the new Floyd-Polk Healthcare Foundation will be transformational.”

Stuenkel is proud of the culture at Atrium Health Floyd. “We work as a team,” Stuenkel said. “Our very heartbeat is our mission, and we do our jobs for the love of our patients and the communities we serve. The Atrium mission statement encapsulates it beautifully: To improve health, elevate hope, and advance healing — for all.

“In addition, I am proud that we have and will continue to make things better. Not only do we care for hundreds of thousands of patients a year in our facilities, we constantly improve. We have expanded our service capabilities, including having facilities in every county we serve. We are recognized by our own employees as a top employer. We have a new foundation that will be transformational. Finally, by joining an outstanding organization, Atrium Health, we will all take Atrium Health Floyd to even new heights in service to our communities in the decades to come.”

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