Walter Johnson offers his brief thoughts on the Valdosta High School football program, as well as what sanctions the Wildcats are facing heading into the 2021 season.
More Information:
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (April 13, 2021)
New York Times (April 12, 2021)
WALB (April 13, 2021)
WTXL (April 13-14, 2021)
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On this special episode of the High School Football Round-Up Podcast, you’ll listen to details on all of the offseason coaching changes, including the controversy surrounding Valdosta head coach Rush Propst, as well as a brief recap of National Signing Day on February 3, and other items of interest.
More Information:
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (March 11, 2021)
Charles Truitt Profile (courtesy of the Georgia High School Football Historians Association)
Deshon Brock Profile (courtesy of the Georgia High School Football Historians Association)
Dondrial Pinkins Profile (courtesy of the Georgia High School Football Historians Association)
Dougherty County School System Press Release (March 9, 2021)
Dougherty County School System Press Release (March 23, 2021)
Lee County Football Schedule 2021 (courtesy of the Lee County School System)
National Signing Day Recap: February 3, 2021 (WALB.com)
Tifton Gazette (January 26, 2021)
2021 Season Information (courtesy of the Georgia High School Association)
Valdosta Daily Times (March 11, 2021)
Valdosta Today (April 6, 2021)
Yahoo Finance via The Albany Herald (March 31, 2021)
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Photo (L-R): Phoebe Putney Health System Chief Nursing Officer Evelyn Olenick, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College President David Bridges, Phoebe Putney Health System CEO Joe Austin, and Assistant Vice President for Nursing Education Tracy Suber.
(Photo courtesy of Phoebe Putney Health System)
Courtesy of Phoebe Putney Health System
Albany, Ga. – A partnership between Phoebe and Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC) will increase the number of nursing students at ABAC and help address the growing nursing shortage in southwest Georgia. “We would like to hire 250 nurses today to alleviate our reliance on contract labor, but a labor pool that large does not exist in our area. Across the country, the number of nursing school graduates simply isn’t keeping up the number of nurses hospitals need, and we are eager to work closely with educational partners in our region to help them increase enrollment and help us develop a larger group of potential new members of the Phoebe Family,” said Evelyn Olenick, DNP, RN, Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital Chief Nursing Officer.
Under a new agreement recently signed by Phoebe and ABAC, Phoebe will fund a new nursing faculty position at the college and provide ABAC nursing students access to clinical rotations at Phoebe facilities and training opportunities at the Phoebe Simulation and Innovation Center. For its part, ABAC agreed to fund an additional nursing faculty position, admit an additional 40 nursing students and take steps to recruit more nursing students who live within 100 miles of its campuses in Tifton and Bainbridge.
“It truly takes a collaborative approach to come up with solutions to combat the nursing shortage. We are proud to open our doors to ABAC students and are excited about this partnership as we work together to increase the number of registered nurses entering the workforce in southwest Georgia,” said Tracy Suber, EdD, MSN, Phoebe Assistant Vice President of Simulation Center and Nursing Education.
On a recent tour of Phoebe’s simulation center, ABAC President Dr. David Bridges touted the high-tech center’s importance as a recruitment tool that could attract more young nurses to Phoebe. “Having students here and having them go through this sim center is a huge value to Phoebe,” Dr. Bridges said.
Dr. Bridges said the reputation of any nursing program is based on how well it prepares students to go to work as soon as they graduate, its academic quality and the relationship educators build with clinical providers. “This agreement addresses all three,” Dr. Bridges said. “It adds a much-enhanced dimension of hands-on learning, so the students learn to do it, not just learn about it. It will increase the board exam passage rate of our graduates, and it will build a strong relationship between our two organizations.”
The agreement will be in place for the next two years, with the option to extend the partnership if both Phoebe and ABAC are pleased with the results.
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and with it, a new, brief podcast here on the Southwest Georgia Network. Click the link below to listen to the changes coming soon to this website, plus some high school basketball postseason action and more.
Follow the Southwest Georgia Network on Twitter @swganetwork.
Believe it or not, the regular season in high school basketball has ended, and the postseason underway in various portions of the Southwest Georgia Network coverage area, and beyond. Click the following links below, and check back often, to find out how many teams from our area will advance to the state tournament, whether it’s the GHSA, GISA, or GAPPS.
GHSA
Girl’s Region Tournament Schedule (courtesy of Sandy’s Spiel)
Boy’s Region Tournament Schedule (courtesy of Sandy’s Spiel)
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and expect to hear and read more of the “news you can use”, that’s relevant to Southwest Georgia, including multiple podcasts and posts. Also, be on the lookout for new platforms to follow the Southwest Georgia Network on, including Brighteon, Gab, Rumble, et. al., going forward. Otherwise, thanks for following and visiting the Southwest Georgia Network, at southwestgeorgianetwork.com, and on Twitter @swganetwork.
Follow the Southwest Georgia Network on Twitter @swganetwork.
Please listen below to the first podcast/post of 2021, as to what’s to come for the Southwest Georgia Network in the days, weeks, and months ahead.
Follow the Southwest Georgia Network on Twitter @swganetwork.
It’s time to put one final wrap on the 2020 high school football season, and the High School Football Round-Up Podcast has all of the details on the GHSA state championship games involving teams from the Southwest Georgia Network coverage area, as well as final thoughts for the 2020 season, and what could be in store for the 2021 offseason.
More Information:
Georgia High School Football Daily Newsletter (December 29, 2020)
Georgia High School Football Daily Newsletter (December 30, 2020)
Georgia High School Football Historians Association Website
Follow the Southwest Georgia Network on Twitter @swganetwork.
On this special episode of HSFR, you’ll listen to a brief review of GHSA state semifinal action from December 18, as well as a preview of state championship action, with the primary focus on the teams within the Southwest Georgia Network coverage area.
More Information:
Georgia High School Football Historians Association Website
Playoff Brackets (Courtesy of the Georgia High School Association)
Follow the Southwest Georgia Network on Twitter @swganetwork.
File Photo
Press Release courtesy of Phoebe Putney Health System
Albany, Ga. – Phoebe administered its first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to frontline healthcare workers Thursday afternoon, just hours after the shipments arrived at two of its hospitals. “This is an exciting day, and one we have been looking forward to for quite a while. We hope this milestone represents the beginning of the end of our COVID-19 fight, but we know that fight is far from over as infections and hospitalizations are surging in our area right now,” said Scott Steiner, Phoebe Putney Health System President & CEO.
Phoebe received around 5,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine Thursday morning at its main campus and around 1,000 doses a few hours later at Phoebe Worth. Vaccinations began at both campuses Thursday afternoon. Phoebe Sumter has ordered vaccines and is waiting to find out when they will be delivered. Phoebe invested in ultra-cold freezer systems at all three hospitals to properly and safely store the vaccines.
Phoebe is providing vaccines in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. The Phoebe Vaccine Planning Team and the Community COVID-19 Vaccine Medical Task Force helped to develop a tiered approach to Phase 1 of the CDC’s plan. “Tier 1 includes healthcare workers at highest risk of COVID-1 exposure. We’re focusing on them right now, but we will move on to tiers two, three and four as quickly as possible. We will work hard to provide a vaccination to every healthcare worker in our community who falls into the first phase of the CDC vaccination plan and who requests a vaccine. We have set up a registration process and we are reaching out to the Phoebe Family, independent providers and first responders as their appropriate tier opens up,” said Dianna Grant, MD, Phoebe Putney Health System Chief Medical Officer.
Dr. James Black, Phoebe Medical Director of Emergency Services was the first to receive his vaccination. “The science shows this vaccine is safe and effective, and I have full confidence that it will offer outstanding protection against the virus,” Dr. Black said. “Our team in the ER has worked incredibly hard throughout this entire pandemic, and now they’re facing another dangerous surge. For their sake, I’m glad the vaccine is here, and I’m proud to set an example and do my part by being the first person in our area to roll up my sleeve and get this shot.”
Phoebe set up six vaccination stations in the solarium adjacent to its main cafeteria with a goal of administering at least 100 vaccines Thursday afternoon. After Dr. Black received his shot, a steady stream of employees from Tier 1 departments filed through. Phoebe has already made plans to expand its vaccination capacity on Friday. “We will ensure this process is safe and equitable, but we also want to make sure it is efficient. We want to vaccinate as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, and we are already working to request more doses to ensure people in southwest Georgia can get vaccinated when we are approved to move on to the next phase,” Steiner said.
Even though vaccines have arrived, it will take months to provide immunity to most of the population, so everyone should continue to wear masks, wash their hands often and avoid close contact with others. Phoebe will continue to share vaccine updates with the public, and, as the vaccination process moves forward and opens to broader groups within the community, Phoebe will share details of where and when those outside of healthcare can be vaccinated.
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