Evans Memorial Hospital gets $125K state grant for new ER medication-scanning tech

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - A state-funded investment is helping a rural hospital in Georgia’s Coastal Empire stay up to date with critical emergency room technology.

Evans Memorial Hospital in Claxton has received a $125,000 grant from the Georgia Department of Agriculture, money the hospital is using to install a new medication scanning system in its emergency department.

Hospital leaders say the upgrade is designed to improve patient safety and speed up medication administration, two priorities where seconds and minutes can matter most.

“It representing something bigger, and that is investment and sustainability in rural health care and rural hospitals,” said Bill Lee, Evans Memorial’s chief executive officer.

In the ER, nurses scan a patient’s wristband and then scan medications before they’re administered—an added layer of verification that staff say reduces the chance of errors while also streamlining the process.

“I will scan the patient’s band… right about now… beep,” said Marta Castro, a nurse in the emergency department, demonstrating the system.

ER physician Dr. Atul Devani compared it to checkout technology most people use every day.

“This instant scanner technology can sorta bloop, bloop, just like at the grocery store and there’s no more need to punch in any code numbers or anything like that,” Devani said.

Hospital staff say the difference is measurable in real time.

“The patients are getting the relief a lot sooner than they would have been getting previously, because we do not have to do the double human verification,” Devani added.

Lee said the grant is about more than a single piece of equipment—he believes it signals broader support for rural hospitals and the communities that depend on them.

“For us in a rural hospital, it is so exciting for the community and for others to see the value in rural hospitals… we need to invest and invest in upgrades and facility technology, equipment, all of those things,” Lee said.

Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper said he understands the financial challenges rural hospitals face because he grew up in rural Georgia.

“These investments are about giving those hospitals the financial, additional financial flexibility to invest in ways that allows them to best serve the communities in which they’re located in,” Harper said.

Hospital staff say the new scanning equipment is already in use—and that it’s saving them minutes, something that can be critical in an emergency room.