At its annual summer meeting, the Georgia Hospital Association (GHA) presented the prestigious W. Daniel Barker Leadership Award to Jim Matney, President and CEO of Colquitt Regional Medical Center. Matney was honored for his leadership of the hospital and his success in ensuring the vitality of the organization despite facing many common challenges of rural health care organizations.
“Jim Matney is an outstanding leader who has put his heart and soul into ensuring the success of Colquitt Regional Medical Center,” said GHA President and CEO Earl Rogers. “Thanks to his vision, dedication, and keen foresight, the hospital is in a place to continue to provide essential care to its community now and far into the future.”
The W. Daniel Barker Leadership Award recognizes an active Georgia hospital/health system leader who has made outstanding contributions to Georgia’s health care community. The recipient has developed an innovative approach to health care delivery that exceeds the traditional services of community health care providers. This person has routinely provided meritorious service on behalf of the Georgia health care industry and/or GHA.
“I am beyond grateful and honored to receive this award from GHA,” said Matney. “With the help of the Hospital Authority of Colquitt County, administrative team at Colquitt Regional, and our many dedicated employees, we have created one of the top health systems in the region. The future is bright at Colquitt Regional and I am proud to be part of such an exceptional team.”
Matney joined Colquitt Regional in August 2011 and has been instrumental in the growth of the hospital’s facilities, technologies, medical education, and service lines. He’s led the hospital through a multi-million dollar expansion in 2014, helped establish family medicine and psychiatry residency programs at Georgia South, acquired a skilled nursing facility, and has implemented various state-of-the-art technologies such as the daVinci Surgical Robot, 3T MRI, Mako Surgical Robot, and the Myospect heart scanner.
He has also helped recruit numerous specialists who have brought much-needed service lines to the Colquitt Regional health system. Matney has doubled the size of the workforce and added radiation and gynecologic oncology, plastic and reconstructive surgery, psychiatry, rheumatology, and behavioral health services.
Even during the COVID-19 pandemic and throughout his tenure, Matney continuously works to ensure that patient safety is the top priority. Under his guidance, Colquitt Regional has earned 16 “A” Patient Safety Grades from The Leapfrog Group, has been named a Top Rural Hospital twice, and has received numerous awards and designations such as the Press Ganey Experience Guardian of Excellence Award, Baldrige Commitment Award, Pathway to Excellence designation, accreditation as a Comprehensive Center under the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP), and the American Heart Association Get With the Guidelines – Stroke Silver Plus Quality Achievement Award.
“Our hospital has been greatly blessed to have Jim Matney at the helm,” said Hospital Authority Chairman Richard E. Turner, Jr. “He has played an integral role in expanding Colquitt Regional and healthcare in Southwest Georgia. We have many plans for future growth and look forward to his continued leadership. I commend GHA for recognizing the impact he has had on this community.”
