MACON, Ga. (WGXA) -- Vertise Rozier is from Twiggs County and he says not having health care in rural counties certainly puts people's health at risk.
"More people sick and don't have the proper healthcare or more people dealing with illnesses, diabetes, different things and medicines they just can not afford," says Rozier.
Rozier says he believes having more healthcare workers in small towns would make a huge difference.
"If they have some assistance in that area that's tangible, someone they can touch, call and say I need you here, I think it'll be a blessing to the area."
US Senator Jon Ossoff is now using the National Health Service Corps to push Congress to bring more healthcare workers to places like Macon.
"And it brings doctors and doctors in training and nurses and nurses in training to parts of the country where there's a shortage of healthcare professionals."
Angie Walker is the executive director of human resources at Piedmont Health and says their staff is suffering, every day, from the shortage.
"We feel it every day in our daily lives here at work," she says.
She says it's a domino effect.
"We have other patients who come from four, five, and six counties away," says Angie Walker.
Patrice Walker, Chief Medical Officer at Atrium Health Navicent, says Piedmont isn't alone.
"It's certainly a strain. Patients don't stop coming, they come every day and we want to be able to give them care, efficient, of course, high-quality care and a lot of that hinges on having enough people to do the work."
She says, even after COVID, their hospital is still seeing a high volume of patients for other reasons.
"Other medical conditions, chronic medical conditions, I mean the number of hospital patients haven't changed."
Both hospitals say they are committed to finding new staff members.
Atrium Health is aggressively recruiting and trying to place physicians here in the Macon area.
"We are participating in an international nurse program where we have a contract to have a total of one-hundred nurses, international nurses that are going to be coming into this system to work right now, up thirty-eight," Patrice Walker told WGXA News.
Patrice Walker says she believes Senator Ossoff has played a big part in recruitment.
"We're grateful to advocates, like Senator Ossoff who has helped really forward the momentum behind getting some of the international nurses in," she says.
And Senator Ossoff says he continues to use the National Health Service Corps for recruitment.
He says the shortage in all areas of healthcare is a priority.
"It's the shortage of professionals and the shortage in equipment, so that's why I'm working to bring more doctors and nurses to Middle Georgia. That's why I'm supporting our hospital system, working to expand clinics across the state, working to deliver medical equipment," says Senator Ossoff.