UPDATED

Eric Johnson Teaming With Rosalynn Carter To Help Sumter County Hospital

(Update at 9 a.m. adds that Rep. Chuck Martin also has been active in the Sumter effort. New material highlighted.)

(11/23/07) Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson is joining forces with former First Lady Rosalynn Carter in a bid to help Sumter Regional Hospital in Americus win a new, million-dollar MRI.

He sent out an e-mail over the Thanksgiving holiday urging friends and colleagues to use their e-mail lists to come to the hospital’s aid. He said that for fellow senators, the effort could have special significance.

“Our Senate colleague, George Hooks, lost his wife Gail to cancer a few month ago. She was on the Board of Sumter Regional Hospital. I think this would be a fitting tribute to her life and work if we all take up this cause,” he wrote.

Rep. Chuck Martin, R-Alpharetta, also has been circulating e-mails urging support for the hospital in the contest.

Here is Johnson's text:

“Happy Thanksgiving! As we share this special day with our family and give thanks to God for our blessings, it would be fitting if we could help a hurting community recover. And we can do it with just a few clicks of a mouse from our computers at home.

“Rosalynn Carter has written an e-mail, asking Georgians to help Sumter Regional Hospital in Americus win a new, million-dollar MRI. The hospital was destroyed by a tornado last March. Insurance will cover much - but not all - of the rebuilding. By coincidence, Siemens Medical Solutions is hosting a contest to give away an MRI to one hospital in the U.S. The former First Lady wants the machine to go to Americus, Georgia (very near the Carters’ hometown of Plains), and is pointing people to www.winanmri.com where a popular vote is being tabulated. I did it and it is easy. Be sure you select “Sumter Regional Hospital” and watch the brief video about their story before you can vote.

““Right now, we are in first place, but the second place hospital is just outside of Buffalo, an area with a much larger population than southwest Georgia,” Mrs. Carter wrote. “You will see that many hospitals, including other great hospitals in Georgia, have posted videos. Many of them are deserving, but I hope you will take the two minutes to hear our story and help us.”

“Let’s make this a bi-partisan, pro-Georgia campaign. Our Senate colleague, George Hooks, lost his wife Gail to cancer a few month ago. She was on the Board of Sumter Regional Hospital. I think this would be a fitting tribute to her life and work if we all take up this cause. I have checked out the other 2-3 Georgia hospitals on the list and they are nowhere near the vote total of Sumter. Like Mrs. Carter said, they are all deserving. But only one can win. If we want a Georgia hospital to benefit, this is the one. And we all remember the tragedy of the tornado vividly.

“You can vote once a day, every day. Please vote often and forward this message to your family and friends asking them to do the same. The last day to vote is December 31st.

“Please pass this along to your network. Let’s make this a Georgia effort.”