Get sick, stay home, get better. It’s a simple prescription, but without local health-care options, many people aren’t able to get it filled.

Happily, that’s not the case for residents in southeast Tennessee, north Georgia and western North Carolina, where high-quality medical facilities serve residents from the largest cities to the most rural areas. And whether it’s through new facilities, upgrades to existing buildings or the addition of new technology and procedures, the region’s providers are determined to bring the best available care to the communities they are in.

Memorial Health Care System operates two acute-care hospitals, including Memorial Hospital and multiple satellite facilities, in and around Chattanooga. The system has more than 700 affiliated physicians throughout its network and has been recognized nationally by Thomson Reuters on its 100 Top Hospitals list.

While Memorial is known for its many cutting-edge treatments, the system also works to add innovative services. At the Memorial Women’s Center, for example, patients waiting for mammograms or other procedures can enjoy free sessions with a skin specialist or dietitian, while also having breakfast, lunch or even a massage.

Chattanooga is also headquarters of BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, which provides services to nearly 5 million members nationwide.

In north Georgia, Hutcheson Medical Center provides a full range of services from its Fort Oglethorpe flagship to a 137,000-resident service area that includes Catoosa, Dade and Walker counties. The 195-bed hospital, which is accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, has more than 200 physicians and 400 registered clinical nurses and staff affiliated with it.

Murphy Medical Center, a 57-bed facility in Murphy, N.C., serves seven counties in North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee. Recent additions to the hospital include a 64-slice CT scanner, upgrades and renovations to patient rooms, and enhancements throughout the information-technology system to allow for computerized patient care at bedside, says Kristen Brown, marketing manager.

The medical center is extending its Murphy Group Practice physician group into neighboring Hayesville, N.C., to offer needed services in that area, as well as building a new urgent-care and family practice center that can handle a growing volume of patients.

When it opens in mid 2010, that facility and others like it will highlight the deep commitment that care providers have made in the region.

“Having a comprehensive medical center in a community keeps patients near their home, family and friends during their sickness or injury,” Brown says. “And it supports our local economy — we are the largest employer in the county, directly contributing $36.3 million in salaries and benefits to people in our area.”

Just as importantly, she adds, “Our being here draws employers, workers and retirees to our area. Accessible, quality care is one criteria companies and people research before deciding to move to a new location.”