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Two weeks after Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center announced it would close by Nov. 1, state and local leaders say they have come up with a way to fill the gap.
Driving the news: On Thursday, Gov. Brian Kemp announced the state is giving $130 million of its federal COVID relief money to fund a 185-bed expansion at Grady Health System, the city’s remaining Level 1 trauma center.
The big picture: Grady President & CEO John Hauper told reporters that after the expansion, targeted at the end of 2023, the coverage gap left by Atlanta Medical Center’s closure will be more than covered.
Of note: With the new beds, Grady will become the largest Level 1 trauma center in the country in terms of number of trauma patients admitted, a spokesperson said.
What they're saying: "While the decision to close was certainly no one's preference, our job is to now move forward, to move forward together and find a viable solution to the needs of the impacted community," Kemp said.
The other side: In her own press conference Thursday, Democratic nominee for governor Stacey Abrams again blamed Kemp's decision not to expand Medicaid on the closure. Even though Wellstar has said that wouldn't have changed their decision, she told reporters she doesn't believe the hospital network was "wholly honest about what Medicaid expansion could have done."
The bottom line: In the short term, all of Atlanta's hospitals, including Emory Midtown, Piedmont Hospital and Southern Regional Medical Center (in Riverdale), will have to share the volume of patients who will no longer go to Atlanta Medical Center. All those providers participated in the discussions of the last two weeks, Kemp said.
Threat level: Haupert told reporters that while the $130 million will help Grady build the new beds, the hospital still needs additional operational funding from DeKalb and Fulton counties to cover the expenses of treating more uninsured people. Right now, the two counties give Grady about $54 million per year.
What we're watching: Fulton County Commission Chair Rob Pitts said he is actively working to find a new healthcare facility to move into south Fulton County to cover the losses of two of Wellstar's hospitals, including the Atlanta Medical Center South closure earlier this year.
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