The medical care desert in South Fulton County may be ready to bloom with a new hospital if Atlanta’s business and philanthropic communities are willing to open their wallets for $300M to make it happen.
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Grady Health System unveiled a plan this week for a more than $1B hospital facility along Campbellton Fairburn Road in Union City. It will include a 200-bed acute care facility, a medical office, a surgery center and a pediatric care unit run by Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
City planners hope the facility will fill the hole left by the closures of Wellstar Health System’s Atlanta Medical Center South and Atlanta Medical Center in 2022.
But funding the new hospital will require $300M from business and philanthropic organizations, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported. Grady CEO John Haupert has already reached out to foundations run by Coca-Cola, Delta Air Lines, Home Depot and UPS to gauge their interest, according to the ABC.
“Raising $300 million [from donors] is no easy task for sure, but we believe in 18 to 24 months we'll be able to do that,” he told the ABC.
In addition, Grady is slated to chip in $300M for the project, and another $300M will come from bond financing by Fulton County, according to the ABC.
Atlanta-based Grady Health System operates 10 neighborhood health centers, a health crisis center, three behavioral centers and a long-term care facility. The health care system employs more than 9,000 people, including 1,900 physicians. It handled more than 800,000 patient visits last year.
Grady is expected to develop and open the new Union City hospital in phases. The medical office building will roll out first and open in 2028, with an acute care hospital opening in 2031, according to the AJC.
The plan comes two months after Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens called on Fulton County and the state to do more to address the lack of medical facilities on the southside, saying the responsibility of a new hospital ultimately rested on the shoulders of the county.
The fundraising will take place during a changing of the guard. Grady Chief Operating Officer Anthony Saul was named this week to succeed Haupert when he retires at the end of 2026.
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