DECATUR, Ga. - On Tuesday, the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners approved a $20 million plan to help a couple of local hospitals ahead of Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center's (AMC) pending closure Nov. 1.
"Today’s vote by the Board of Commissioners will save lives and strengthen the healthcare safety net for tens of thousands of residents in DeKalb County and metro Atlanta," said Michael Thurmond, the chief executive officer of DeKalb County.
Thurmond said a portion of that money is expected to go toward Emory Hillandale Hospital's emergency room beds as the facility prepares for an influx of patients when AMC shuts its doors for good.
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Atlanta Medical Center closing emergency room 2 weeks early
The hospital's closure on Nov. 1 could stress Atlanta's remaining hospitals. Now, patients will have to seek other treatment options sooner than expected.
The $12 million allocated for Hillandale is supposed to spread the following ways:
- $1.1 million to create the Hillandale Trauma Recovery Center, a hospital-based violence prevention program that will employ 10 specialists, including psychologists, outreach workers and behavioral health specialists, devoted to violence prevention and trauma recovery. The center’s mission will be to enable individuals who have experienced trauma to rebuild, restore and strengthen their sense of safety and interrupt the cycle of violence.
- $4.7 million to expand Emory Hillandale Hospital’s emergency waiting room by up to 15 emergency room bays.
- $4.5 million to renovate the hospital’s second-floor intensive care unit.
- $1.7 million to replace the hospital’s computed tomography (CT) scanner.
- $250,000 grant to a nonprofit entity that will inform and encourage eligible uninsured residents to register for American Affordable Care Act, Medicaid and other subsidized insurance coverages.
Thurmond's plan accounted for Grady's emergency room as well with a one-time $8 million subsidy.
By increasing beds at Hillandale, Thurmond hopes to alleviate the overflow of patients to Grady. Without AMC, Grady Memorial Hospital is North Georgia's only Level 1 trauma care provider.