Atlanta Medical Center closure becomes talking point in Georgia gubernatorial race

ATLANTA - Dressed in green scrubs, Josh Shorter went into work Friday at Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center for what could be one of his final weeks of work.

"Very devastating, we had people a couple of tears were shed," he said.

This closure will impact not just employees like him, but experts say it will have a ripple effect, especially for minorities and underserved communities. 

Atlanta Medical Center has a history of doing a lot of charity care to help those in the area.

"It's really important for us as a city and as a community to make a commitment to ensuring that everyone has access regardless of where you live, how much money you make," said Rodney Lyn, Dean of Georgia State University’s School of Public Health.

Outside the Atlanta Medical Center on Friday, Democratic nominee for governor Stacey Abrams met with some Wellstar staff. She puts a lot of the blame for the closure on Republican Incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp for his inaction on Medicaid expansion.

"The uncompensated care rate that is closing this hospital would have been mitigated, and we know it's true because, in every state that has expanded Medicaid, they have seen their uncompensated care rate slashed in half," she said.

Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center Downtown in Atlanta (FOX 5).

Minutes after the news conference ended, Gov. Kemp's campaign spokesman immediately fired back in a statement saying, "Wellstar has been abundantly clear that Medicaid expansion would not have prevented the AMC closure. But that doesn’t fit Stacey Abrams’ political narrative, so she’s falsely blaming Governor Kemp..."

This political back-forth is not doing much to try and save the hospital. For Shorter, who grew up in the Old Fourth Ward area, he hopes there is a better answer.

"This hospital is a cornerstone of the community and has been here for years," he said. "Name change, of course. But of course, I want it to stay."

To try and find a solution to keep AMC open, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens is set to meet with Wellstar next week to see if there is a path forward.