US Senators, representatives from Georgia urge Wellstar to keep Atlanta Medical Center open

ATLANTA - In a letter to the CEO of non-profit Wellstar Health System, Georgia leaders on Capitol Hill made a plea to stop the imminent closure of Atlanta Medical Center. 

Wellstar announced Wednesday it plans to shutter the hospital on Nov. 1. The Atlanta-based hospital is one of Atlanta's trauma centers.

Leaders in Atlanta and Georgia have expressed shock and outrage over the health system's decision. Community members fear what will happen to their sick or injured relatives if they have fewer options. 

Grady Health System, Atlanta's busiest trauma center, said Atlanta Medical Center's closure would result in "harmful consequences on healthcare access for the people of metro Atlanta and hospitals across the region."

Sens. Raphael Warnock, Sen. Jon Ossoff, Rep. Hank Johnson, Rep. Nikema Williams and Rep. Lucy McBath demanded transparency from Wellstar about the non-profit health system's decision-making process.

The conclusion of the letter read, in part:

"We implore you to rethink this decision and reverse course. At minimum, you must delay this decision until there is a plan in place, in consultation with the City of Atlanta and neighboring hospitals, to absorb these patients. We also request an immediate briefing from Wellstar that details the company’s decision making process and its plans for mitigating the consequences of any closure on the community, the local economy, and hospital workers."

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens plans to meet with Wellstar officials to try to reverse the course of the hospital closure. 

Wellstar said the decision to close the hospital comes after it lost more than $100 million last year. Officials with the health system say they have not been able to find ways to keep the hospital sustainable.

"For several years, Wellstar has continued to invest in and operate AMC with significant losses to provide more time to partner on a creative, long-term, sustainable solution for the hospital's future," said CEO Candice L. Saunders. "After an exhaustive search for a solution that would support the healthcare needs of the community, we are disappointed that a sustainable solution at AMC has not emerged."