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Morehouse School of Medicine fills health gap
A doctor with Morehouse School of Medicine is looking to help fill the gap for medical service on Atlanta's south side through its Prevention Research Center. This all comes after Wellstar closed facilities in Fulton County leaving residents without local care.
ATLANTA - The Morehouse School of Medicine has offered to open and manage a primary health care facility on the southside of Atlanta.
The project will help fill the gap from the closures of Wellstar hospitals and clinics.
Dr. Joseph Tyndall explained to Fulton commissioners that the site for the facility could serve a population of one-hundred-ninety thousand who would be within a thirty-minute drive to complex.
"And we will have extended hours, night and weekends," Tyndall said. "We know that people who need our care may have to work during the day".
The medical school is seeking a subsidy from the county -- an estimated $15 million over the initial five years.
Local lawmakers are expected to give the go-ahead.
Once a contract is signed, Tyndall pledged the facility could open in the late summer.
He projects 17,000 patients can be treated on an annual basis.