New pavilion at Grady Memorial Hospital could save more lives
ATLANTA - Grady Memorial Hospital administrators just unveiled a new pavilion that has been in the works for the past six years and consider it cause for celebration. Officials say it could help save more lives.
"When we started planning for this back in 2017, we had no idea we would be the only Level 1trauma center in our city. Nor did we know there'd be a pandemic," Grady Health System President and CEO John Haupert said.
Grady's administrators showed dozens of people a video of the new Correll Pavilion during Monday's unveiling. It reveals the new rooms which will allow the hospital to service 45% more patients.
"That allows for a significant increase in surgical cases, treatment for more people with cancer in newer facility, and a significant expansion of clinics for surgical care," Haupert said.
"We are relying more than ever on Grady hospital," Fulton County Commissioner Chairman Robb Pitts said.
While local leaders looked forward to providing more effective care, they also looked back to last November, when Wellstar closed Atlanta Medical Center, making it Atlanta’s only Level 1 trauma center.
"It has created more pressure on Grady, and what I consider the ill-time closure, has created a health care crisis. We thank Grady for standing," DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond said.
The upgrades are paid for through private and public sector funding. Millions for ARPA funds will help the next phase of development, bringing the current total from 700 beds to just over 1,000.
Staffing has plagued most hospitals nationwide. At Monday's unveiling, Haupert said Grady is almost fully staffed.
"We're very close," he said. "We do still use contract nurses, but at a fraction than at the height of pandemic."