Lawmakers dig deeper into impact of Wellstar hospital closures in Fulton County

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - Georgia state and local leaders are getting a clearer look at the impact of the closure of two hospitals in metro Atlanta.

Wellstar Health System officials came under fire this week for a seeming about-face in finances.

The company is committing to invest nearly $800 million in a partnership with Augusta University Health System.

This investment comes after Wellstar closed the 460-bed Atlanta Medical Center and its smaller Wellstar Hospital in East Point in November 2022. At that time, hospital officials said it was due to a decline in revenue, but Fulton County officials point out the health care system has continued to operate and expand in areas in and outside of Fulton County in predominately white areas.

Now critics say the company's decisions have left parts of Fulton County with a "healthcare desert."

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

Many of those critics sounded off during a meeting of the Georgia Senate's Health and Human Services Committee Monday, saying the areas the closed hospitals served are mostly Black.

"No one should die early because of their zip code," Fulton County Commissioner Rob Pitts told the committee.

Atlanta Police Chief Darin Shierbaum pointed to the lack of options in Georgia's capitol as a potential crisis.

"We're already preparing for the World Cup in 2026 and possibly a four-peat of Georgia contending for the national championship in 2025, and we can already see missing in our planning two trauma centers at play," Shierbaum said.

Wellstar officials told committee members they didn't just throw their hands up and call it quits - pointing to skyrocketing labor costs and the loss of COVID-19 relief funds, creating a financial burden too much to overcome.

"This is not the outcome we wanted," Wellstar CEO Candice Saunders. "This is not a decision we made lightly or abruptly."

Barricades block the former entrance to the now-closed Atlanta Medical Center on March 8, 2023. (FOX 5)

Saunders says they were unable to find a partner to help them run the Atlanta Medical Center.

"Each of them reached the same conclusion we did - AMC's trajectory was not sustainable and would only grow worse with time," she said.

Lawmakers have asked both state and federal officials to investigate the company for possible healthcare redlining - arguing that Wellstar has violated Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in any program or activity that receives federal funds. State lawmakers have also filed a complaint with the IRS calling for an investigation.

To fill the void in that area, Grady Health System plans to open two outpatient centers south of Interstate 20 with one possibly opening in July and the other opening later this year.

Fulton County is also working with the Morehouse School of Medicine to open a primary care facility in East Point.