Morehouse School of Medicine and Atrium Health said Friday they are moving forward with plans to build a new teaching hospital on Atlanta’s Southside.
The approval by the Georgia Department of Community Health on Thursday clears a major hurdle in moving forward with the project.
The proposed facility, planned for Metropolitan Parkway, is aimed at filling the massive gap in healthcare access caused by Wellstar’s decision to shutter Atlanta Medical Center and AMC South several years ago.
Atlanta city officials say the new hospital will provide better options for residents on the Southside and Westside who must now travel farther to visit doctors and get emergency care.
In a news release, Morehouse School of Medicine said North Carolina-based Atrium Health is committing more than $700 million to the hospital and care network.
Credit: City of Atlanta
Credit: City of Atlanta
“The goal is to bring a Level III trauma center with more care closer to where people live — from routine and preventive services to emergency and acute hospital care where it is needed most,” officials said in a news release.
In a statement, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said the abrupt AMC closures in 2022 “left an open wound in the heart of our communities.”
“Today, we have come full circle,” he said. “Morehouse School of Medicine and Atrium Health will not only help heal that wound but expand primary and community-based care in neighborhoods where access is needed most.”
The new hospital is slated to open with about 50 beds, but has the capacity to expand to more than 700 over time, officials said. It is intended to function as “the clinical anchor of a much larger network.”
The facility is set to offer acute-care, 24/7 emergency services and Level III trauma. It will also include obstetrics and a neonatal intensive care unit, along with adult critical care, advanced imaging, interventional radiology and endoscopy, officials said.
Plans for the broader campus include medical offices, along with research and development facilities.
“Today marks a meaningful step toward expanding access to care for families across Atlanta and South Fulton who have waited too long and traveled too far for essential health services,” said Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, president and CEO of Morehouse School of Medicine. “In Atrium Health, we have found a partner that is among the national leaders not only in clinical and academic excellence, but in innovation and academic medicine.”
The city of Atlanta is expected to invest more than $115 million in the project to support site preparation, and roadway and pedestrian improvements along with equipment associated with opening the acute-care campus.
But officials cautioned the plans are still continent on agreements with Fulton County regarding support to Morehouse Medicine for the facility’s ambulatory network.
Additionally, “philanthropy and community support will be key drivers in bringing this crucial initiative to life,” the city said in its release.
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