Dr. Yolanda Wimberly is fully aware of the health challenges facing Black patients in metro Atlanta. Hospitals have closed across the state, including Atlanta Medical Center South in East Point and AMC’s main campus in Old Fourth Ward last year. Both hospitals served predominantly Black communities. According to Wimberly, Grady Health System’s chief health equity […]
Health Equity
Posted inHealth Equity
How Morehouse, Fulton County, and Grady Are Taking Action After AMC Closures
In case you missed it, there have been a few major developments connected to Wellstar’s decision to close two Atlanta Medical Center facilities in predominantly Black areas. It’s been just over a month since two Black former board members spoke to Capital B Atlanta about Wellstar Healthcare System’s “defeatist” attitude leading to the closures of […]
Posted inHealth, Health Equity
The Health Risks Behind ‘Cop City’
Celeste Lomax has been working at Urban Food Forest at Browns Mill in southeast Atlanta for six years. This time of year, the trees and bushes are still dormant and leafless, but the soil underneath is rich and moist — as Lomax, the site’s food steward, reveals as she digs up an elderberry tree pup. […]
Posted inHealth, Health Equity
Why a New Law Denying Health Care for Trans Youth Has Local Black Advocates Worried
Black LGBTQIA+ advocates are concerned about legislation in Georgia aimed at restricting medical care for transgender children. On Thursday, Gov. Brian Kemp announced he signed Senate Bill 140, which will prohibit certain gender-affirming care for transgender minors. Doctors who offer the banned care will face serious consequences, including losing their medical license. SB 140 would […]
Posted inHealth, Health Equity
Civil Rights Complaint Alleges Wellstar Neglected Black Communities
A group of local lawmakers is alleging that Wellstar Health System discriminated against its Black patients when the nonprofit hospital system closed two hospitals in 2022. On Wednesday, the Fulton County Board of Commissioners adopted a resolution sponsored by Chairman Robb Pitts calling for the county attorney to file a complaint with the Department of […]
Posted inHealth, Health Equity
AMC Closed, but You Have Some Options. We Explain.
Residents in Atlanta and the metro area are still reeling from Wellstar Health System’s stunning decision to close Atlanta Medical Center. After the hospital closed its doors on Nov. 1, the city and state lost one of its few trauma units, an active labor and delivery unit, emergency services, and even primary care doctors. Nearby […]
Posted inHealth, Health Equity
Life After AMC’s Closure: Four Stories About Resilience, Challenges, and Hope
People from all walks of life are grieving the loss of Atlanta Medical Center, formerly known as Georgia Baptist. Wellstar Health System closed the nearly 500-bed hospital on Nov. 1, leaving a large void in Old Fourth Ward for people who either worked or were patients at the hospital. Capital B Atlanta spoke with four […]
Posted inHealth, Health Equity
More Wellstar Closures Bring Dwindling Health Care Options
Jackie Anderson sat in the waiting room at Wellstar Family Practice on Cleveland Avenue, frustrated that her primary care office would be closing. Just next door was the old hospital, Atlanta Medical Center South, where she worked for more than 30 years. When Wellstar Health System closed AMC South’s emergency department in May, Anderson lost […]
Posted inHealth, Health Equity
AMC’s Emergency Room Closes, Leaving a Health Care Void
The waiting area at Atlanta Medical Center’s emergency room was desolate at 6 a.m. Friday. The “Level 1 Trauma Center” sign had been peeled from the hospital’s walkway the day before. Now, security guards walked down the driveway to post a new set of signs: “Emergency Department Closed — Authorized Personnel Only.” On a normal […]
Posted inHealth, Health Equity
Could Medicaid Expansion Have Saved AMC From Closing?
In a letter sent Tuesday to Georgia’s Democratic congressional delegation, Gov. Brian Kemp said that Medicaid expansion would not have stopped Wellstar’s decision to close Atlanta Medical Center. Kemp maintains Medicaid expansion instead may have been detrimental to AMC’s longevity. “It would hurt both patients and providers because, as you know, healthcare providers actually lose […]