Posted inHealth, Health Equity

What Grady’s Chief Health Equity Officer Said About Challenges Facing Black Patients

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 […]

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

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

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 […]