ATLANTA — The emergency department at Atlanta Medical Center has officially shut down and the rest of the hospital isn’t far behind.
Wellstar plans to have the hospital fully closed by November 1.
Channel 2′s Tom Regan has learned that patients who show up at the hospital within the next two weeks will be transported to another hospital.
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With the hospital on its last breath, Regan spoke with community members who say the closure is a big loss for the community who rely on it.
“Foster moms need help with kids. They stay maybe a few blocks away, they walk over here. Now, they won’t be able to,” Daryl Dennis said.
“When I’m sick, I don’t want to get up and move nowhere, so if I’m at the hospital, they tell me I have to because they’re closing, I’m pretty mad,” Alzono Batista said.
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Wellstar says it made the decision to close AMC because of mounting financial losses of more than $100 million last year.
They expect to only have 50 patients left at the hospital this weekend.
Grady Memorial Hospital say they are bearing the brunt of the closure.
“We have seen an increase in ambulance traffic,” Grady Medical Director Dr. Robert Jansen said. “We have seen an uptick of already about 30%. We also saw a big increase in air ambulance traffic, traffic helicopters coming that volume has probably double already.”
Jansen says Grady will add staff and beds to treat additional patients from AMC.
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Mercy Care, a charity clinic in downtown Atlanta, says they are now welcoming patients that would normally go to AMC.
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