Atlanta medical center closing will impact people in surrounding neighborhoods

ATLANTA — Continuing our team coverage on the closing of one of Atlanta’s only level one trauma centers, Atlanta Medical Center, on November 1. Channel 2′s Dave Huddleston reports on the devastating impact this will have on the people in the neighborhoods surrounding AMC.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

People like Jonathan Milner who said, “I didn’t know it was even closing, we’re having our baby, we’re having our son here, I didn’t know it was closing down, so it’s a shock to me too.” Milner said they’ve been so busy getting ready for their baby, he and his wife didn’t know WellStar said they are closing Atlanta Medical Center November 1. He said, “It’s crazy. We need it.” That’s what Rosamary Rawls said too: “They closed the one in east point and so this is the only thing we have left besides Grady, and Grady is doing all they can do already.” She said this is a working-class neighborhood that needs this hospital. “They are low income. We don’t have transportation to get out to the suburbs to the other hospitals, and this is our only option.”

TRENDING STORIES:

• Thief shot by officer after stabbing employee inside Macy’s at Mall of Georgia, police say
• Cartersville deputy police chief arrested for hiring a Florida prostitute, police say
• Jane Fonda shares non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis

Huddleston got a copy of an internal letter from Wellstar’s CEO where she said after investing more than $350 million dollars into AMC over 6 years, they’re losing money and can’t afford it anymore. Andrew Beal is an attorney with more than 20 years of experience in hospital transactions but is not tied to the WellStar AMC case. He said closing AMC will have a ripple effect “that can have a long-term effect on the entire neighborhood, not only in reducing medical care, but giving a blow to the economy in general to that area.” Beal said expect to see many of the clinics and doctor offices near AMC close as well.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

IN OTHER NEWS:

Georgia gubernatorial candidates casting blame for Atlanta Medical Center closure Stacey Abrams is criticizing Gov. Kemp's decision to not expand Medicaid, but he says that wouldn't have saved the hospital.

©2022 Cox Media Group