SOUTH FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Access to emergency healthcare is expanding in the metro Atlanta area.
Grady Health System opened a new free-standing emergency department in South Fulton County.
Channel 2’s Steve Gehlbach was at the hospital, where the community said they’ve been waiting for this day.
The 20,000 square-foot facility is a free-standing emergency department, like an emergency room without the attached hospital.
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For the community in South Fulton County, it’s more than just a building, it’s a lifeline.
“We are technically in a healthcare desert out here,” one resident said.
Union City Mayor Vince Williams told Channel 2 Action News at the clinic’s ribbon cutting.
At the event, healthcare and community leaders, elected officials and advocates, called the opening a historic day.
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With the new Grady South Emergency Department, those in need of critical medical care won’t have to drive 20 to 30 minutes, or longer, to get the help they need.
“For far too long, South Fulton families have been forced to wait too long, drive too far, and fight too damn hard for access to quality healthcare,” Williams said.
The mayor said Grady Health System heard the need and stepped in to fill that gap.
“They have less doctors, less clinical sites for citizens here to seek care, so Grady’s here with solutions, Williams said.
The new facility is state-of-the-art, fully staffed and will be open around the clock, seven days a week.
The clinic includes 16 exam bays, multiple triage rooms, resuscitation and observation areas, plus advanced imaging, lab services and a pharmacy.
Hospital leaders said this was only the beginning for Grady South, with $1 billion invested on the campus to add a medical office building and 200 bed, full-service acute care hospital connected to the emergency department.
Grady Health President Anthony Saul said they expect the building to be busy right out of the gate when it opens in June.
“We think the community is going to come out in droves, so our plans are to serve nearly 30,000 visits a year,’ Saul said. ”We expect to be close to capacity month one."
Community advocates said it’s a literal lifeline for people living south of Interstate 20.
The emergency department opens to the first patients in about three weeks, with the full hospital opening in about five years, sometime in late 2030 or early 2031.
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