FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — The Fulton County government and the Morehouse School of Medicine may be partnering on a joint venture to provide medical services to Atlantans in central and south Fulton counties in the near future.
This new development comes after Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center shut down in November, leaving residents vulnerable.
In May of 2022, Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center South in East Point closed its emergency department and transitioned into an urgent care and rehabilitation center. Then in November, Atlanta Medical Center closed its door permanently.
After these closures, Grady Memorial Hospital became the only Level 1 trauma center in metro Atlanta.
Chairman of Fulton's Board of Commissioners, Robb Pitts, said county government started looking for healthcare alternatives immediately after the facilities closed.
Fulton County government and the Morehouse School of Medicine consulted with Ernst and Young -- an independent third party business management firm -- to asses the situation.
"Their conclusions really validated what we knew all along, that there were problems, that there is in fact a health care desert in Central and South Fulton County," Chairman Pitts told 11Alive. "There is healthcare redlining in central and south Fulton County."
The alleged redlining has raised the question of what happens to Black and brown patients who need standard, emergency or specialty healthcare. Hospital closures result in a lack of hospital beds but also a lack of physicians and practices.
The former results in a domino effect of Black and brown patients not having transportation to where their practitioners relocate.
A partnership with Morehouse School of Medicine's premier medical facility would be "a real God send," according to Chairman Pitts.
"It also happens to be an HBCU," Chairman Pitts said. "That's significant because findings tell us that patients are more likely to be open with physicians who look like them."
On Wednesday, the Fulton County Board of Commissioners will vote on whether Morehouse School of Medicine will become a designated healthcare provide for central and south Fulton County.
"This is a first step in a series of steps that we're going to be taking to cure the problem that was created and exacerbated by Wellstar leaving," Chairman Pitts said.