$900 million proposal aims to end decades-long healthcare desert in South Fulton
A $900 million proposal to build a new hospital in South Fulton aims to address what some call a medical desert.
South Fulton doesn't have any hospitals. People who live there have to drive some 30 minutes or more to get to an emergency room.
A proposal to build a hospital in Union City would make emergency room care more accessible.
"I recently had to take my mother to the hospital, and it was quit a drive getting to our nearest hospital. We definitely need one in this area. We took her to Emory Midtown," Saycom Sengbloh, a South Fulton resident, said.
Sengbloh would like to see a hospital and emergency room in the area.
"I think it's a little bit of a medical desert," Sengbloh said.
For years, Atlanta Medical Center South on Cleveland Avenue was a place where South Fulton residents came to get emergency room care. But that changed over 3 years ago when it closed.
The proposed hospital would be 20 minutes southwest of East Point on Campbellton Fairburn road in Union City.
Fulton County Commissioner Chairman Robb Pitts says a new hospital would take pressure off of Grady, Atlanta's only level one trauma center.
"It's what I refer to as a healthcare desert in South Fulton," Pitts said.
Pitts says an emergency room is scheduled to be open in June at that location in Union City.
"The first phase of this program was the construction of a free-standing emergency clinic," Pitts said.
If Fulton County Commissioners approve the proposal, it could take 5 to 6 years for it to be up and running.
"Fulton County government is responsible for $300 million. Grady Hospital is responsible for $300 million, and the Fulton-Dekalb Hospital Authority is responsible for $300 million," Pitts said.
Fulton County Commissioners will vote on the proposed hospital in South Fulton on Wednesday morning.
If approved, a hospital and emergency room would fill a need for an area that has been medically underserved.
