Wellstar Health System will be ceasing operations at the Atlanta Medical Center by the end of the year.
Wellstar confirmed the news Wednesday evening.
The Atlanta Medical Center is a 460-bed facility and has been a staple in Atlanta’s healthcare system for several decades. It is one of two level one trauma centers in the metro Atlanta area.
Hospital officials said that they reached this decision after "pursuing every opportunity for an alternative path forward." But they said that they were unable to combat the loss in revenue: the facility has lost $107 million in the last year.
“For several years, Wellstar has continued to invest in and operate AMC with significant losses to provide more time to partner on a creative, long-term, sustainable solution for the hospital’s future,” said Wellstar CEO Candice L. Saunders. “After an exhaustive search for a solution that would support the healthcare needs of the community, we are disappointed that a sustainable solution at AMC has not emerged.”
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said that city officials were blindsided by the announcement. He said that the closure will have “deep and reverberating consequences” for Atlanta residents.
The news is set to become another wedge issue in the race for governor. Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who is running for re-election, responded to the news in a statement Wednesday night.
“The governor shares the concerns of the community on the impact this will have. Other local hospitals and healthcare providers are in active talks on how this closure will shift their needs and services,” a Kemp spokesman said. “As they work to make the appropriate adjustments, Governor Kemp will continue to build on the policy innovations introduced over the past four years that have grown access to quality healthcare while bringing down costs for Georgians across the state.”
Kemp’s Democratic opponent, Stacey Abrams, responded to the closure in a lengthy Twitter post. She says that the governor is putting his “extremist agenda” before the lives of Georgians.
She also says that hospital closures could be avoided if Medicaid is expended, a move that Kemp and state Republicans have opposed as too expensive.