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February 4, 2008
Presidents commend Grady on agreement

By ron sauder

Emory University and Morehouse School of Medicine applauded the Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority’s passage on Monday, Jan. 28 of a lease and transfer agreement for a new nonprofit corporation to oversee Grady Memorial Hospital’s governance and financial turnaround.

“Atlanta’s business leaders and the hospital authority have worked together to bring this about, and we believe this change in direction promises a brighter, more secure financial future for Grady,” said President John Maupin of MSM. “We commend those who have managed this difficult task and put Grady on a path for a more sustainable future.”

Emory President Jim Wagner said the decision opens the door for Grady to become financially whole while assuring funds to improve the public hospital’s physical facility and upgrade medical equipment and infrastructure. Grady’s prospects for a turnaround hinge on the expected commitment of $30 million or more from a new state trauma network, as well as the provision of $200 million or more in capital funding from the business and philanthropic communities.

“We have long believed that Grady must be enabled to continue its important mission of providing medical care to under-insured people in metro Atlanta and Georgia,” Wagner said. “We and our partners at Morehouse are especially concerned about maintaining the viability of a hospital where our medical schools provide the residency training for one-quarter of all the doctors in Georgia, at a time of acute physician shortage in the state as a whole.”

He continued, “A long life for Grady is possible only through a major financial turnaround, addressing the hospital’s debt and infusing it with capital to upgrade its facilities. These goals are now within reach.”
The new lease and transfer agreement is still subject to approval by the Fulton and DeKalb county commissions.