Grady Hospital mired in red; task force recommends way out

A task forced has released its preliminary recommendations on what it will take to turn Grady Memorial Hospital around.

Grady is metro Atlanta's only level one trauma center and is currently $120-million dollars in debt. If a financial crises forces Grady to close its doors, patients will have to travel to one of the state's other level one centers, in either Macon, Augusta or Savannah.

The Georgia Health Policy Center reports that Grady takes in more uninsured patients than any other hospital in the state.

Pete Correll co-chairs the Atlanta business group which wrote the report. He called it a "perfect storm" of events which led Grady to its current financial state, including a booming indigient population, skyrocketing health care costs and stagnant reimbursements. Correll also warned of a "patient tsunami" that would be unleashed on other area hospitals if Grady closes.

The group had several recommendations for turning Grady around. Included among the recommendations: require surrounding counties to reimburse the hospital for the cost of uninsured resident care; renegotiate with Medicare and Medicaid to pay a greater portion of patient benefits; reorganize the hospital as a 501(c)3 non-profit; bring in an outside consulting firm to oversee revamping hospital operations and sell-off some of Grady’s real estate holdings .

The task force will present its final report to the Grady board at its regularly scheduled mid-July meeting.