CEO: Grady can't afford so many poor

The hospital that serves as metro Atlanta’s safety net for the poor can’t afford it anymore, according to its new CEO. Michael Young says Grady Memorial Hospital must attract more paying patients. Currently, over 90 percent of Grady's patients are unable to pay for their treatment. Young recently took over Grady nearly a year after the hospital announced financial troubles that could force it to close.

Grady names new CEO

Embattled Grady Memorial Hospital has a new Chief Executive Officer. Today Grady's board named Michael Young to the post. Grady is Atlanta's only public hospital and one of four hospitals in Georgia that can treat the most serious traumatic injuries. It has struggled financially for years and reached a crisis point due to rising health care costs, dwindling government aid, a lack of paying customers and years of neglect.

Grady Hospital takes official step to go non-profit

The transfer of Atlanta’s Grady Memorial Hospital from its old politically-appointed board to a new non-profit model was made official Monday with the signing of a lease and transfer agreement. The lease agreement is targeted to begin on May 1st. The meeting of the Grady board yesterday also brought a commitment of 200-million dollars from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation. The money will help pay for needed infrastructure costs for the financially-troubled Level-1 trauma hospital.

Grady's new non-profit board sets meeting

Members of Grady Memorial Hospital's proposed nonprofit governing board are planning to meet for the first time Monday. Grady recently switched to nonprofit governance in hopes of attracting hundreds of millions of dollars in financing to keep the hospital afloat. At the end of last year, the public hospital was facing a $55 million deficit and needs millions more in infrastructure improvements.

Grady clears hurdle toward non -profit status

The DeKalb County Commission has unanimously approved an administrative makeover for cash-strapped Grady Memorial Hospital. DeKalb's approval was the last major hurdle facing the deal to turn over hospital management to a nonprofit governing board. The plan was approved by the Fulton County Commission last week. Local and state leaders have been scrambling to find a solution for Grady, which was threatening to close its doors last year.

Assembly to address Grady woes

The Georgia Senate is set to debate a proposed oversight committee to monitor the finances of Atlanta’s Grady Memorial Hospital. The measure is intended to help the hospital avert closure from mounting budget shortfalls. Yesterday, the Fulton County Commission approved a change in governance structure at Grady that could help the hospital raise funds.

Grady lease approved

Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta is one step closer to an administrative makeover. The Fulton County Commission has voted to approve a new lease agreement. It would transfer power at Grady to a nonprofit governing board and could bring millions of dollars to the cash-strapped hospital. Grady is Georgia's only Level 1 trauma care center and has threatened to close under financial crisis.

Grady chief resigns

The head of Atlanta’s embattled Grady Memorial Hospital is leaving. The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports Otis Story has resigned. He steps down a day after the cash-strapped hospital’s governing board took another step toward handing management over to non-profit oversight. Grady announced last year it was close to closing its doors under mounting debt. It is Georgia’s only level 1 trauma care center.

Grady funding request denied

In a close 4 to 3 vote, the Fulton County Commission denied Grady Hospital’s request for more than $99 million in funding. Instead, the board agreed to pay $80 million to the hospital for 2008 – the same amount it paid in 2006. Grady officials insist the gap in funding will worsen the hospital’s already desperate financial situation and hurt patient care. But, some commissioners say the county is doing all it can and that other groups must step in to support Grady. The 115 year-old hospital has been on monetary life-support for some time. It is one of the few level-1 trauma centers in the state.

Grady plan blasted by critics at public hearing

Citizens concerned about moving control of Grady Memorial Hospital to a nonprofit-model raised their concerns Thursday to Grady leaders.

One key question on everyone's minds...would Grady continue its mission to treat indigent patients? The board said the nonprofit model would.

However, Amy Hasty of the group Jobs with Justice wasn't convinced.

"You know I'm glad the wording is there but it is incredibly vague. If you could tell us specifically how you are going to keep the mission and to what degree you're going to keep the mission".

Grady Authority chairwoman Pam Stevenson says the lease agreement does address how the nonprofit will continue Grady's mission.

"To preserve a mission is not vague language. You translate that into the mission that we've had for 100 years, and you can quantify where we stand today and if there are changes to that mission over a period of time".

Others questioned whether the nonprofit would cut Grady's dialysis and pharmacy services. The authority is gathering public input before finalizing the agreement.

Atlanta's Grady has been financially-strapped for some time, with a debt-load of around 55 million dollars. It's one of the region's main trauma care centers.

State leaders hesitant to commit cash to Grady

State leaders are balking at a demand that they commit to an annual appropriation of $30 million to Grady Health Systems. The demand was part of a resolution that Grady's Board of Trustees passed yesterday. Governor Sonny Perdue, in a written statement, says "I have no intention of signing an unenforceable document that seeks to bind the state to a specific, annual appropriation.” Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle echoes that sentiment saying, “You can’t enter into a contract that is going to go on for eternity. And that's really what has been requested.”

The resolution requires written confirmations from the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and House Speaker by the end of December, to support the appropriation. It says that and other requirements must be met before the board executes a lease agreement with a new, private, non-profit Board of Directors. But today some Board members say that even without written confirmations, they and state leaders could reach a compromise that allows the governance change to move forward.

Grady set for non-profit control

A unanimous vote last night wrapped up months of discussion on Grady Hospital’s future in Atlanta—that future will now include management by a non-profit board. The vote by Grady’s board concluded an afternoon of spirited debate, including from critics who fear this change will threaten the mission of the hospital to serve the poor.

The new non-profit board will have a lease arrangement with the current board. Of the several conditions in the deal, one calls for a commitment by state and local business, civic and charitable leaders to raise 100 million dollars in private donations over three years. Another point of the resolution requires a written commitment from top state leaders to back increased state funding of Grady--of not less than 30-million dollars a year.

Grady is one of a handful of level-1 trauma care centers in the state.

Historic vote on Grady due today

A possible new direction for financially-strapped Grady Hospital in Atlanta is on the table for a vote today. The hospital’s board is expected to meet and vote on a proposal that would hand control of the hospital over to a non-profit management group. The 115-year-old facility has been on monetary life support for some time--it has been losing money for the past several years. Grady is one of a handful of level-one trauma care centers in the state.

Proposed funding could benefit Grady Hospital

The Department of Community Health is working on opening a source of federal funding to more hospitals. But the plan could end up hurting rural or local hospitals if it goes forward, according to a report appearing in the Florida Times-Union.

The proposal would make 33 more hospitals eligible for the payments and give Atlanta’s Grady Hospital about $4.8 million more.

The changes being discussed are for the Disproportionate Share Hospital program, in which the state distributes over $250 million in federal aid to hospitals. This is meant to make up for low reimbursement rates for Medicaid patients and the uninsured.

However, since the program is not expected to grow, it could cost other facilities in the state an average of 3.3 to 3.6% of what they would otherwise have received, according to the report.

A final vote is scheduled for November 8.

Click here for more GPB coverage of Grady Memorial Hospital, and here for other health news.

I-75, I-85 reopened through downtown Atlanta

The southbound lanes of Interstate 75 and Interstate 85 through downtown Atlanta were reopened Sunday morning after a car accident loosened a sign that hangs over the thoroughfare.

Atlanta Police Officer Ronald Campbell said the busy downtown connector was reopened around 8:30 a.m., nearly 12 hours after the accident.

A woman hit the beam with her vehicle, he said. She sustained head trauma and was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, he said.

The state Department of Transportation was called in and determined that the accident had caused damage to the support beams and crews needed to remove the sign, Campbell said.

(Associated Press)

$15M to troubled Grady

Atlanta’s troubled Grady Hospital has a financial boost from Fulton County. The Fulton County Board of Commissioners voted yesterday to provide $15-million to Grady. Grady says financial straits mean it will likely close by the end of the year. Hospital officials acknowledged the $15 million will make little difference in the hospital’s overall survival, but it will keep paychecks rolling. Closure of the hospital would mean that metro Atlanta would lose a major trauma center and teaching hospital. Thousands of poor people would have to find other emergency rooms for treatment.