Financial Crisis at Atlanta's Grady Hospital
by Helena Cavendish de Moura

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Atlanta's largest public hospital is drowning in debt. Grady Hospital – the largest trauma center in the southeastern United States – is in desperate need of more than $200 million to remain solvent. Grady's financial collapse has serious consequences not just for metro Atlanta – its crisis could reverberate across the state.

According to recent studies, poor fiscal management and outdated technology are just a few of the reasons causing the demise of one of the most vital public health systems in the Southeast. Grady's physical plant is old and deteriorating. Experts say its inefficient customer service and general administration have created this financial crisis of epic proportions.

Pete Correll, former Chairman of Georgia-Pacific, co-chairs a 17-member Grady Task Force that is exploring the causes and solutions for Grady's ills.

"The Grady situation is truly dire, and that institution is in a death-spiral. They are losing in excess of 3.5 million a month from operations, and they owe 65 million dollars to the medical schools.They are simply going to run out of money."

If Grady closes, Correll sees a patient tsunami that will sweep across the metropolitan area that can jeopardize patient care and trauma care throughout Georgia.

Grady's Level 1 Trauma Center is the only one in North Georgia. That means it can treat victims of interstate pile-ups and shootings as well as a public emergencies, like avian flu. The next Level 1 Trauma Centers are in Macon or Chattanooga, and they are much smaller. Grady is also nationally known for its burn, HIV and neonatal units.

More than 75% of Grady's patients are on Medicaid. The rest are mostly the uninsured, and that's another big reason for the financial problems.

Grady taskforce member Tom Bill, with Cousins Properties, says the large hospital has to be carried by more than just Fulton and DeKalb Counties.

Many of Georgia's doctors have trained at the hospital. Now, Grady Memorial itself is on life support, and if it fails, Atlanta's poor won't be the only ones to bear the consequences.

A final report by the Grady taskforce will be issued in mid-July.