AMC FAQs

The various challenges facing AMC – and the intense financial pressures facing hospital systems across the country – resulted in this incredibly difficult decision. It came after much deliberation and study, as well as 2 years of public discussion and private efforts to find a solution. The multi-faceted challenges facing AMC include:

• AMC’s aging facilities were not built for the care technology and equipment we have today. Despite investing three times as much in AMC compared to historical averages, truly modernizing the facility would require full demolition and a rebuild, costing up to $1 billion.
• AMC has long served the most vulnerable patients without public financial support. Local and state funding were not available to Wellstar to continue providing care at AMC, and discussions with government and community officials offered no other paths forward.
• Wellstar announced a formal public search for a partner or buyer for AMC in early 2020. We worked with a national firm to explore opportunities with healthcare systems locally and across the country. When each of these organizations studied the financial outlook and the massive investment required to sustain operations, none were interested in a partnership that would preserve inpatient care at AMC.

Wellstar is committed to reaching current and previous patients to share their options for continuing care at Wellstar or other providers in their communities. That includes sending direct mailers to residents within a 5-mile radius of AMC sharing the ED closure and alternative options for care, and sharing 20,000+ flyers and posters with community partners such as churches, shelters, healthcare providers and media.  
 
We are also reaching out to Wellstar patients who see a physician in offices around AMC that are closing or moving. Through mailed letters and messages in our app, we are sharing local options for those who choose to continue their care with their current physician at another Wellstar location, or who would like to transfer to another local provider. These messages also detail how patients can continue accessing their medical records to ensure a smooth transfer of care. Our care coordination team is also providing 1-on-1 support for patients who regularly visit the AMC Emergency Department to connect them to healthcare and social services, in collaboration with Grady and MercyCare.

Wellstar has extended job offers at other Wellstar facilities to the majority of our 1,746 Atlanta Medical Center (AMC) team members, with over 80% accepting these positions. We’re grateful that these team members will continue to contribute their talents and experience in service of our mission.

We also sponsored a job fair last month at which team members had the opportunity to explore options available across Wellstar and at more than 40 local employers and healthcare providers. Further, Wellstar has partnered with Korn Ferry to offer AMC team members and contract employees at AMC with access to a career transition program at no cost to them, including personalized coaching, resume and interview support and more. 

Wellstar is committed to supporting our clinicians through the transition at AMC as we find the solution that’s right for each individual. Many of the medical staff members at AMC are credentialed at other Wellstar facilities, and some are also on the medical staff of other metro Atlanta hospitals. We are supporting clinicians with securing medical staff privileges at other Wellstar hospitals as well as other local hospitals.

Every employed primary care physician who provides care in the offices affiliated with AMC was offered a position in a new location, and more than 70% have accepted these new roles. Many specialty providers were also offered positions in new locations throughout Wellstar. 

Wellstar remains committed to enhancing the health and well-being of Atlantans. We will continue to serve the community through Wellstar Medical Group clinics. This includes primary care clinics at Inman Krog, Morrow and Princeton Lakes and urgent care services at Stockbridge, Camp Creek and East Point. Further, we will connect patients to our extensive network of local and independent physicians and caregivers through Wellstar Clinical Partners.

We’ll also continue and expand Wellstar’s community health programs, including our partnerships to distribute colorectal screening kits and perinatal and postpartum care packages; to provide free healthy food at our mobile markets for people at risk of food insecurity; and more. We are always looking to expand and add to these important partnerships that make an impact on the community.

We are confident that the community’s care needs, including about 7 daily trauma admissions on average, will continue to be served through the 5 hospitals within 7 miles of AMC, including Emory Midtown and Grady located within just a mile of AMC. 

Wellstar is not in active conversations with buyers or developers about the future of the AMC property after closure. Right now, we are focused on transitioning care for our patients and communities and supporting our team members. We are committed to keeping the community informed about the site’s future.