Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • ESG: THE IMPLEMENTATION IMPERATIVE
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Digital Health
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Transformation
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Unwell in America
  • Opinion
    • Bold Moves
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Vital Signs Blog
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Excellence in Governance
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
    • Top 25 Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
      • - Leaders to Watch
    • Women in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Women Leaders
      • - Women to Watch
    • Digital Health Transformation Summit
    • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Hospital at Home
    • - Workplace of the Future
    • - Digital Health
    • - Future of Staffing
    • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Video Series - The Check Up
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
  • Data Center
    • Data Center Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Newsletters
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Providers
September 01, 2022 04:46 PM

Wellstar Health System to close Atlanta Medical Center

Alex Kacik
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    hospital closures_i.png
    MH Illustration

    Wellstar Health System plans to close Atlanta Medical Center, a 460-bed hospital that has shouldered a disproportionate load of the area’s uncompensated care. 

    The not-for-profit system will start winding down services and close the hospital by Nov. 1 after determining the facility cannot sustain waning revenue and surging labor and supply costs, Wellstar said in a news release issued late Wednesday. Atlanta Medical Center has recorded significant operating losses from 2017 to 2021, racking up $107 million in losses over the last 12 months alone, according to the health system.

    Atlanta Medical Center, which also operates inpatient psychiatric and rehabilitation facilities, has consistently provided higher-than-average uncompensated care, a combination of outstanding payments from patients and insurers and charity care. Its uncompensated care as a percent of operating expenses exceeded 16% from 2017 through 2021, significantly outpacing the median of roughly 3%, according to self-reported Medicare cost report data from more than 2,500 short-term acute-care hospitals. 

    Medicare, Medicaid, the uninsured and indigent accounted for about two-thirds of its payer mix, cost report data shows.

    Once Atlanta Medical Center closes, the city will be left with only one Level I trauma center at Grady Memorial Hospital—the next closest would be 80 miles away at Atrium Navicent Health Medical Center in Macon, said Ian McCarthy, an associate professor of economics at Emory University in Atlanta.

    “This certainly doesn't bode well for access to care, particularly among some of the most vulnerable populations in our area,” he said. 

    Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens wrote a letter to Wellstar executives, calling on them to provide more information about mitigation strategies, and plans for the campus and the current staff. In May, Wellstar consolidated Atlanta Medical Center South’s inpatient services and converted its inpatient operations to primary-care and rehabilitation services.  

    “This decision will have deep and reverberating consequences for the half a million residents of Atlanta and the hundreds of thousands of visitors and commuters to our city each day," Dickens said in his letter. "The City of Atlanta received no advance notice of this decision and had no opportunity to engage with you to understand or help mitigate the factors leading to this closure.”

    Georgia’s failure to expand Medicaid was likely a motivating factor to close the hospital, said William Custer, former director of the Center for Health Services Research at Georgia State University

    The health system has tried to work with government agencies, healthcare providers and local organizations to stabilize the hospital, but to no avail, according to Wellstar CEO Candice Saunders. Executives did not say how many employees will be affected.

    “For several years, Wellstar has continued to invest in and operate AMC with significant losses to provide more time to partner on a creative, long-term, sustainable solution for the hospital’s future,” Saunders said in the news release. “After an exhaustive search for a solution that would support the healthcare needs of the community, we are disappointed that a sustainable solution at AMC has not emerged.”

    Piedmont Healthcare, the largest health system in the state, has been encroaching on Wellstar’s market share after a series of recent hospital acquisitions. Piedmont added eight Atlanta-area hospitals in 2021 and 2022 and its footprint now includes 19 short-term hospitals, 

    Wellstar has reported healthy operating incomes over the past several years. The 10-hospital system had operating income of $377.1 million on $4.25 billion of revenue in 2021. That was up from operating income of  $142.5 million on $3.78 billion of revenue in 2020. 

    Through the nine months ended March 31, Wellstar reported $151 million in operating income on $3.48 billion of revenue. 

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    health care_doc and patient_i.jpg
    Michigan primary care doctors want more funding to help rural staffing shortages
    BurnoutUnsplash.jpg
    Health systems bet on employee mental health initiatives
    Most Popular
    1
    More healthcare organizations at risk of credit default, Moody's says
    2
    Centene fills out senior executive team with new president, COO
    3
    SCAN, CareOregon plan to merge into the HealthRight Group
    4
    Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan unveils big push that lets physicians take on risk, reap rewards
    5
    Bright Health weighs reverse stock split as delisting looms
    Sponsored Content
    Modern Healthcare A.M. Newsletter: Sign up to receive a comprehensive weekday morning newsletter designed for busy healthcare executives who need the latest and most important healthcare news and analysis.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Digital Health
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Unwell in America
    • Opinion
      • Bold Moves
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • Vital Signs Blog
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Excellence in Governance
        • Health Care Hall of Fame
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
        • Top 25 Innovators
        • Diversity in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
          • - Leaders to Watch
        • Women in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Women Leaders
          • - Women to Watch
      • Conferences
        • Digital Health Transformation Summit
        • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
        • Leadership Symposium
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Hospital at Home
        • - Workplace of the Future
        • - Digital Health
        • - Future of Staffing
        • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Video Series - The Check Up
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Data Center
      • Data Center Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Newsletters
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing