Fulton County approves $900M hospital in Union City to end 'healthcare desert'

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - The Fulton County Commission took a historic step Wednesday to address a local "healthcare desert" by unanimously approving a $900 million, 200-bed hospital in Union City.

What we know:

The full-service hospital is estimated to cost nearly $1 billion to build and will feature between 150 and 200 beds.

Grady anticipates that the hospital will serve as a Level 3 verified trauma center. This means it will be equipped to assess, resuscitate, perform emergency surgery, and stabilize patients with serious injuries. The most complex cases would then be transferred to higher-level trauma centers when necessary.

The project is a three-way partnership where Fulton County, Grady Health Systems, and the Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority will each pay one-third of the cost. To cover its share of the funding, Fulton County plans to issue bonds, while the Hospital Authority will utilize private donations.

Residents won't have to wait until the full hospital is complete for some relief. Later this year, a separate, free-standing emergency room is expected to open in Union City to provide more immediate medical assistance. Following that, a medical office building is scheduled to open in 2028. The entire hospital project is expected to be fully operational in either 2031 or 2032.

What they're saying:

A strong contingent from the Morehouse School of Medicine attended the meeting to advocate for the inclusion of diverse healthcare trainees. "It is equally important that any hospital, regardless of location, has a diverse healthcare workforce," said Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, President and CEO of Morehouse School of Medicine. "We believe that it is imperative that Morehouse School of Medicine is a part of that hospital, allowing our learners and our trainers to be educated."

Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr. echoed this sentiment after adding an amendment to include residents and students from Morehouse and Emory. "We will make sure that we are using these qualified, competent doctors of the future, who will be taking care of me and others," Arrington said.

Though the vote was a unanimous 6-0, commissioners emphasized that one hospital is only the beginning of solving the region's medical crisis. Commissioner Abdul-Rahman Nasir Allah urged a shift in perspective at the state level to further expand access. "We are in need of more than one hospital, let me just be crystal clear where I stand," Nasir Allah said. "We need more hospitals and that includes changing the mindset at the state."

Local perspective:

The southside of the county has faced a growing healthcare crisis since WellStar closed the Atlanta Medical Center and its facility in East Point. These closures left a massive gap in coverage, leading officials and residents to label the area a "healthcare desert."

What we don't know:

A groundbreaking date has not been set.