ATLANTA — The southern region of Fulton County is losing its only full-care hospital in May and becoming an urgent care and rehabilitation facility instead. Atlanta Medical Center South staff say they learned about this during a mandatory town hall meeting Wednesday.
Two employees told 11Alive's Paola Suro they were told they will have to relocate to either Wellstar Kennestone Hospital or Wellstar Cobb Hospital.
The workers asked us to conceal their identities out of fear they could be fired for speaking to us.
"It's frustration, it's anger, it's sadness, it's betrayal," one employee said. "For one, y'all threw this on us in a blink of an eye, saying we got to make a life decision in - we'll say - 72 hours. This was a life decision."
That life decision, the result of this April 6th letter pictured below, from Wellstar Human Resources, tells AMC South staff they have three days to confirm if they want to transfer to the other hospitals.
"They dropped the bomb on us yesterday [Wednesday] morning. Nobody knew anything," the employee said.
They say they could face a nearly one-hour commute from South Fulton county if they accept jobs in Wellstar Kennestone or Cobb.
"Not only do patients rely on public transportation--a lot of employees, we rely on public transportation. For now, our lives are changing," another employee said. "If we're riding public transportation to get to work, how are we supposed to get there?"
When asking Wellstar about what will happen to employees, it provided the following statement:
“We can confirm that of those team members moving, all will continue in the Wellstar Health System, should they choose, with the majority, potentially, serving at Atlanta Medical Center Main.”
Staff say their salary would remain the same, but their shifts could change.
"At least give us time to make a decision, and if we can't accept something, give us a package," the first employee said. "Let us out the door with dignity and respect. Especially people that have been here 30-something years. You got people that this was their whole life."
Per the letter, they have until Saturday to make a decision and 30 days to start in the new location.
"You've been at this one like location all these years. It's really unfortunate. It's heartbreaking, and we got 30 days - not six months - 30 days to transition to your new spot and you have three days to accept their offer. Well, as of today, it's 29 days," another employee added.
The staff we spoke to don't know what they will do.
"I can't take that I have a sick child at home, and I can't take that," one of them said. "So I don't know... I don't even know where I'm going. My car just tore up so I don't even have a vehicle. I'm catching a ride back and forth. How am I supposed to get there?"
Residents in the area could be driving about an additional 20 minutes to get emergency care at either Grady or Southern Regional Medical Center in Clayton County.
Compared to other areas, there are already fewer options for medical care in the immediate vicinity.
"I think for the community it's very unfortunate, because there's no in between," another staff-member said. "It's going to be far, if they live on this side of town."
Here's the full statement, provided by Wellstar, as to why this decision was made:
“We are not closing Atlanta Medical Center South. We are transitioning to a new model of care that better meets our patients’ needs,” said Candice Saunders, President & CEO of Wellstar Health Network. “Our patients will receive better care for their needs, from the same care teams that they do now, all in the same place.”
Data shows that on average there are 140 emergency department visits a day at AMC South, with only 7 resulting in inpatient hospital care (5%). For this reason, Wellstar is transitioning AMC South to a care model that provides the primary care, chronic care, medication care and rehabilitative care that our community needs and is using. This care will be available 24/7 to everyone in the community beginning May 6, 2022.”