ATLANTA — Quincy Pool Sr. trusted the healthcare workers at Wellstar's Atlanta Medical Center. It's where he formed relationships with his physicians and where two of his sons were born.
But in 2022, the facility abruptly shut down, and he began looking elsewhere.
"So many of the physicians they had in this facility were actually specialists, so that kept people from having to go way out of their way," he said. "A lot of the doctors and I got real close."
He and other community organizers with The New Georgia Project held a workshop Thursday evening, where they discussed what they'd like to see done with the former AMC site.
"Every now and then, you've got to shake something up, and I believe this is the shake-up that the community might just need," he said. "(The hospital) got the bones and got the structure —all they got to do is bring back the actual people and the employees."
Kierra Stanford hopes the hospital can reopen, too.
"A hospital is the heartbeat of a community, so if you don't have a hospital, then already your community is lacking," Stanford said. "These gaps need to be filled and need to be filled quickly because, quite literally, we have people dying."
The City of Atlanta said its community input meetings will begin next week to help determine the next steps for the former AMC site.
In a statement, Wellstar said it has "a responsibility to be good stewards of the property and ensure any plans for the Old Fourth Ward site serve the needs of Atlanta and the neighborhood."
It went on to say that it is "committed to listening to the community and working in partnership with the City on a shared vision for the future.”
The property is currently under a development freeze put in place by Mayor Andre Dickens and the Atlanta City Council. The current moratorium is set to expire in mid-October.