| Grady Memorial Hospital | |
|---|---|
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| Geography | |
| Location | Atlanta,Georgia, United States |
| Coordinates | 33°45′08″N84°22′57″W / 33.752221°N 84.382392°W /33.752221; -84.382392 |
| Organization | |
| Care system | Public |
| Type | General |
| Affiliated university | Emory University School of Medicine Morehouse School of Medicine |
| Services | |
| Emergency department | Level I trauma center |
| Beds | 989 |
| History | |
| Founded | 1892 |
| Links | |
| Website | gradyhealth.org |
| Lists | Hospitals in Georgia |
Grady Memorial Hospital is thepublic hospital for the city ofAtlanta. The hospital is ranked as the tenth largest public hospital in the United States and is aLevel I trauma center.[1][2]
Grady Memorial Hospital was founded in 1890 and opened in 1892, as an outgrowth of theAtlanta Benevolent Home. It is named forHenry W. Grady, anAtlanta Constitution journalist and later owner who became a major force in Georgia politics and advocated for a public city hospital. At the time of opening, the hospital officially had 14 rooms. The original building (at the corner of Jesse Hill Jr Dr SE and Coca-Cola Place) is now on the National Register of Historic Places and is known asGeorgia Hall, where the hospital'shuman resources staff now work. The second Grady Hospital (atButler Hall) opened in 1912 and was for whites only, with blacks beingsegregated at theAtlanta Medical College. The third hospital was atHirsch Hall and the current location is its fourth. From 1945 until 2008, the hospital was run by theFulton/DeKalb Hospital Authority.
The current facility was also built as a segregated institution, with one section serving whites (Wings A & B; facing the city) and another section serving African Americans (Wings C & D; facing the opposite direction). Even though it is a single building, and the two sides are connected by a hallway (Wing E), the facility was referred to in the plural ("The Gradys") during the years of segregation.[3]
In 2007 and 2008, journalistMike King of theAtlanta Journal-Constitution wrote a series of "Saving Grady" editorials – dozens of pieces over eighteen months – during the time when Grady Memorial Hospital was nearly insolvent and in danger of closing.[4]
Seven infants were abducted from Grady from 1978 to 1996, which was more than from any other hospital in the United States during that time period.[5] Five were recovered within hours or weeks of their abduction.[6] An additional child was abducted from the home of his mother after the kidnapper followed her from Grady.[5] The abductions were covered on season three of the podcastThe Fall Line.[7]
The hospital board has long been reluctant to make money-saving changes that might reduce its traditional mission. In late 2006, it rejected the advice of financial consultants and its newly hired chief executive to close an expensive outpatient dialysis clinic for the poor, being concerned that many of the clinic's uninsured patients, including many undocumented immigrants, would have nowhere else to turn. Others argued that the board of directors is politically clumsy and prone to micromanagement. In May the board's own consultants concluded that "Grady does not currently have the depth of leadership" necessary to transform the hospital.
In 2008, Grady Memorial Hospital was made into a non-profit organization. Numerous foundations have pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to revitalize it. Michael Young has become a chief executive officer. He was formerly the CEO of Erie County Medical Center Corp. in Western New York, University of Buffalo tertiary center. Prior to that, Young served for 16 years as president and CEO of the three-hospital, 530-bed Lancaster General Hospital & Health System in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
In February 2013, it was announced that Grady's net profit was $20 million and that 200-300 jobs had been added at the hospital in the preceding 18 months.[8]
On March 14, 2008, the buildings of Grady sustained minor damage when a tornado tore through downtown Atlanta. Historic Georgia Hall was the hardest hit, with windows blown out, a collapsed chimney, and water damage. The main hospital had a few cafeteria windows blown out, but never lost power. It was the first tornado to hit the downtown area since local weather record-keeping began in the 1880s. Nine people were taken to Grady for treatment, one of whom had critical injuries.[9][10]
The hospital serves a large proportion of low-income patients and is supported almost entirely by Fulton andDeKalb counties, with little help from the suburbs or state, despite serving all ofmetro Atlanta's several counties.[8] The hospital relies almost entirely onEmory University School of Medicine andMorehouse School of Medicine to provide doctor and resident staffing. As an editorial inThe Atlanta Journal-Constitution said, "When you read the phrase 'Grady doctor,' do a silent translation, because those words really mean either 'Emory doctor' or 'Morehouse doctor.'"[11]
Grady Hospital's ambulance service, GradyEMS, shares9-1-1 responsibility forFulton County, Georgia. TheDowntown Connector (Interstate 75/85) makes a large bend around the hospital on its otherwise due north–south route, dubbed the "Grady Curve" ontraffic reports.[12]
On August 11, 1949,Gone with the Wind authorMargaret Mitchell was hit by a speeding car while crossing Peachtree Street with her husband on the way to a movie. She was knocked unconscious and was taken to Grady. X-rays showed that her skull was fractured from the top of her head all the way down to her spine and her pelvis was shattered. She never regained consciousness, and died five days later at Grady, on August 16, 1949. The driver, who had 23 prior traffic violations, was thought to be drunk and was convicted ofinvoluntary manslaughter and served an 11-month jail term.[13]
In 2001, actorWhitman Mayo, who played the characterGrady on television'sSanford and Son, died of aheart attack at Grady.
Grady Hospital gained national attention for treating supermodelNiki Taylor after her near-fatal car accident on April 29, 2001, in which she suffered severe liver trauma. Its effectiveness as a level I trauma center was highlighted by this incident. Several press conferences were held outside the hospital discussing the gravity of her injuries and her slow recovery following more than 50 surgeries.[14] It again gained attention after theBluffton University bus accident in which seven died. The hospital cleared an entire wing of the hospital for the injured victims and their families.
CNN's medical correspondent Dr.Sanjay Gupta, who is Associate Chief of Neurosurgery at Grady, filmed a documentary at the hospital calledGrady's Anatomy (a play onGrey's Anatomy) that aired in 2007 forCNN Special Investigations Unit. The documentary focused on four youngmedical residents and the daily stress of a large hospital practice.
In AMC'sThe Walking Dead, Grady Memorial became a major setting for several episodes of the show'sfifth season in 2014. However, none of the series' scenes were filmed at the actual hospital.
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| Level I |
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* Designated Adult I trauma center with pediatric commitment http://georgiatraumacommission.org/designated-trauma-centers/ | ||
