Wellstar Health System's latest move to shut down their East Point urgent care clinic on January 12 has local leaders and residents up in arms, fearing a healthcare desert in an area already scavenged of hospital services, according to reports by FOX 5 Atlanta and WSB-TV. The close follows the company's earlier action in the same locale, leaving the primarily low-income and black community feeling abandoned with their health in jeopardy. New Georgia Healthcare Director Kierra Stanford branded the move as "ridiculous" and "disrespectful," per her statement to FOX 5 Atlanta.
The closure is more than an inconvenience; it's a crisis for the 200,000 folks in the southside who will now face longer journeys for urgent medical care. East Point Councilman Joshua Butler IV told WSB-TV he was caught off guard by the abrupt announcement, having only learned of Wellstar's plans the very day they released a statement to the public. Meanwhile, State Sen. Donzella James has pushed for legislation allowing the formation of local hospital authorities in East Point and South Fulton, offering a glimpse of autonomy and perhaps a lifeline for the community's healthcare future.
In response to the upheaval, Wellstar has pledged a $5 million investment over five years and aims to boost services at the nearby Southside East Point clinic, maintaining that this will form a medical home for previous patients from the urgent care center, according to their press release. Stanford, however, maintains that this does little to alleviate the immediate consequences of the closure and insists Wellstar should lend more than just token assistance in this dire situation, as she told FOX 5 Atlanta.
Meanwhile, Butler remains undeterred, emphasizing that a clinic cannot replace the critical role of an urgent care facility, telling WSB-TV, "A clinic is something where you go and see your doctor, but having access to emergency urgent care, it’s lost now." He revealed plans for a healthcare authority that aims to keep such vital facilities operational, along with a resolution to prevent the rezoning or selling of the property where the urgent care resides, in hopes of eventually restoring a full-service hospital to East Point.
