Grady Clinic in South Dekalb to Remain Open
Officials at Grady Memorial Hospital announced last week that it was closing three neighborhood health centers as part of a restructuring plan: The South DeKalb Grady Clinic on Rainbow Drive in Decatur, The Lindbergh Women & Children’s Health Center on Buford Highway and the Center Hill Center on Atlanta Industrial Parkway.
Denise Simpson, spokeswoman for Grady Health, told Crossroads News last week that the three centers offer limited services and see few people. Grady plans to close the three on July 1 and merge them “with centers that offer much more services.”
Upon hearing the news, DeKalb County Commissioner Larry Johnson (District 3) contacted Grady CEO Michael Young to let him know how important the Rainbow Drive center is to South DeKalb residents. Thanks to his efforts, that center will remain open.
A “citizen alert” from Johnson’s office e-mailed to constituents notes “Commissioner Johnson has vowed to not allow this clinic to close and is committed to assisting Grady Health Systems with finding better quarters for the South DeKalb Grady Health Clinic to provide medical services to the area.”
A few years ago, when Emory University planned to move its clinic from South DeKalb, Johnson intervened to not only keep the clinic operating but also in newer and larger quarters.
According to Johnson’s office, South DeKalb has the least availability of quality health services in metro Atlanta and is ranked last in DeKalb for health outcomes.
The fate of the other two centers remains a mystery. Simpson told Crossroads News last week that the Lindbergh Center will be merged with the North DeKalb Center on Clairmont and the Center Hill Center into the Otis Smith Center on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.