Marietta, Ga.-based Wellstar Health System closed the emergency department and ended inpatient care at Atlanta Medical Center South on May 6.
The hospital is being converted into a 24-hour outpatient site, providing primary and rehabilitative care. Inpatient services have been consolidated to Atlanta Medical Center's main campus.
Low patient volume for emergency services at Atlanta Medical Center South was one reason given for the change. Wellstar said most patient visits to the AMC South emergency room are for lower levels of care that can be better met through services the facility will continue to provide, including primary care and medication-related care.
The AMC South emergency department averaged 140 visits per day, and about seven of those, on average, resulted in admission to the hospital, Wellstar President and CEO Candice Saunders told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in April.
Wellstar offered AMC South employees affected by the service cuts positions at other system facilities. Some employees transferred to AMC's main campus. Other employees were offered positions at other hospitals, including Wellstar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta and Wellstar Cobb Hospital in Austell, Ga., according to WXIA.
"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," a Wellstar spokesperson told WXIA.