Marietta, Ga.-based Wellstar Health System is closing the emergency department and ending inpatient care at Atlanta Medical Center South in May.
The hospital will be converted into an outpatient site, providing primary and rehabilitative care. Inpatient services will be consolidated to Atlanta Medical Center's main campus, Wellstar said.
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 Atlanta Medical Center 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 Atlanta Medical Center 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.
"As Georgia’s largest safety net caregiver, we are committed to serve everyone in our community and will continue to do so," Ms. Saunders said in an April 6 news release. "By refocusing the services AMC provides, we are providing the right care at the right place."