Gov. Brian Kemp, DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond (left), Fulton County Commission Chairman Robb Pitts (right) and other leaders address Atlanta hospital closures on Thursday.
ATLANTA – The state will funnel $130 million in federal COVID relief funds to Grady Memorial Hospital to help offset the impact of the looming closure of WellStar’s Atlanta Medical Center (AMC), Gov. Brian Kemp announced Thursday.
The Republican governor and two Atlanta-area Democratic leaders addressed how Georgia’s capital city will cope with the closure of the WellStar facility in November. Last month, WellStar announced it plans to close the busy hospital whose 460 beds serve patients from surrounding neighborhoods and across Georgia.
WellStar’s decision to close AMC comes after the company announced earlier this year that it would close a smaller hospital in South Atlanta.
The closures put the city’s other large hospital, Grady Memorial, in the spotlight as politicians and health-care providers seek to figure out how Grady and other facilities will serve patients formerly cared for at AMC.
The cash infusion Kemp announced Thursday will let Grady add nearly 200 beds. Grady already was planning to bring 40 new beds online in November. The additional beds will be added in a rolling fashion over the next year.
The state will also provide Grady with a mobile hospital unit that will add 24 beds to the hospital’s capacity, Kemp said.
Georgia recently started a new program that will increase reimbursement rates at Grady for people on Medicaid if the hospital meets certain performance targets, Kemp said. This change to the funding formula will provide Grady with an additional $130 million on top of the federal infusion.
“These are not Band Aid solutions,” Kemp said. “They are meaningful, carefully thought out and implemented measures designed to ensure this cornerstone of Atlanta’s health care network is on solid footing for many years.
“It is our goal to see these investments strengthen Grady’s long-term ability to serve patients who would have otherwise chosen AMC.”
Fulton County Commission Chairman Robb Pitts and DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond stood alongside Kemp as he made the announcement and said they supported the new plan – but that more work is needed to shore up the city’s medical system.
Pitts said his county recently increased funding to Grady by $11 million.
“This, though, is a short-term solution to the problem,” he said.
Pitts said he and his team also are looking at how another health-care facility in South Fulton could be funded and built.
“The governor through a very generous appropriation has provided us with a reprieve but not a bailout – and that’s important for everyone here today to understand,” Thurmond added.
Thurmond said people across Atlanta share a need for good health care, and the issue should not be politicized.
“Affordable health care is not about Republicans and Democrats,” he said. “It’s about saving lives and maintaining the quality of life for all of our citizens.”
Democrat Stacey Abrams – who is challenging Kemp for the governorship in November – said during a separate press conference that the new plan does not go far enough to address the strains on Atlanta’s health-care system and that Georgia should expand Medicaid.
“The argument that has been put forward is that a stopgap measure will solve the problem,” she said. “Problem is the math doesn’t work.”
By not expanding Medicaid, the state is foregoing $3.5 billion in federal funding each year that could provide low-income Georgians with health insurance and help support Georgia hospitals, Abrams said.
“Adding 180 beds or 200 beds at Grady cannot solve a systemic collapse of public health,” she said.
Kemp said on the campaign trail last week that expanding Medicaid would not save AMC. He has rejected expanding Medicaid coverage as too expensive.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
ATLANTA – While Georgia’s unemployment rate remained at 2.8% last month, the number of jobs hit another record high in August, the state Department of Labor reported Thursday.
Job numbers increased 15,800 from July to August to more than 4.82 million. The largest gains came in the educational services sector, which added 3,200 jobs; and professional, scientific and technical services, a sector that grew by 3,000 jobs.
Meanwhile, 13 employers are expected to participate in a virtual career fair for metro Atlanta, set for Sept. 29 from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m.
“We have found that the new normal for jobhunting is less door to door and more virtual connection,” Georgia Commissioner of Labor Mark Butler said Thursday.
“Our agency connects jobseekers with open positions quickly and effectively utilizing Employ Georgia and virtual job fairs benefitting employers and employees across the state.”
The job sector with the most over-the-year gains last month was accommodation and food services – a sector hit hard by the pandemic – which added 32,700 jobs.
For the first time this year, Georgia saw a drop in the number of employed residents to about 5.13 million.
However, the number of unemployed Georgians also fell in August to 149,650, the lowest since January 2001.
Initial unemployment claims declined last month from July by 1,795, or 6%, to 26,750. Over the year, first-time jobless claims have plummeted by 44%.
There are more than 220,000 jobs listed online at EmployGeorgia.com, resulting in a minimum of more than 290,000 unfilled positions.
Industries with more than 10,000 job postings include health care, with 37,000 jobs listed, and retail trade, with 21,000 postings.
For more information on the upcoming virtual job fair, click on https://bit.ly/3cCmUwi. The site contains registration information and additional details, including a list of participating employers.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
Former state Sen. Bill Hamrick was confirmed Wednesday to serve as sole judge in the Statewide Business Court.
ATLANTA – Members of the Georgia House and Senate Judiciary committees confirmed former state Sen. Bill Hamrick Wednesday as sole judge of the Statewide Business Court.
In unanimous separate votes, the lawmakers approved Gov. Brian Kemp’s nomination of the Carrollton Republican to succeed Walter Davis, who has headed the court since it began operations in 2019.
Georgia voters approved creation of the business court in 2018, and it was codified it into state law during the 2019 legislative session. The court provides specialized expertise in the adjudication of complex commercial cases with an eye toward efficiency and responsiveness.
After serving in the Georgia Senate from 2000 to 2012, Hamrick was appointed a Superior Court judge in the Coweta Judicial Circuit by then-Gov. Nathan Deal.
“There’s not a better studied, more well-read judge in any other circuit,” state Rep. Tyler Paul Smith, R-Bremen, said Wednesday. Smith, a lawyer, has practiced before Judge Hamrick.
Shortly before Wednesday’s votes, Hamrick told members of the two committees the Statewide Business Court has heard cases from 22 counties since setting up shop.
The cases have involved a variety of subjects typical of business litigation, including contract disputes, business divorces and discovery hearings, Hamrick said. There’s also been one jury trial, and another is on the docket, he said.
“Most of the cases have been small businesses, which I think is a good sign,” he said. “I look forward to getting to work and keeping the cases moving.”
Hamrick said he has met with Davis to familiarize himself with his new duties and ensure a smooth transition.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Brian Strickland, R-McDonough, thanked Davis – who was in the audience at the state Capitol – for his work in launching the new court.
“You took on a very difficult task,” Strickland told Davis. “You’ve set the stage.”
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
ATLANTA – The Georgia Foundation for Public Education announced the awarding of $10,000 grants Wednesday to seven rural schools and school districts.
The latest awards – which will fund projects ranging from virtual reality programming to building a pollinator garden for bees – show that schools across the state aim to deliver unique experiences, often outside of the traditional classroom, to help students learn.
The funding for the foundation’s grants for rural counties comes from the sale of the Georgia “Educator” and “Support Education” license plates.
Unity Elementary School plans to purchase virtual reality gear and programming to let its students in West Georgia see and experience the world. The virtual reality programming will supplement lesson plans with virtual experiences in language arts, social studies and science.
Far to the south, Quitman Elementary School in Brooks County will use its grant to grow a pollinator garden for its bee colony so students can learn about plants, insects, gardening and climate.
Tate Elementary School of Pickens County in North Georgia also plans to get its students outdoors – and reading at the same time.
The school will build a “StoryWalk” – an outdoor path with pages from a story book posted alongside. Students can walk and read a story at the same time. Local high school students studying construction will help build the StoryWalk.
Some of the funds will go toward making sure students can access the arts.
Franklin County High School plans to purchase eight musical instruments and other supplies for its band program, which serves 60 students. Dawson County will use the grant to increase access to drama, art and music materials across the county.
In central Georgia, South Dodge Elementary School plans to purchase materials for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programs. And Wheeler County High School will set up an after-school program focused on service and leadership.
“From the first disbursement of the Rural Education Fund grants, we have seen schools and districts utilize the funds to support bold, creative, and student-centric projects. The 2022-2023 grantees carry on that legacy,” foundation Executive Director Paige Pushkin said. “I cannot wait to see the work the seven 2022-2023 grant recipients accomplish.”
Separately, the state Board of Education voted Tuesday to accept $34 million from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund.
Around $2 million will go to expand both tele-audiology services and services and equipment for students who are blind or deaf. An additional $32 million will pay for back-to-school supply supplements for educators and support personnel.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
ATLANTA – After weeks of back-and-forth political posturing, Georgia’s U.S. Senate candidates have agreed to a televised debate.
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and Republican challenger Herschel Walker will meet Oct. 14 in Savannah.
After the two sides agreed to the debate late Tuesday, Warnock upped the ante by inviting Walker to at least one additional debate in Macon or Atlanta.
“Reverend Warnock is eager to speak to Georgians about his work on their behalf and remains hopeful Herschel Walker will do right by Georgians, get on a debate stage at least one other time … and explain his positions to them,” said Quentin Fulks, Warnock’s campaign manager.
“I’m glad to see that Raphael Warnock has agreed to face the voters,” Walker countered. “I’m looking forward to October 14th so the voters can see the contrast between us.”
Georgia Public Broadcasting has scheduled a Senate debate Oct. 16 at its Midtown Atlanta studios.
But Walker has balked at such a studio debate for weeks, insisting that the debate be held before a live audience, raising the possibility that Warnock could end up on the stage with an empty podium.
The Savannah debate will be hosted by WSAV-TV and shown on other stations across Georgia.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
