In partnership with Morehouse School of Medicine, Atrium Health commits more than $700 million to a new teaching hospital and care network

In partnership with Morehouse School of Medicine, Atrium Health commits more than $700 million to a new teaching hospital and care network

Morehouse School of Medicine and Atrium Health receive approval for a hospital on Metropolitan Parkway that includes new doctors' offices and specialty care reaching the areas of greatest health need in Fulton County

ATLANTA, Aug. 21, 2026 - For families across South and West Atlanta, losing nearby hospital care has meant traveling farther when minutes matter most. Since Atlanta Medical Center and Atlanta Medical Center South closed in 2022, communities in this part of the city have lived with a significant gap in access to hospital and emergency care.

Morehouse School of Medicine and Atrium Health, part of Advocate Health, are moving forward with plans to help change that.

Morehouse School of Medicine and Atrium Health have received approval to move forward with plans for a new teaching hospital at 675 Metropolitan Parkway SW, that will include a network of primary, urgent and specialty care designed to reach communities across Central and South Fulton County.

Atrium Health is committing more than $700 million in capital and clinical investment to the hospital and broader care network. The goal is to bring a Level III trauma center with more care closer to where people live- from routine and preventive services to emergency and acute hospital care where it is needed most.

"When the Atlanta Medical Center closures were abruptly announced nearly four years ago, I said they left an open wound in the heart of our communities. Today, we have come full circle. Morehouse School of Medicine and Atrium Health will not only help heal that wound but expand primary and community-based care in neighborhoods where access is needed most," said Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens. "This moment also reflects the promise of our Neighborhood Reinvestment Initiative: bringing meaningful investment and opportunity to communities that have gone without for too long. This is the Group Project at its best, and our Administration is grateful to every partner who locked arms to close a healthcare gap that has affected lives across South and West Atlanta."

Bringing care back - and bringing more of it closer to home

Fulton County faces significant gaps in access to care. An analysis by 3D Health identified a shortage of nearly 246 primary care providers, while a separate assessment by Fulton County and Morehouse School of Medicine, conducted with Ernst & Young, identified areas of the county where residents face especially limited access to health services. The proposed care network was designed around those gaps.

Plans include an acute care hospital, primary care practices, locations combining primary and urgent care, specialty services, virtual and community-based care and a healthplex offering services such as imaging, infusion, endoscopy and emergency care. The organizations also plan to expand virtual care models such as Hospital at Home, which allows qualifying patients to receive acute-level care in the comfort of their own home. Using federal service-area need methodology and the CDC's Social Vulnerability Index, planned ambulatory sites will be positioned to put care in proximity to Fulton County's most vulnerable census tracts.

For five decades, Morehouse School of Medicine has educated physicians and health professionals with a particular focus on improving health in underserved communities. Its physicians, graduates, students and community partnerships have deep roots across Atlanta and Georgia. Atrium Health brings the clinical expertise, operating experience, technology, capital and track record of building nationally recognized hospitals and integrated networks of care.

Together, the organizations are combining complementary strengths around a shared goal: making high-quality care easier to reach and developing a stronger pipeline of physicians and health professionals prepared to serve Georgia communities for generations.

"Today marks a meaningful step toward expanding access to care for families across Atlanta and South Fulton who have waited too long and traveled too far for essential health services. This milestone aligns with Morehouse School of Medicine's mission to advance health equity," said Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, president and chief executive officer of Morehouse School of Medicine. "In Atrium Health, we have found a partner that is among the national leaders not only in clinical and academic excellence, but in innovation and academic medicine. Most importantly, they are among the national leaders in serving vulnerable communities, and our missions could not be more aligned."

"There are moments in healthcare when you have the opportunity to do more than build a hospital - you have the opportunity to change what is possible for a community for generations," said Eugene A. Woods, chief executive officer of Advocate Health, of which Atrium Health is a part. "This is one of those moments. It is about building a place where people will be cared for, trained, find good jobs, and become part of the future of healthcare in their own community."

The partnership is already at work in South Fulton. Morehouse Healthcare, Fulton County and Atrium Health previously worked together to establish the Morehouse Healthcare East Point clinic, expanding access to primary and specialty care in the area. The new hospital and care network will build on that work

A hospital designed to grow with the community

The new hospital is planned to open with approximately 50 beds with the ability to expand to over 700 beds over time as community needs grow. It will deliver comprehensive acute-care - 24/7 emergency and Level III trauma, obstetrics and a neonatal intensive care unit, adult critical care, advanced imaging, cardiac catheterization, interventional radiology and endoscopy. Plans for the broader campus include medical offices, research and additional development that can support both healthcare and economic activity in the surrounding corridor.

The hospital is intended to function as the clinical anchor of a much larger network - connecting patients with primary care, specialists, diagnostics, urgent care, hospital services and academic medicine across a coordinated system.

A significant investment in health - and in Atlanta's economic future

The project is also expected to create substantial economic activity. An analysis by HR&A Advisors estimates the project could support approximately 5,400 construction jobs and 4,800 permanent direct, indirect and induced positions at maturity, including approximately 1,000 new health system teammates and 150 care providers. The analysis estimates an annual economic impact of approximately $1.25 billion once the campus and network are fully operational.

The City of Atlanta is expected to invest more than $115 million in the project to support site preparation, roadway and pedestrian improvements and equipment associated with opening the acute-care campus.

Plans remain contingent on agreements with Fulton County regarding support to Morehouse Medicine for the ambulatory network that enhances access across South Fulton - as Atrium Health and Morehouse School of Medicine are designing the hospital and the neighborhood care network to work as a seamless integrated system with common information systems and care protocols connected to transportation routes. Philanthropy and community support will be key drivers in bringing this crucial initiative to life.

"For years, residents in South Fulton and surrounding communities have made it clear that access to emergency and primary care cannot remain an unresolved challenge," said Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr., Fulton County Commissioner, District 5. "This milestone reflects the power of sustained advocacy and partnership to move from identifying healthcare disparities to advancing solutions. The proposed hospital and care network represent meaningful progress toward bringing timely, high-quality care closer to home and building a stronger health system for the people of Fulton County."

What comes next

The organizations will continue meeting with residents, community organizations, elected officials, healthcare providers and other partners as planning progresses with updates to follow.

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About Advocate Health

Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Advocate Health is the third-largest nonprofit, integrated health system in the United States. A preeminent academic health system at the forefront of clinical excellence, innovation and research, it delivers care under the names Advocate Health Care in Illinois and Indiana; Atrium Health in the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama; and Aurora Health Care in Wisconsin and Michigan, and Wake Forest University School of Medicine is its academic core. Nationally recognized for expertise in heart and vascular, neurosciences, oncology, pediatrics and rehabilitation, Advocate Health is also a pioneer in the delivery of virtual healthcare. It is accelerating discovery by making research participation part of the standard-of-care through its one-of-a-kind NationalCenter for Clinical Trials, plus two affiliated life-sciences-focused innovation districts and one of the nation's largest graduate medical education programs. With more than 165,000 teammates serving patients at 69 hospitals and over 1,000 care locations across eight states, Advocate Health reinvests over $6 billion each year to improve community health, making it one of the nation's largest providers of community benefit.

About Morehouse School of Medicine

Founded in 1975, Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) is among the nation's leading educators of primary care physicians, biomedical scientists and public health professionals. An independent and private historically Black medical school, MSM was recognized by the Annals of Internal Medicine as the nation's number one medical school in fulfilling a social mission - the creation and advancement of health equity to achieve health justice. MSM faculty and alumni are noted for excellence in teaching, research and public policy, as well as exceptional patient care. MSM is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award doctoral and master's degrees. To learn more about programs and donate today, please visit MSM.edu or call 404-752-1500.