The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Honors for local author’s book examining public hospitals
Congrats to veteran Atlanta journalist Mike King, whose exhaustively researched, elegantly written book, “A Spirit of Charity: Restoring the Bond Between America and Its Public Hospitals,” has been honored with two national awards.
King’s study of public safety-net hospitals in Atlanta and four other American cities earned a silver medal in the 2017 Independent Publisher Book Awards and a silver Benjamin Franklin Award from the Independent Book Publishers Association, which recognized it for telling “the remarkable story of public hospitals and how they make a lifeand-death difference to many Americans at a time of rapidly changing health policy.”
“A Spirit of Charity” will be exhibited along with other award winners’ works at the upcoming BookExpo trade publishing convention, May 31-June 2 in New York. The book and the honors it’s earned are timely, given the national debate regarding health care legislation.
“After the November elections and with the ongoing debate over whether to repeal, replace or fix Obamacare, it’s more important than ever to understand the essential role hospitals like Grady Memorial Hospital play,” King said. “I hope these awards will renew interest in the topic of public hospitals and care for the poor.”
A revised paperback edition is due in early summer.
A former Atlanta Journal-Constitution editor and columnist who appeared during the 2016 AJC Decatur Book Festival, King spent years researching the book. It explores the current state of health care by delving into its past, and King’s expertise in science and medical journalism renders his complex, often confusing, sometimes infuriating topic as a compelling, richly informative narrative.
In addition to its industry accolades, the book has earned praise from the medical community. Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, called it “required reading for policy makers and health advocates alike.”
Dancing gala benefits Alzheimer’s Association
The annual Dancing Stars of Atlanta gala benefiting the Alzheimer’s Association’s Georgia Chapter will be from 5:30 p.m. to midnight May 6 at the Cobb Galleria Centre, 2 Galleria Parkway. Celebrity judges are longtime Atlanta broadcaster Brenda Wood, professional dancer Christjohn Batters and Jack Sawyer, president of the Southeastern Region of Wilmington Trust’s Wealth Advisory Group. Nancy Senner and Cory Thompson will emcee. Individual tickets start at $350. Tickets can be purchased and donations in any amount may be made online at DancingStarsofAtlanta.com.
Star Scotsman sighting
Actor Gerard Butler is back in Scotland after spending time in Atlanta filming “Den of Thieves.” Before he left he was able to swing by Goldberg’s Bagel Company and Deli in Buckhead. “Opening soon: Gerry’s Deli,” he posted with a photo of him getting a behind-thescenes tour. “Just kidding. I loved these bagels from Goldberg’s in Atlanta!”
“Den of Thieves,” due out next year, stars Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and O’Shea Jackson Jr. ,who played his dad Ice Cube in “Straight Outta Compton.” The plot: “Every day, $120 million in cash is taken out of circulation and destroyed by the Federal Reserve. An elite crew of bank robbers sets out to pull off the ultimate heist and get to the money first, right under the noses of Los Angeles’ most feared division of law enforcement.”