Health care competitors join to aid community

Challenging times test us in many ways. They also offer an opportunity to gain a more complete appreciation for who we are, our mission and values.

On the afternoon of Dec. 7, a ruptured pipe sent water cascading through multiple floors of Grady Memorial Hospital in downtown Atlanta. As the full extent of damage came into focus, it was clear this would be far more than a simple cleanup. Some 220 of Grady’s 700 beds were suddenly unavailable, impacting operations for Grady and, soon thereafter, Atlanta.

Ambulances were diverted. Sick patients had to be moved. Neighboring hospitals saw a jump in visits to emergency rooms already strained by a busy December and the surge of flu season. A 2-foot water pipe had, in effect, jolted metro Atlanta’s entire health care infrastructure.

As CEO for Emory Healthcare, I quickly learned of the leak. With several of our hospitals neighboring Grady, the ripple effect was felt within hours.

In times like this, one learns the power of asking a simple question: “How can we help?”

Health care is a competitive business. The crisis at Grady, however, underscores a central tenet in our industry and one of our core values at Emory: caring. When a crisis arises, the health care community can and does work together.

In days following the leak, Grady transferred over 30 patients to four of our hospitals. Several other hospitals in metro Atlanta also moved quickly to implement and coordinate emergency response plans. On Jan. 13, Emory took further steps, making additional care spaces available at Emory Decatur Hospital for obstetrics patients, plus 30 dedicated beds at Emory Hillandale Hospital for patients being transferred directly from Grady.

Emory and Grady each have storied histories deeply woven into the fabric of metro Atlanta. Grady is a recognized leader in trauma and other areas of acute care, is a core part of our community and represents a critical safety net hospital for Atlanta with a deep commitment to the underserved. Emory is the state’s largest academic health care system, renowned for pioneering medical research, educating the next generation of health care workers and delivering exceptional care through 11 hospitals and numerous clinics.

The partnership of Emory and Grady goes back to the foundation of Emory School of Medicine in 1915. Grady Memorial Hospital is staffed by Emory and Morehouse physicians, with

Emory having over 700 physicians practicing there. It may surprise some that 80% of Emory’s more than 1,300 medical residents and fellows spend time caring for patients at Grady. This long-standing partnership has benefited patients in Atlanta and extends to all reaches of the state, as approximately half of Emory resident graduates go on to practice in Georgia.

An additional lesson from the flood at Grady is the potential risk to communities that depend upon hospitals every day. In Atlanta, we likely take for granted the fact that there are many excellent health care facilities throughout the city. Metro Atlanta — home to about 6 million people — was able to quickly triage and largely absorb the loss of this critical resource.

Imagine if something similar happened in a rural part of the state where hospitals and health care facilities are in shorter supply? Since 2010, seven rural hospitals have closed and more than two dozen others are at high financial risk, according to a 2019 report by the consulting group Navigant. As a community, we need to ensure our health care systems receive appropriate support to remain strong.

I am proud to be part of an organization like Emory, to partner with a great institution like Grady and to be a member of an industry where caring and compassion are central to our mission. In a world increasingly filled with polarization, it is nice to know this still exists. We should not take it for granted.