Grady Health is one of the largest public health systems in the country. The 100-year-old Atlanta-based hospital system manages more than 700,000 patient visits each year, 90 percent of which are for low-income people and people of color. Some 65 percent of patients are either uninsured or covered by Medicaid. Grady also conducts regular outreach to the surrounding community, emphasizing wellness, prevention, and early detection.

The new surgical center, built on land adjacent to Grady Memorial Hospital, is part of an ongoing capacity-building plan that has already included expanded emergency and women’s health services and, in addition to the new surgical center, will subsequently encompass an expanded HIV/AIDS clinic.

Grady’s planned Center for Advanced Surgical Services (CASS) is a $180 million development that is tapping $34 million in New Markets Tax Credit allocations to finance construction, including $5 million from LISC and administered by Broadstreet. Truist is the investor for the total NMTC commitment, which includes allocation from SunTrust Community Development Enterprise, Community Hospital Health Care Services, CCG Community Partners, Carver Financial Corporation and Urban Action Community Development. The new 10-story facility will offer 225,000 square feet of space, along with six floors of parking, to address a significant capacity crunch at the hospital, where beds are often full.

Because Grady is Atlanta’s primary trauma center, it is often forced to postpone or cancel planned surgeries to accommodate emergent health needs. The result is increased costs, added medical risk for patients and the difficult reality that some patients may be turned away. The new center will expand its clinical capacity by 45 percent and the number of surgeries by 25 percent, while also separating outpatient surgeries from in-patient and emergency care to increase efficiency.

CASS will expand Grady’s offerings related to outpatient surgery, cancer treatment, rehabilitation services and lab services—nearly all focused on the needs of people who might otherwise not have adequate access to quality care. With the addition of CASS, Grady will free up approximately 50 inpatient beds in the main hospital, while making more room for surgical support systems, like a pharmacy, eye clinic, and breast imaging center. It will also create 211 new full-time jobs and another 590 construction/temporary positions.