Morehouse Healthcare (MHC), the clinical services arm of Morehouse School of Medicine, today announced the “soft launch” of Phase One of its new Morehouse Healthcare at East Point clinic in partnership with Fulton County and Atrium Health, a part of Advocate Health, the third-largest nonprofit health system in the country. Located in the BuggyWorks complex at 1513 East Cleveland Ave., Building 500, East Point, Georgia, the new clinic will help to mitigate the critical lack of healthcare resources in the area.
“As Morehouse School of Medicine continues to lead the creation and advancement of health equity to achieve health justice, we are committed to providing compassionate care, and innovative medicine to the residents of south Fulton County,” said Morehouse School of Medicine President and CEO Valerie Montgomery Rice, MD, FACOG. “We are pleased to join our partners, Fulton County and Atrium Health, to help restore healthcare resources and expand primary care choices in this area. We see this as a significant first step to meet the healthcare needs of local residents and we will continue to seek out opportunities to increase access to quality health care throughout south Fulton County.”
Earlier this year, the Fulton County Board of Commissioners approved a contract for Morehouse School of Medicine to establish the clinic. The medical school presented research to the board that showed the area was a “healthcare desert” with, for example, no medical specialists in cardiology, pulmonology and infectious diseases for the area’s 240,000 residents.
“Nothing is more important than the health and wellbeing of Fulton County residents,” said Chairman Robb Pitts. “Our community is facing a crisis in health access. This partnership with Morehouse School of Medicine and the opening of the new primary care clinic is an important step to getting our residents the care they need and deserve.”
Charlotte, North Carolina-based Atrium Health, is a nationally recognized leader in shaping health outcomes through innovative research, education and compassionate patient care. An integrated, nonprofit health system, it is also a leading care-delivery brand in the Southeast U.S., including Atrium Health Navicent and Atrium Health Floyd, based in Macon and Rome, Georgia, respectively. Atrium Health has a record of proven success in providing management and administrative support necessary to serve culturally diverse communities efficiently and successfully. MHC’s partnership with Atrium Health aligns two leading organizations with a
shared commitment to health equity capable of building a sustainable solution to address the needs of the greater Atlanta community.
“We recognize that one of the best ways to fulfill our pledge of disrupting the root cause of health inequities is through innovative partnerships with like-minded organizations, like Morehouse Healthcare,” said Eugene A. Woods, chief executive officer of Charlotte-based Advocate Health, of which Atrium Health is a part. “Whether it is a pregnant mom trying to receive the vital prenatal care she needs, or a senior struggling to get insulin to control his diabetes, this partnership is providing new models of care to improve health outcomes and address the gaps for those who need it most in Fulton County.”
The East Point clinic will offer comprehensive primary care services. When fully implemented the clinic will have over 20 exam rooms, will have the capacity for six providers who will see patients across the full life spectrum, and will operate with extended hours. Morehouse Healthcare at East Point’s current hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday thru Friday.
The new clinic will also serve as a training facility for Morehouse School of Medicine’s innovative, nationally recognized Community Health Worker (CHW) certification program and is expected to train up to 12 CHWs annually, each of whom will receive a stipend. The Community Health Worker program trains local residents to serve as health advisors to fellow citizens in the community, helping them address barriers including access to health care, insurance or lack thereof, poor health literacy, transportation and childcare.
The Morehouse Healthcare at East Point clinic will be the fourth outpatient clinic operated by MHC, which also has Atlanta facilities at 1800 Howell Mill Road, 455 Lee St., and 3885 Princeton Lakes Way #300. For more information on MHC, please visit: www.morehousehealthcare.com.