Grady Memorial Hospital

Grady Memorial Hospital, frequently referred to as Grady Hospital or simply Grady, is the largest hospital in the state of Georgia, and is the public hospital for the city of Atlanta. Historical segregation of its hospital units meant that it was also called "The Gradys", a name that still surfaces among elderly Atlanta residents, especially African Americans. It is a Level I trauma center. Located near downtown and the campus of Georgia State University, Grady is considered to be one of the premier public hospitals in the Southern United States. It is named for Henry W. Grady, an Atlanta Constitution journalist and later owner who became a major force in Georgia politics, and advocated for a public city hospital. It is now the flagship of the Grady Health System.

History
It was first founded in 1890 (a decade after Saint Joseph's Infirmary, Atlanta's first) and opened in 1892, as an outgrowth of the Atlanta Benevolent Home. The original building (at 36 Butler Street) is now on the National Register of Historic Places and is known as Georgia Hall, where the hospital's human resources staff now work. The second Grady Hospital at Butler Hall opened in 1912 and was for whites only, with blacks being segregated at the Atlanta Medical College. The third hospital was at Hirsch Hall, and the current location is its fourth. Since 1945 it has been run by the Fulton/DeKalb Hospital Authority.

The current facility was also built as a segregated institution, with one section serving Whites (Wings A & B; facing the city) and another section serving African-Americans (Wings C & D; facing the opposite direction). Even though it is a single building and the two sides are connected by a hallway (Wing E), the facility was referred to in the plural ("The Gradys") during the years of segregation.

CNN's medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who is Associate Chief of Neurosurgery at Grady, filmed a documentary at the hospital called Grady's Anatomy (a play on Gray's Anatomy) that aired in 2007 for CNN Special Investigations Unit. The documentary focused on four young medical residents and the daily stress of large hospital practice.

Current services
The hospital serves a large proportion of low-income patients. The hospital is supported almost entirely by Fulton and DeKalb counties, with little help from the state, despite serving all of metro Atlanta's several counties. Grady sued the state over lack of Medicaid compensation in 2004.

Grady Hospital's ambulance service, Grady Emergency Medical Services, shares 9-1-1 responsibility for Fulton County, Georgia.

The Downtown Connector (Interstate 75/85) makes a large bend around the hospital on its otherwise due north-south route, dubbed the "Grady Curve" on traffic reports.

In 2001, actor Whitman Mayo, who played the character Grady on television's Sanford and Son, died of a heart attack at Grady.

Grady Hospital gained some national attention for treating supermodel Niki Taylor after her near-fatal car accident on April 29, 2001. Taylor has spoken many times about the great job the hospital did in treating her after her accident. In particular, the Hospital's effectiveness as a level I trauma center has been highlighted by this incident (Taylor suffered severe trauma in the accident).

It again gained attention after the 2007 Atlanta I-75 Charter Bus Accident. The hospital cleared a whole wing of the hospital for the injured victims and their families. Seven died in the accident.

Possible Closure
As of 2007, Grady faces possible closure or restructuring if it cannot find funding by December in order to repay the $100 million debt it owes to Emory University and Morehouse College.