Grady
from pax* A7
black, and (he institution is
considered a vital part of
Atlanta's black community.
But the proposed switch to
a nonprofit governing board is
problematic, too. Some fear
that the hospital would be less
committed to the poor, and that
the board would go from most
ly black to mostly white.
State Sen. Vincent Fort, a
black Democra1*T>um 'Atlanta,
said Grady is "absolutely criti
cal" to the city's black poor.
And he charged that Atlanta's
"white power structure" ?
including the business leaders
and politicians who are push
ing for the nonprofit
ooara ? is trying to
orchestrate a
takeover.
"To the e*tent
that you have
African American
doctors, nurses and
other professionals
operating a big-city
hospital and taking
care of black peo
ple, that is a source
of pride in the black
community," Fort said. "So
there is a great deal of skepti
cism that the Chamber of
Commerce is interested in
Grady. There are some of us
who believe that is a self-inter
est."
With 953 beds and 5,000
employees, Grady is an anchor
of Atlanta's downtown, and
accepts all patients, without
regard to their ability to pay.
Only 7 percent of Grady's
patients have private insur
ance, and 75 percent are on
Medicaid. Because they lack
insurance and have no family
doctor, many go to Grady's
emergency room even when
they don't have an emergency.
The ER ends up treating sore
throats and other ordinary
aches and pains.
Besides Atlanta's poor,
Grady's patients include
tourists passing through on
their way south to Walt Disney
World and victims of auto
accidents, since Grady is the
only hospital in a 100-mile
radius of Atlanta that has a
Level 1 trauma center, capable
of treating the most serious
injuries. (A popular bumper
sticker seen on cars along
Atlanta-area highways reads:
"If I'm in a car crash, take me
to Grady.")
Grady played a critical role
after the bombing at the 1946
Olympics blocks away. And in
March, when a bus carrying a
college baseball team from
Ohio plunged off an overpass,
19 students and coaches were
rushed to Grady. Grady also*
has the state's only poison
control center, obstetrics inten
sive care unit and comprehen
sive sickle cell center. And the
city's emergency command
center for handling plane
crashes and terrorist attacks is
based at Grady.
If Grady were to close,
poor people would probably
swamp other hospitals' ERs
with everything from ordinary
Fort
medical emergen
cies.
"It will be a s^d
day for Atlanta if
Grady closes. If peo
ple realized the ben
efits Grady provides,
closure would not be
on the table," said
Dr. Marsha
Regenstein, a health
?
puncy yiuicssui a i
George Washington University
in the nation's capital.
Doctors, activists, lawmak
ers, business leaders and the
hospital leadership are scram
bling to find a fix for Grady,
which gets most of its funding
from Medicare, Medicaid and
Fulton and Dekalb Counties
and is run by a governing
board whose members are
appointed by the two counties'
politicians.
In July, a 17-member task
force of business leaders rec
ommended the shift to a non
profit board. Some of Atlanta's
major corporations have said
they would contribute to
Grady if it were run by a non
profit board because it would
manage the hospital more effi
ciently.
Other public hospitals that
have been in distress in recent
years include D.C. General
Hospital in Washington, which
in 2001 stopped taking inpa
tients, and Martin Luther King
Jr.-Charles Drew Hospital,
which was built in Los
Angeles after the 1965 Watts
riots. The hospital lost its gov
ernment accreditation last
summer because of shoddy
care and closed its trauma cen
ter.
HUD grant to allow school
to continue to revamp area
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Winston-Salem State
University has received a
three-year $600,000 U.S.
Department of Housing and
Urban Development (HUD)
grant to expand its role in
building affordable housing
and generating community
revitalization in the nearby
neighborhood .
HUD's Historically Black
Colleges and Universities
(HBCU) program grant will
be used to further expand
WSSU's role and effective
ness in addressing community
needs and revitalizing neigh
borhoods along the Martin
Luther King, Jr. Drive
Corridor. Revitalization
efforts will be implemented
through activities initiated by
the Simon Green Atkins
Community Development
Corporation (SGACDC). an
outreach of WSSU established
in 1998.
Under (he direction of Dr.
Pedro Martinez, WSSU
Provost and Vice Chancellor
for Academic Affairs, the uni
versity will focus on develop
ing a master plan to drive
investment in the area that
will foster mixed-income
neighborhoods. WSSU also
plans to develop pedestrian
friendly nearby neighbor
hoods which will contain a
viable mix of businesses that
will provide jobs, products,
and services that residents
currently have to leave their
neighborhoods to access.
"Improving the quality of
life in neighborhoods around
the campus will reflect favor
ably on the university and this
community as WSSU contin
ues to take the lead in an area
where very little private
investment has occurred in
recent years," says Martinez.
The grant further calls for
WSSU's SGACDC to build
six affordable homes for first
Awards
from pane AJO
country.
Mobley's Beep Ball story
also won First Place for
Feature Reporting in a region
al contest. The Society of
Professional Journalists
Green Eyeshade Awards is a
competition open to stations
in eleven states in the
Southeast. Mobley's Beep
Ball piece also won two First
Place North Carolina
Associated Press Broadcast
Awards, one for Feature
Reporting and another for
Best Use of Sound.
WFDD's general manager,
Denise Franklin expressed her
support and enthusiasm for
the hard work of WFDD's
award winning reporters.
"This has been a good year
for WFDD's news depart
ment. The need for excellent
local reporting continues to be
a core part of public radio sta
Franklin
tions like WFDD. We are
dedicated to reporting on the
communities we serve and I
am thrilled that our staff con
tinues to deliver such high
quality reporting year-to
year," said Franklin.
The
NU
CRACKER
2007
Presented In/ the
North Carolina School of the Arts
mill the Winston-Salem Symphony
Choreographed by Sonja Tyven
hi ill Robert I indgren
Robert Moody, Conductor
DECEMBER 1-2 ? 2 p.m. and 7:10 p.m.
1)1 CI MBER6-7 ? 7:10 p.m.
DECEMBER 8-9 ? 2 p.m. and 7:10 p.m.
I he Stevens Center of the
North Carolina School of the Arts
405 W. Fourth Street, Winston-Salem
Tickets: S23-S44
SuperSaver Package
I inn scats for the 7:10 p.m. slum's
on December 2, 6, tV 9
S mil (baleom/) tr S 120 ( orchestra )
ORDER TODAY! 136.721. 1945
or www. nairts.edu /performances!
\ \L ' . ! 1 1 ! ? I ft- ( >.?<?! I di in \i ,n<
?
Martinez
time homebuyers and work
with resident associations to
make improvements in their
neighborhoods, according to
Carol Trent Davis, SGACDC
executive director. In addi
tion, Davis said a previous
HUD grant in 2005 helped the
SGACDC initiate a micro
enterprise loan partnership
program, which consists of a
pool of funds to support low
interest loans for local entre
preneurs. Some of those
funds are still available to
help spark new small busi
nesses in the neighborhood.
Since its establishment.
SGACDC has assisted 18
families with becoming first
time homeowners. From thai
number, 13 families rectfived
new homes. Approximately
$2.5 million has been invested
with the purpose of develop
ing affordable housing and
economic development in the
neighborhoods surrounding
WSSU. The funds were also
directed at providing outreach
to benefit low and moderate
income families in the area.
i Festival
l\ of Carols
Fri. Nov. 30, 7:30 PM
Sat. Dec. 1, 3:00 PM
St. Timothy's Episcopal Church
2575 Parkway Drive, Winston-Salem
T
.h ARTS
Vi? COUNCIL
HnM Mwiiba </ ft?
ArtiCounc* o' Wm?w
Satom 'nftytn County
_.^v_
SALEM
< <M.Lt(.l;
hjfHjd I IK WWWl 6e?m l ognor >
Tickets 722 4022 www piedmontchambersingers.org
>resents
Iton-Salem Children'
day concerl
j i
/Vnahl and the
[Slight \J\s\tors
The joy of children's voices A
and a story of love and hope.
A holiday classic for the entire family.
December 7 8^8,2007
First Presbyterian Church, M inston- Salem
Tickets are $25 for adults and
$15 for children (group rates available)
On sale now at (336) 724-3202 or piedmont opera, org
MgAfCTS
COUNCIL