DeKalb County CEO Thurmond, White House officials tour $11M investments at Emory Hillandale Hospital

STONECREST, GA—Tom Perez, senior advisor to President Biden, on Wednesday (April 24) praised the work at Emory Hillandale Hospital, where an $11 million investment from Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) is transforming health care.

DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond and the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners appropriated the critical ARPA funding in October 2022 to expand and renovate parts of the hospital after Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center closed its operation, leaving Southeast DeKalb County without a primary hospital provider.

Perez got a first-hand look at Emory’s emergency room expansion, intensive care unit renovation, and the replacement of the hospital’s computed tomography (CT) scanner during an early morning tour with DeKalb CEO Thurmond on Wednesday.

Thurmond and hospital officials welcomed Perez and Angela Ramirez, deputy chief of staff, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  During the visit, the federal officials also met with Congressman Hank Johnson and his wife, DeKalb Commissioner Mereda Davis Johnson, and Stonecrest Mayor Jazzmin Cobble, all of whom live in the City of Stonecrest where the hospital is located, also toured the facility with Perez.

Following the tour, Perez told reporters that he was inspired by the work that had been done since Emory Hillandale’s acquisition, but also expressed his frustration, saying that even more help could be provided to residents with the expansion of Medicaid into Georgia.

“…I can’t imagine in the middle of a pandemic to have a hospital close down so quickly with virtually no notice… With those rescue plan dollars, you were able to step up in remarkable ways,” said Perez.

DeKalb CEO Thurmond thanked Emory Hillandale and other community partners for working together to re-open the hospital.

“When Wellstar closed, it was a traumatic moment that precipitated from major healthcare delivery crises throughout metro Atlanta and many cursed the decision,” Thurmond said. “ But I’m so proud that our partners here at Emory with the financial resources and funding provided by President Biden and our Congress, we didn’t just curse the darkness. What we did was we lit a candle—a candle of hope, a candle of care, a beam of light that has cast an opportunity to live secure and healthy lives.”