ATLANTA — Atlanta Medical Center will close completely on Nov. 1. As that date looms, charity clinics are bracing for a surge of new patients.

Channel 2′s Tom Regan spoke with Mercy Care in downtown Atlanta, and they told him it’s going to be a challenge treating all these extra patients.

The clinic is closed on weekends, but on a typical weekday, they serve 60 to 80 patients. And they expect that number to quickly grow over a hundred.

“This is going to be a big challenge for the community,” Anitra Walker with Mercy Care told Channel 2 Action News.

On weekdays, this clinic is bustling with homeless, uninsured and low-income patients. They expect the number to rise sharply with the closing of Atlanta Medical Center.

“(The closure is) disappointing. It was definitely a needed resource in the community. There’s not a lot of places for folks to go for an emergency care,” Walker said.

Mercy Care is supported by federal funding, state funding and donations, and they provide an array of services including medical, dental, optometry and behavioral health.

The timing of AMC’s closing couldn’t be worse.

“We are meeting with Grady, trying to figure out the best approach to address this need that’s coming,” said Walker. “Our staff are already pretty battle-weary from COVID.”

Grady Hospital’s chief medical officer told Channel 2 Action News the number of trauma patient both by ambulance and walk-in is rising fast with the closing of AMC.

“We have already seen an uptick of about 30%. We also saw a big increase in air ambulance traffic; that volume has doubled,” Robert Jansen, Grady medical director, said.

Grady is also doing something to help with the influx of patients from AMC.

The medical director told Channel 2 Action News they are planning to bring in a temporary mobile hospital that will add 25 beds, but that’s not likely to be in place until the end of the year.

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