Emory Healthcare Welcomes DeKalb Medical To The Family

Emory Healthcare officially welcomed DeKalb Medical to the family on September 1, 2018. The partnership between Emory and DeKalb Medical brings together the best of both worlds – the discovery and innovation of an academic medical center in a community hospital setting.

“We are excited about this partnership,” says Jonathan S. Lewin, MD, president and CEO of Emory Healthcare. “By combining a community health system and an academic health system, the communities and patients cared for by Emory Healthcare and DeKalb Medical will experience an even stronger quality of care with more accessibility to providers and specialty care.”

On Friday, September 14, partnership celebrations for employees, local leaders and government officials were held at each of the three DeKalb Medical locations, along with unveilings of new hospital signs at each facility.

“Today’s celebrations signal the start of a great new partnership between our two organizations,” says Lewin. “We welcome DeKalb Medical to our growing health care system. We know that both DeKalb Medical and Emory patients will benefit from this partnership through extended services, more physicians and additional locations to receive care.”

As part of the integration, DeKalb Medical’s hospital on North Decatur Road is now named Emory Decatur Hospital; DeKalb Medical Hillandale is now Emory Hillandale Hospital; and DeKalb Medical Long-Term Acute Care at Downtown Decatur is named Emory Long-Term Acute Care. With the addition of these three facilities along with their physician practices, patients now have access to even more locations to receive care.

The two health systems initiated their requests for a partnership in November 2017 through a formal Letter of Intent. The Federal Trade Commission approved the partnership in March 2018. Then in early August 2018, the Georgia Attorney General’s Office announced the approval of the strategic partnership and integration of DeKalb Medical and Emory.

Jim Forstner, who has served as the executive vice president and chief operating officer of DeKalb Medical since 2016, has been named CEO of the three newest hospitals. “This is a landmark day for us and the beginning of a new era in health care for DeKalb County,” says Forstner. “I am honored to serve and support the employees and physicians who deliver care in our institutions and excited to have the support of the larger Emory Healthcare system to serve this community.”

Both Emory Healthcare and DeKalb Medical have strong roots in the community and the state of Georgia. Emory has had a presence in DeKalb County for more than 100 years, with more than half of its employees residing in DeKalb and the surrounding vicinity. DeKalb Medical has been serving the region’s patients and families for more than 57 years.

All photos courtesy of Emory Healthcare