Fulton County filing DOJ complaint over Wellstar Health System hospital shutdowns

A photograph of the now defunct Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center in Atlanta. The Wellstar system announced on Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022, that it would take over the Augusta University Health System after closing the money losing Atlanta hospital in November, prompting intense criticism. (John Spink/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

The Fulton County Commission is asking the United States Department of Justice to investigate Wellstar Health System’s recent closures of two Atlanta-area hospitals that were located in majority-Black areas.

It’s the third request for a federal complaint against Wellstar in a week.

Last week, a coalition of Democratic state lawmakers and Fulton and Dekalb officials announced they were asking for investigations by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights and the Internal Revenue Service.