Atlanta-based Grady Health System president and CEO John Haupert has shared plans to retire at the end of 2026 as the health system moves forward with a $1 billion medical campus.
Anthony Saul, Grady’s COO, will assume the role of president and COO, effective immediately. He will succeed Mr. Haupert as president and CEO on Jan. 1, 2027, according to a March 18 news release.
Mr. Saul has more than 25 years of healthcare experience. He joined Grady more than seven years ago as system CFO before becoming COO. Mr. Haupert will serve Grady in an advisory role throughout 2027.
Amid Grady’s leadership transition, the Fulton County (Ga.) Commissioners voted unanimously March 18 to advance plans for a $900 million hospital that would operate under Grady Health.
The total campus investment will be more than $1 billion, including a $38 million freestanding emergency department to open in June 2026 and later be integrated into the hospital, a $75 million medical office building and the $900 million, 200-bed facility, according to Grady’s presentation to the commissioners.
The campus will also comprise imaging services, a surgery center, specialty clinics, pharmacy services, rehabilitation and an entire floor dedicated to pediatric care from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
The hospital will be funded by $300 million from Fulton County bonds, with the remaining $600 million from Grady financing and philanthropic support through a multi-year campaign.
The “New South Fulton Hospital Project” is the latest phase of the county’s “Project Care” initiative, a tri-party partnership that was launched following the 2022 closures of Marietta, Ga.-based Wellstar’s Atlanta Medical Center South and Atlanta Medical Center.
“I love what is happening today,” Fulton County Vice Chair Khadija Abdur-Rahman said during the meeting. “I support it, I’ve been behind it. But let’s be crystal clear, this is the beginning of a solution. We need another hospital. We need the caregivers to have a holistic approach. We’ve got to look at the social determining factors.”
Grady’s operating corporation must demonstrate it has secured, or reasonably expects to secure, sufficient private funding to cover the entire hospital cost prior to bonds or financing instruments being issued, according to a resolution from the meeting.
The county’s share would be financed through tax-exempt or taxable bonds issued by the Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority. Grady would also be responsible should the cost run beyond the $900 million estimate.
Grady’s South Fulton campus will create more than 2,000 jobs and will provide 360,000 residents with care access, according to the resolution. The medical office building and ambulatory services are expected to open in early 2028, with the hospital expected to open in 2031.
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