By Angelina Salcedo, 11 Alive

ATLANTA — Fulton County leaders are preparing to vote on a proposal to build a new full-service hospital in south Fulton County, a move aimed at restoring health care access in an area long considered a medical desert.

The project would be a partnership between Fulton County, Grady Health System and the Grady Foundation, with an estimated cost of $900 million. Under the proposal, the cost would be split three ways, with Fulton County contributing $300 million through bonds rather than general fund dollars.

The Fulton County Board of Commissioners is expected to vote on the plan Wednesday morning.

Residents in the area have faced limited access to emergency care since Wellstar closed Atlanta Medical Center and its East Point hospital, leaving thousands without a nearby emergency room.

“People in South Fulton need and deserve a hospital,” Fulton County Chairman Robb Pitts said.

Pitts said a study conducted by consulting firm Ernst & Young confirmed the region’s need for a hospital. In some cases, Pitts said emergency response times were too long.

“From an emergency point of view, it was quicker to go to Macon than to drive to downtown Atlanta,” Pitts said.

County leaders said the proposed hospital is the final phase of a three-part plan to restore health care access in the area. The first phase includes a freestanding medical clinic, while the second involves a medical office complex.

“And the third phase — what people have been asking for — is a new hospital," he said.

The clinic is already under construction and is expected to open later this year.

If approved, officials said the hospital could take five to six years to design and build.

“This is truly light at the end of the tunnel,” Pitts said.

If commissioners do not approve the plan, Pitts said county leaders will return to the drawing board, emphasizing that a hospital in south Fulton County remains a critical need for the community.