Marcus promises Grady $20 million

One of Atlanta’s most powerful business leaders is turning his attention —- and formidable resources —- to cash-strapped Grady Memorial Hospital.

Bernie Marcus, a co-founder of Home Depot and the force behind the Georgia Aquarium, has committed $20 million of his financial might to expand Grady’s trauma center and stroke care.

The gift, expected to be announced today, will expand the hospital’s trauma center to six bays from four and create a 20-bed intensive care unit for the victims of strokes and brain injuries.

“I think everybody in the city of Atlanta and in the state of Georgia understands it’s imperative for this hospital to succeed,” Marcus said Thursday. “We want to do our part.”

The donation marks the first contribution by the Marcus Foundation to the 100-year-old hospital, which has had problems attracting major donors. He said his decision was driven by a change in leadership at the hospital, which gained a new board and CEO last year.

“I think Grady was poorly run,” he said. “This is a very significant vote of confidence in the future of Grady.”

The new facilities will be named the Marcus Trauma Center at Grady and the Marcus Stroke & Neuroscience Center at Grady. Hospital officials said they are thrilled over the gift, and that they hope that the Marcus name will boost the hospital’s sometimes struggling reputation.

Grady is Atlanta’s only Level One trauma center and is the city’s major health care facility for the poor and uninsured. It has suffered multimillion-dollar deficits for years. But sweeping changes in leadership and the backing of some major Atlanta businesspeople have helped the hospital attract more donors and make improvements.

“It says worlds about where we’ve come at Grady,” said Pete Correll, the former head of Georgia-Pacific and chairman of the Grady board of directors.

“Bernie is willing to have the Marcus name and quality image” at Grady.

He added, “It’s going to save a lot of lives.”

Correll said he has known Marcus for a long time, and they’ve had several conversations about Marcus helping Grady. In helping the trauma center, Marcus wanted to build on a strength at Grady.

Marcus also has a strong financial relationship with the Shepherd Center, which specializes in rehabilitating people with brain and spinal cord injuries. He said he wanted to make sure these people get the best initial medical care before heading there. The stroke center must still receive state approval.

When Grady switched leadership to a new board of directors a year ago, the Woodruff Foundation pledged $200 million to help with capital improvements such as replacing outdated equipment. The Grady leadership has since vowed to raise an additional $125 million. Last year, medical insurer Kaiser Permanente donated $5 million.

Grady officials said they hope the Marcus gift will raise the bar for other donors and help bring more paying patients to the hospital, which provides some $250 million of free care a year.

Said Marcus, “When somebody has a stroke —- and they’re within driving distance to Grady —- I expect that in years to come they’ll say, ‘Take me to Grady.’ “