Grady CEO apologizes for ‘shine my shoes' remark

Grady's chief executive apologized Wednesday for saying Fulton County residents "should want to shine my shoes" for engineering the hospital's financial turnaround, according to Channel 2 Action News.

The TV station obtained a letter that CEO Michael Young sent to Grady Memorial Hospital's board of directors and the Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority. In it, he apologized for the comment he made to Buckhead business leaders.

"My statement was terribly [insensitive] to Fulton County taxpayers and does not reflect my true feelings," the letter states. "Please accept my heartfelt apology for this mistake and please keep in mind that it came from an innocent place. I often get excited about the changes we've made at Grady and the impact the health system is having on the community, and sometimes my words get ahead of my brain."

At a breakfast meeting with the Buckhead Business Association, Young said the people of Fulton County "should want to shine my shoes. In 2007, Fulton County gave Grady $76 million. This year Fulton County is going to give $50 million. So I have reduced your tax exposure by $26 million."

Young was hired in 2008 as part of a restructuring of Grady's leadership, which included replacing the old politically appointed board with one comprised of business and community leaders. A Grady spokesman credited Young with taking the hospital from a $51 million operating deficit in 2008 to a $34 million surplus last year, not including more than $300 million raised in a fund-raising drive for capital improvements.

Young improved bill collections and patient care, and workers received merit raises for the first time in about three years, according to the spokesman.

Young also laid off 141 employees and closed the outpatient dialysis unit.