UNION CITY, GA — After years without a hospital south of I-20, residents of south Fulton County are welcoming long-awaited news; a new standalone emergency center is coming to Union City, promising quicker access to critical care.

At a recent town hall, Grady Health System officials shared plans for the state-of-the-art facility, which is expected to open in fall 2026. The event drew roughly 100 local residents, many of whom expressed relief that they’ll no longer have to drive up to an hour in traffic to reach an emergency room.

“About 20 minutes at the quickest, and that’s without traffic, it’s up to an hour with traffic,” said one resident of the current travel time to the nearest ER.

The new emergency department will be fully equipped to handle urgent cases and will offer the same level of care as Grady’s downtown Atlanta location. “We’ll be able to do everything in this emergency department that we’ll be able to do in main Grady,” said one Grady official.

For residents like one woman whose husband recently received a pacemaker, the center’s arrival is life-changing. “We don’t have to go downtown, so it’s going to be great that he can come here,” she said.

Another resident called the development “phenomenal,” adding, “The distance that you would have to drive to get this type of service, and now it’s within our neighborhood, it’s a relief.”

The new facility marks a major step in closing the healthcare access gap for communities in metro Atlanta’s southern region, where hospitals have long been scarce.

WSBs Ashley Simmons contributed to this story