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A few bright spots in community health
Atlanta’s safety-net clinics are feeling the federal pinch – but they also have good news and successes to report.
Rebecca Grapevine
August 07, 2025
Hi, Atlanta!
When I was starting out as a journalist, one of my very first articles was about how safety-net clinics in Atlanta were managing during the Covid pandemic. This week, I jumped at the chance to reconnect with those clinics when Mercy Care hosted a luncheon to celebrate National Health Center Week.
Community health center leaders and other health advocates are worried about federal changes that could reduce funding and insurance coverage, making it harder for them to provide affordable care. But it’s not all bad news, they said at the Tuesday luncheon. They feel strong support from each other and the community as they navigate the uncertainty.
Here are some other bright spots:
Whitefoord, which runs a health clinic and an early childhood education center in east Atlanta, was recently selected by the School-Based Health Alliance to pilot a new care coordinator program designed to build trust, strengthen connections, and improve processes around day-to-day issues like scheduling and permission slips for school-based clinics.
HEALing Community Health recently launched the Healthy Mamas ATL initiative to help navigate all aspects of pregnancy and childbirth, including mental health, transportation support, and nutrition services. The new effort features snazzy comic-book inspired branding.
MedCura Health, formerly Oakhurst Medical Centers, has worked with Kaiser Permanente to dramatically reduce readmission rates for patients and adopted AI technology to reduce the documentation burden on providers.
The Center for Black Women’s Wellness has adopted a “perinatal dream team” model, where patients have access to family support services, doulas, and nurse care managers who can remotely monitor patients with hypertension and other conditions. The model has improved the patient experience, CEO Jemea Dorsey said.
Mosaic Health Center (formerly Clarkston Community Health Center) has leaned into partnerships to help patients access free colonoscopies, surgeries, medically tailored meals, and community resources.
From left to right, Jeff Taylor, CEO of MedCura Health, Verneda Curry, CEO of HEALing Community Health, and Craig Tindall, CEO of Whitefoord, attend Tuesday's luncheon. (Rebecca Grapevine / Healthbeat)
ICYMI
Here’s a recap of the latest reporting from Healthbeat:
Childhood immunizations: Georgia’s kindergarten vaccination rates decline as more parents claim exemptions
Technology: How AI can help public health agencies improve screening, prevention, and treatment of diseases
Covid shots: Sorting out Covid vaccine confusion: New and conflicting federal policies raise questions
The Grapevine 🍇
Head’s up that Washington is coming to Atlanta: Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, will be the keynote speaker for this year’s Health Connect South conference. He’ll be joined by Dr. Tom Price, former U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services, for a conversation about the future of health care. The one-day conference is now a fall tradition: Sept. 17.
What I’m hearing from readers:
This reporting is so important. Keep it up, Rebecca!
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What public health issues are you thinking about? What stories should I be looking into? You can reach me at [email protected] or reply to this email.
In health,
Rebecca
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