The Best Soap Opera In Town

A hospital in crisis. Billions of dollars at stake. Local power brokers, some with questionable motives, trying to be the hero. A private University with a sterling reputation accused of taking from the poor to fill their own coffers.

The Bradys vs the DiMara's? Nope. The ongoing saga of Grady Hospital.

Its a story known to the taxpayers of Dekalb and Fulton counties for decades. Although Grady supports trauma care for the entire 28 counties of the Atlanta Metropolitan Area and to some degree the entire state, it has been the home owners of these two counties who have footed the bill since the first brick was layed.

Now that Grady is so awash in debt it may have to close its doors in September, the rest of the state is suddenly very aware Georgia may face its most serious healthcare crisis ever. And everyone is finally stepping up to the plate.

The good news is everyone understands the stakes and comprehends something has to be done. Even "small government conservatives" such as Glenn Richardson, Casey Cagle and Sen. David Shafer admit it is finally time for the state to begin assisting the beleagured institution. Although, there offer and its attached strings have raised some eyebrows from those who have spent careers trying to get the guys and gals just up Piedmont Road to notice.

The bad news is all the ugliness and ill feelings will now erupt in the open. The bad management practices, the alledged two faced actions of Emory, the double edged sword of Medicade / Medicare funding, all the seemy sordid mess of trying to run a major metropolitan hospital relying almost completely on public funds.

And the "friday cliffhanger" of this story is not even in sight yet.