South Fulton leaders hopeful new investment will address crucial healthcare gap on Atlanta's south side

March 5, 2018, marked the beginning of a traumatic chain of events that ended with Gregory Clark Ellison Sr.'s death.  

Ellison was a respected Atlanta businessman, community leader, and family patriarch. Close to 2500 people attended his funeral to pay respects at Cascade United Methodist Church.

Ellison suffered a pulmonary embolism inside the family's South Fulton home. His sons Gregory Ellison II and Daren Ellison tell CBS News Atlanta that it was an hour and a half after 911 was called that their father arrived at the hospital, where he later died.

The Ellisons' story highlights a bigger problem for this on Atlanta's south side - access to emergency and speciality care, one that has increased since the closure of Atlanta Medical Center South in East Point.

Speaking publicly for the first time since his father's death, Darren Ellison said the experience has left the family questioning whether or not access to faster medical care could have changed the outcome for his father.

"Not only the main campus at Emory, but Emory Midtown and St. Joseph's, Northside and Piedmont Hospital," he said. "There would've been four hospitals in proximity, and he would've received adequate care in the eight to 13 minutes for this very critical health incident."

As South Fulton prepares for a new era of healthcare investment, the Ellison family hope their story serves as a reminder of what is at stake. For decades, residents and officials alike have raised the issue regarding limited access to hospitals and specialty care in South Fulton. Now, county leaders and health officials are earmarking funds to address those issues.

Improvements are happening because of funding directed to medical facilities in that area. Grady's South Fulton Emergency Department opened June 2. On the campus where a full-service hospital and medical campus is planned near Campbellton-Fairburn Road. The full-service hospital is expected to be fully operational by 2031.

The campus is expected to include a wide range of healthcare services spearheaded by Grady for children and adults across the region.

"For generations, we have been a cornerstone of Atlanta's healthcare system by strengthening the region's infrastructure, advancing economic stability, and empowering communities to not just survive, but thrive," said Grady President and CEO John Harper.  

Grady officials said the medical campus will offer imaging services, a surgery center, specialty clinics, pharmacy services, rehabilitation, and a full floor dedicated to pediatric care provided by Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.  The campus will include a 200-bed hospital that will serve as a Level 3 trauma center - equipped to assess, resuscitate, perform emergency surgery, stabilize patients with serious injuries, and transfer people with complex injuries to higher-level trauma centers.

Leaders at Children's Health of Atlanta are excited about the partnership with Grady.

"We will probably sublease from Grady 21,000 square feet. It is planned that we will be on the fourth floor of a space totally dedicated to pediatrics," said Ron Frierson, the chief operating officer for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.

"We are still solidifying the exact services by working with a lot of community pediatricians, understanding what they believe the needs are," Frierson explained. "But you can expect services like pulmonology, endocrinology, orthopedics and GI,"

"Our commitment is to make sure that we have some kind of children's facility within 30 minutes of anybody in the metro Atlanta area," he added.

Even now, the brothers say their father's legacy continues to guide them.

Ellison Sr. spent more than four decades building a respected accounting career. According to his sons, he served as chief auditor for major organizations including Coca-Cola, Hershey's, MARTA, the City of Atlanta and the City of Houston. He was also deeply involved in civic and community organizations.

"He was one of the founding members of the National Association of Black Accountants," Greg Ellison, II said. He did a lot of work with the United Negro College Fund and 100 Black Men of America. He was a pillar in Atlanta."

Children's Hospital of Atlanta opened Children's Adamsville Pediatrics on June 29. The facility will serve as a permanent medical home for children and young adults to reduce long commutes to pediatric care, the hospital said.