‘Saved my life’: Midtown shooting survivor praises Atlanta Medical Center staff as hospital closes

ATLANTA — After more than 100 years in operation, Atlanta Medical Center closed its doors Tuesday.

Wellstar Health System said it closed the facility because of financial reasons.

Now, for the first time, we are hearing from a man who survived a mass shooting this summer near Colony Square in midtown Atlanta.

Michael Horne, 69, told Channel 2′s Tom Jones that if AMC were not open back then, he would not be here today.

Horne had a gunshot wound to the chest and was bleeding out. He said Grady Memorial Hospital was full so it couldn’t take him.

Horne wonders what would have happened if AMC had been shut down when he needed urgent trauma care.

“They literally have saved my life,” Horne said. “I was on my way to Grady and Grady was full.”

So EMTs rushed him to the closest trauma center -- Atlanta Medical Center.

“They were waiting for me when I got there, the whole team,” Horne said.

Horne told Jones that AMC kept him alive.

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“The folks at Atlanta Medical, had they not been there, I wouldn’t be talking to you right now. That’s how close it was,” Horne said.

Horne can’t believe the hospital that saved his life is now shut down.

“This is your Level I trauma center and you’re just going to close the doors?” Horne asked.

He didn’t want to talk much about the shooting where Raissa Kengne is accused of gunning down two men she filed lawsuits against.

But he did say this:

“I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I was not a target,” Horne said.

Horne wanted to talk about the exceptional care he got at AMC during his 5 1/2 week stay.

He also cautioned that with AMC closed, Grady Memorial Hospital can’t divert trauma patients like him.

“If Grady is full, where do you take folks? And will they make it to that next place?” Horne asked.

Horne said there had to be something that could have been done to keep the hospital open.

He said it’s that important to this community, especially with all the gun violence we are seeing.

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Atlanta Medical Center closes its doors for good

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