HR 1797: Grady Memorial Hospital; rename to Grady-Bell Memorial Hospital; urge

This resolution does not change any law. It expresses the Georgia House of Representatives' position urging the governing authorities responsible for Grady Memorial Hospital to rename it Grady-Bell Memorial Hospital. The resolution recounts that the hospital is currently named for Henry Grady, described in the text as an outspoken white supremacist, and argues for adding recognition of Dr. Roy Charles Bell Sr., a Black dentist and civil rights leader who led the legal fight that desegregated the hospital through the 1962 U.S. Supreme Court case Bell v. Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority. The resolution directs the Clerk of the House to make copies available to the public and press, but it has no binding legal effect on the Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority or any other body; it is a statement urging action, not a mandate.

• Formally urges the governing authorities of Grady Memorial Hospital to rename it Grady-Bell Memorial Hospital.
• States the House's position that Dr. Roy Charles Bell Sr. should be honored for leading the legal effort that desegregated the hospital.
• Directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to distribute copies of the resolution to the public and press.
• Creates no new law, funding, or legal requirement; it only expresses the chamber's urging on a naming decision.

The Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority, which governs Grady Memorial Hospital and would be the body asked to act on the renaming; hospital patients, staff, and the Atlanta community who interact with the institution; and the public, who would see any name change reflected in signage and records.

If the hospital authority follows the resolution's urging, the name Grady-Bell Memorial Hospital would replace the current name on the public institution, changing how the hospital is publicly identified and adding recognition of a local civil rights figure alongside the hospital's original namesake.

• The resolution's whereas clauses describe Henry Grady's history and Dr. Roy Charles Bell Sr.'s role in the 1962 case Bell v. Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority that desegregated the hospital.
• The resolving clause urges 'the appropriate governing authorities to take all necessary steps to rename Grady Memorial Hospital to Grady-Bell Memorial Hospital.'
• A further resolved clause directs the Clerk of the House to make copies available for distribution to the public and press.
• As a resolution rather than a bill, it carries no penalty, funding, or enforcement mechanism and does not amend the Georgia Code.

1. 2026-03-23House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-03-20House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-03-19House Hopper (House)

• Eric Bell (D, HD-075)Primary sponsor
• Park Cannon (D, HD-058)
• Carl Gilliard (D, HD-162)
• Al Williams (D, HD-168)
• Edna Jackson (D, HD-165)
• Carolyn Hugley (D, HD-141)

• Grady Memorial Hospital
• hospital renaming
• civil rights history
• Atlanta healthcare
• Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority