Egg McMuffins and emergency room care shouldn’t go together, a group of dieticians is arguing.
ATLANTA – Egg McMuffins and emergency room care shouldn’t go together, a group of dieticians is arguing.
Three billboards have gone up near Grady Memorial Hospital urging the hospital to not renew its lease with McDonald’s. The fast food restaurant sits just steps from the front door of the hospital.
One billboard, which is placed just over a 1,000 feet from the hospital, features a woman in a hospital bed. It states “Clogged Arteries? Your Heart’s Not Lovin’ the Fatty Fast Food,” the billboard states. “Ask your local hospital to go #FastFoodFree!”
Another billboard is on Metropolitan Parkway, while a third greets drivers on Ted Turner Drive.
According to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, the group behind the billboards, Grady’s contract with the fast food restaurant ends on June 28.
The group is urging Grady to “improve its food environment by expanding its offerings of heart-healthy, plant-based options.”
"It is surprising to me that major medical institutions would have a fatty fast food restaurant right in the middle of their campus," said Dr. Neil Cooper of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine,
The group hopes that the billboards will get the attention of the Grady Memorial Hospital board of directors before its May 9 meeting. At that meeting, dietician Karen Smith will testify and echo the billboards’ message.
According to documents the group says it obtained through Georgia’s Open Records Act, the hospital has a “percentage-rent” agreement with McDonald’s. That means the more food sold at the restaurant, the more the hospital gets.
Grady gave 11Alive a written statement saying: "The health system will be exploring a number of options for the current McDonald's location in the coming weeks and months. No decision has been made at this time."
McDonald's has not responded to 11Alive's request for comment.
