Grady Hospital CEO Michael Young Apologizes for Saying Residents of Fulton County, Ga., Should "Shine His Shoes" for Turning Troubled Hospital Around

The head of Atlanta's Grady Memorial Hospital, Michael Young, has issued an apology for derogatory comments he made at a meeting of local business leaders. According to WSB-TV, while he spoke at a breakfast meeting of the Buckhead Business Association, he bragged about how quickly he turned the hospital's financial mess around. He then said that the people of Fulton County “should want to shine my shoes. In 2007, Fulton County gave Grady $76 million. This year Fulton County is going to give $50 million. So I have reduced your tax exposure by $26 million.”

Young sent an apology Wednesday afternoon: “My statement was terribly insensitive to Fulton County taxpayers and does not reflect my true feelings. Please accept my heartfelt apology for this mistake and please keep in mind that it came from an innocent place. I often get excited about the changes we’ve made at Grady and the impact the health system is having on the community, and sometimes my words get ahead of my brain.”

Young took over as CEO of Grady Hospital in 2008, with the hospital on the verge of financial ruin. In May 2010, the hospital announced it was operating at a profit. Source: WST-TV

Wow, telling people in the Deep South to "shine his shoes" somehow brings back memories of Jim Crow to me, considering the fact that Fulton County has a high concentration of blacks.Why utter words you know you'll regret? He could have simply said, the residents of Fulton County got the benefit of his stellar record of turning businesses around.