Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) fourth-year medical student Daryl Knight was among 10 medical, nursing and law students from MSM, Emory University School of Medicine, and other Georgia institutions that participated in a "Grady is Vital Letter-Writing Campaign" at the Georgia State Capitol. The Dec.18, 2007 event was designed to encourage policy makers to commit state funding to Grady Memorial Hospital as a vital health-care resource for all of Georgia. Health Students Taking Action Together (HealthSTAT) created the campaign. Grady - the largest public hospital in the Southeast - is in the throes of a financial crisis and could close if it does not receive necessary funding.

After gathering in the rotunda and talking with a news crew from Atlanta CBS affiliate WGCL-TV, the young activists collectively delivered 500 hand-written letters to the offices of Gov. Sonny Perdue, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, and House Speaker Glenn Richardson. In the letters, students expressed their thoughts regarding the direct effect the closing of Grady would not only have on medical students who someday hope to train at Grady, but on the many patients served by Grady.

A spokesperson for the students emphasized that most physicians choose to stay in the state in which they practice, and if Grady were to close, medical residents would be forced to go elsewhere for their future careers and endeavors in medicine. "The physicians at Grady are wonderful doctors and wonderful people. I would like to be trained by Grady physicians," said Knight. According to HealthStat, Georgia is already facing a crisis with its doctor and nurse shortage and reportedly is 38th in the country in the number of practicing doctors and 44th in the rate of practicing doctors to patients.