Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center Appoints New President

Many people in low-income neighborhoods go without essential healthcare services, with reasons including lack of insurance, unreliable transportation or inflexible work schedules. At Wellstar Center for Health Equity, we’re excited to offer a simple solution for people living in northwest Atlanta: no-cost digital health services. Digital health services, also called telehealth or telemedicine, allow people to schedule virtual visits with a healthcare professional to access the care they need—when they need it.

This solution is possible thanks to a partnership between Wellstar, Family Life Restoration Center in Mableton and Giving Health, a Georgia-based telemedicine provider. To participate, people can sign up at Family Life Restoration Center. Then, they can schedule online telehealth appointments using a phone, smart device or computer. The program provides 24/7 access to:

• Primary care providers for urgent and non-urgent needs
• Mental health counselors
• Free lab testing
• Referrals to other providers and community services

Participants can use the digital health service for up to a year. Staff and volunteers at Family Life Restoration Center can help participants apply for Medicaid and find a primary care practice when they are ready.

Health and wellness success with telehealth

While the telehealth program is new, Giving Health has provided telehealth for low-income and uninsured people since 2019. They also offer after-hours digital health services for many clinics in the Wellstar Community Clinic Network.

Family Life Restoration Center is also part of the Wellstar Community Clinic Network, which was launched nearly 10 years ago to better serve the most vulnerable and under-resourced people in our communities.

Many people in Mableton and other areas in South Cobb County are living below the poverty line. Many do not have a primary care provider or health insurance. Round-the-clock access to telehealth can make a significant impact on people’s lives, helping them experience better health and avoid unnecessary trips to the emergency department.

The Family Life Restoration Center provides community members with food, clothing, spiritual encouragement and referrals to nearby social services. Wellstar has worked with the center for over a decade to meet the community’s needs, including vaccination clinics, health screenings and patient education programs.

Check out the Wellstar Find Help Tool

Another way we’re meeting health needs in our community is with the Wellstar Find Help Tool. It allows people to search for free or reduced-cost resources, including:

• Clothing
• Financial assistance
• Food
• Housing
• Legal aid
• Personal care items
• Transportation

The tool, available in several languages, is one of several Wellstar initiatives to improve the health well-being of every person we serve by connecting them with resources such as nutritious foods, housing and education.

Learn more about the Wellstar Center for Health Equity.

AUGUSTA, Ga. (Dec. 2, 2024) – Wellstar MCG Health is transforming healthcare in the state and advancing medical education for the next generation of caregivers. A new 1-year progress report details the significant strides that have been made since Wellstar Health System and Augusta University’s Medical College of Georgia (MCG) joined forces last year.

This strategic affiliation combines Augusta University’s academic excellence and research capabilities with Wellstar’s extensive healthcare expertise and resources. Since beginning the partnership on Aug. 30, 2023, Wellstar MCG Health has improved access to care, made substantial investments in facilities, and expanded innovative programs aimed at serving Georgia’s unique healthcare needs.

Highlights from the Year-One Progress Report:

• Expanded Access to Care:
  • Hired 129 new physicians, a net increase of 60 doctors in the region.
  • Opened multiple urgent care centers and launched the mobile "On the Go Primary Care" van to serve underserved communities.
• Enhanced Facilities and Technology:
  • Funded more than $82 million in capital improvements, including the first major remodeling of the Children’s Hospital of Georgia since it opened in 1998.
  • Modernized or replaced ultrasound equipment, operating room equipment, x-ray machines, anesthesia machines, defibrillators, and imaging workstations, among many other improvements.
  • Completed implementation of the Epic electronic medical records system well ahead of schedule in just 14 months, enhancing quality, safety, and accessibility for patients and clinicians alike.
• Support for Healthcare Workers:
  • Increased the minimum wage to $15 per hour, provided raises for 1,500 team members, and expanded wellness benefits, including mental health support and family care services.
• Advancements in Digital Health:
  • Partnered with more than 20 rural hospitals to provide telehealth services, allowing 75% of patients to remain in their local communities for care.
  • Became the first and only hospital in Georgia approved to offer an Acute Care Hospital at Home program.

“We’re proud of the progress we’ve made in this first year,” said Candice L. Saunders, president and CEO of Wellstar Health System. “From expanding access to care and enhancing our facilities to investing in our people, we’re dedicated to a brighter, healthier future for Georgia. This partnership is a testament to what we can achieve when we bring together academic and healthcare excellence.”

Dr. Russell Keen, president of Augusta University, added, “A great example of how Wellstar and Augusta University are collectively improving the lives of Georgians is the ongoing collaboration between MCG researchers and clinicians in the Georgia Cancer Center, the Children’s Hospital of Georgia and the MCG Center for Telehealth. I couldn’t be more pleased with the collaborative spirit, shared passion and culture of innovation that permeate Augusta University and Wellstar Health System.”

The Wellstar and Augusta University/Medical College of Georgia partnership will continue to evolve and expand its impact, with projects such as the new Wellstar Columbia County Medical Center, affiliated with the Medical College of Georgia, slated to open in 2026, which will bring acute care services to Georgia’s largest county without an existing hospital.

Wellstar’s Comprehensive Aortic Program has identified thousands of hidden aneurysms in the past two years. The goal of the program is to help people before their conditions become life-threatening.

Aortic aneurysms are bulges in the body’s largest blood vessel. They can burst and cause severe damage or death if they become too big. Unfortunately, most people never know they have one because they are typically asymptomatic until they rupture.

However, the aortic experts at Wellstar found a way to help people before they have an emergency.

“When patients have CT scans at Wellstar for other reasons, we use artificial intelligence (AI) to sift through them and find images of someone who may have aneurysm,” said Wellstar Cardiothoracic Surgeon Dr. James Ryan Burke. “That allows us to proactively contact them and bring them in if appropriate for evaluation to discuss that diagnosis.”

Since the program launch in July 2022, more than 4,700 people with aneurysms have been placed under surveillance—a protocol to monitor people who have a risk. Surveillance allows people to avoid undergoing unnecessary surgery but to know when the aneurysm grows larger and becomes a greater concern.

For people who had large, potentially life-threatening aneurysms, cardiovascular surgeons and vascular surgeons performed more than 700 advanced procedures at Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center since the program began.

“These are major cardiac operations only performed in centers that offer complex aortic surgery,” Dr. Burke said. “The outcomes are best when done in experienced centers that do a high volume of procedures, like Wellstar Kennestone.”

Patient-centered aortic care

“This program is very patient-oriented. We have an excellent team of dedicated physicians at Wellstar to accomplish our mission and I think it’s very beneficial for both patients and physicians,” said Dr. Michael Corey of Vascular Surgical Associates.

The aortic program at Wellstar provides a higher level of aortic care than a patient would typically find in a local hospital. What makes the program unique is:

• The multispecialty team of aortic experts working together
• The cutting-edge AI technology used to identify patients who are unaware they have an aneurysm
• A high-tech hybrid operating room (OR) for open or minimally invasive procedures
• The latest surgical techniques and technology
• A high volume of procedures performed

“The aorta is the largest blood vessel in the body. It runs from the heart, through the chest and abdomen and down to the legs,” said Dr. Burke. “When you have a disease process involving the aorta, it requires multiple specialties.”

Wellstar’s specialized aortic team includes cardiovascular surgeons, vascular surgeons, cardiologists, anesthesiologists, radiologists, nurse practitioners and physician assistants.

There is also a cardiac hybrid OR that brings a catheterization lab and surgery suite together in one space, making aortic aneurysm treatment more efficient and encouraging collaboration between our expert providers.

“The hybrid OR is a state-of-the-art, innovative, open operating room where patients can receive complex aortic reconstructions—procedures that have open surgery components to them—as well as endovascular (or minimally invasive) aortic reconstructions. This all can take place in one nice operating room,” Dr. Corey said.

The aortic program is part of a larger heart care program at Wellstar, based at Wellstar Kennestone, the first in Georgia and the fourth in the nation to receive Comprehensive Cardiac Care Center Certification by The Joint Commission and American Heart Association. This is the highest certification in cardiovascular care.

Learn more or schedule an appointment with an aortic disease specialist.