Community Outreach

Community Outreach

Community Outreach

Community Outreach at Wellstar

Wellstar Health System is a nonprofit organization and is committed to being an engaged community partner. At Wellstar, we are more than healthcare, we are PeopleCare, and our passion for people extends into the communities we serve. We are committed to elevating the health and well-being of our community through outreach and partnership that honors all voices.

Wellstar relies on and values our community partners and the role they play in positively impacting the health and well-being of every person we serve.

Wellstar partners with mission-aligned and other non-profit organizations to address priority health needs and social determinants of health as defined through our Community Health Needs Assessments, and that also further a social cause and provide community benefit.

We work alongside our business and civic partners and leaders to amplify health awareness, contribute to economic development and growth, and to help our communities thrive through service.

We also partner with both academic and other organizations dedicated to career development to help prepare the next generation of caregivers and healthcare workers in both clinical and non-clinical capacities.

In addition to community partnerships, Wellstar also engages in our community through corporate volunteerism, sponsorships, event participation and speaking engagements that align with our areas of focus. Each request for Wellstar to provide community support is carefully considered. Please contact us about speaking engagements, sponsorships, events, and other partnership opportunities.

If you would like to receive our monthly Community Update eNewsletter, please submit your request here: [email protected]

Just a few outreach examples

Wellstar supports our partner organizations such as those providing access to food and housing by engaging our team members in volunteerism and community service through Wellstar’s CommunityCare initiative.

Wellstar also provides health education and awareness on important health and wellness topics such as cardiac health and stroke prevention, breast and prostate cancer prevention, and mental health including suicide prevention, and substance abuse prevention and treatment.

Wellstar Partnership Supports New Mothers

Wellstar Health System has partnered with Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Georgia (HMHBGA) to provide maternal health resources in support of new mothers and birth givers in Georgia.

Learn more

News

Highlights

Make Lung Health Your Habit

Whether you’re running a marathon or simply running errands, having healthy lungs helps you to live comfortably and do the activities you enjoy.

Lung health is an important part of overall wellness. It’s best to prevent health issues before they start, and Wellstar experts will partner with you to personalize a plan to keep your lungs healthy.

Book an appointment online to check in with a provider about your lung health and follow these tips to breathe a little easier.

Don’t smoke or vape

If you are a smoker, keep in mind that there are both short-term and long-term benefits to quitting. One to nine months after the last cigarette, your shortness of breath should decrease. Within 10 years of quitting, a former smoker's risk of developing lung cancer is 30% to 50% below that of a person who continues to smoke.

Also, if you don’t smoke, do not pick up the habit. Nicotine is highly addictive, even more so than many other drugs including narcotic opiates, according to Wellstar Pulmonologist Dr. Hitendra Patel.

Dr. Patel said that vaping is gaining popularity, especially among younger people. However, vaping irritates a person’s airways and increases their risk of asthma.

“Nothing but air should go in and out of the lungs,” Dr. Patel said. “Any other chemical or substance, or inhalation of smoke of any kind, is going to be detrimental and harmful.”

Wellstar Primary Care Physician Dr. Jignesh Dholaria said misinformation about vaping is common.

“People have the notion that vaping is somehow safer and that it doesn’t have the same chemicals that cigarettes do,” Dr. Dholaria said. “We’re seeing a lot more harmful effects from vaping just because we don’t always know all the chemicals that are in these vapes. That has caused a lot more lung-related injuries.”

Get your exercise and sleep

While staying active is a critical component of overall wellness, it’s especially important to keep your lungs in top shape.

“As you’re breathing in and out, getting rid of carbon dioxide and inhaling more oxygen, that helps your tissues, which helps you feel better overall,” Dr. Dholaria said.

Even if it is raining—or if pollutants are especially high that day and you’re worried about lung irritation—there are ways to get your steps in. Dr. Patel recommends going to an air-conditioned shopping mall or store to get some exercise if being outside is not an option.

“Continuing to exercise to the fullest of your body’s ability is an important step of maintaining whatever lung health you have,” Dr. Patel said. “If you start with healthy lungs, staying on an exercise program and regimen is vital.”

Balance that exercise with some rest, too. Dr. Patel, who is also the medical director of the Wellstar sleep program, said being well-rested can ward off sickness, including some respiratory illnesses.

“If you don’t sleep well, that means your immune system is not going to function as well as it should,” he said.

Try breathing exercises

In addition to getting your sleep, some relaxation and breathing techniques can have benefits for both mental wellness and lung health.

Dr. Patel recommends “4-7-8 breathing,” which involves inhaling for four seconds, holding your breath for seven seconds and then exhaling for eight seconds.

Benefits of breathing exercises may include lower stress and anxiety levels, lower blood pressure and better sleep.

Manage your asthma

If you have asthma, know your lungs and avoid the environmental triggers that cause the condition to flare up, Dr. Patel said. Common triggers include pet dander, seasonal changes, allergens like perfume and smoke inhalation.

Asthma can also run in families, although there is often no specific reason why a person develops asthma, Dr. Patel said.

“Sometimes people underestimate how bad asthma can be,” Dr. Patel said.

If you have asthma, see your primary care physician to monitor your lung health. Pulmonologists specialize in caring for people’s lungs, and they often collaborate with primary care clinicians to create personalized plans to manage their patients’ asthma.

Ask your care team about screenings

Early detection is key in cancer treatment, but many lung cancers present in later stages, Dr. Patel said.

“In that area in the middle of the lungs and the middle of the chest, there are no pain fibers or pain sensors in there,” Dr. Patel said. “If a tumor occurs there, patients don’t know it. They don’t feel it, and it doesn’t hurt them.”

Lung cancer is sometimes found when it spreads and causes complications, Dr. Patel said.

If you are at increased risk for developing lung cancer, ask your care team about screenings. You should consider screenings if you are a current or past smoker. Visit our lung cancer screening page to learn more about if screening, which involves low-dose CT scans, could benefit you. To keep up with your lung health, find a Wellstar physician near you.

Illustration of provider inspecting lung

Highlights

Wellstar Offers Saturday Hours for Lung Cancer Screening Day November 9

Lung cancer screening can detect cancer earlier, before symptoms show up. Earlier-stage cancers are more easily treatable and more frequently cured, so if you are at increased risk of developing lung cancer, you could benefit from regular low-dose CT scans to monitor your lung health. To expand access to these vital screenings, Wellstar will offer screenings at several imaging locations on Saturday, November 9.

“Lung screening improves a person’s chances of detecting a lung cancer at an early stage and being cured of that cancer,” said Wellstar Thoracic Surgeon Dr. William Mayfield.

Wellstar is partnering with the American Cancer Society National Lung Cancer Roundtable, the American College of Radiology, the Radiology Health Equity Coalition, and GO2 for Lung Cancer to celebrate National Lung Cancer Screening Day Saturday, November 9. While lung scans are always available at Wellstar’s conveniently located imaging centers during regular business hours, offering these Saturday hours will help patients fit screenings into their schedules.

Ask your care team about whether you meet the criteria for screening, or call to learn more about qualifying and to schedule a scan.

Call us to learn more and make an appointment for a scan:

(470) 793-4AIR (4247) for all locations except those in Augusta
(706) 721-XRAY (9729) for Wellstar MCG Health Medical Center
(706) 723-8860 for Wellstar MCG Health Imaging at 3722 Wheeler Road in Augusta

The following Wellstar imaging locations will be open Saturday, November 9:

Wellstar Acworth Health Park, 4550 Cobb Parkway North NW, Suite 109 in Acworth: Open from 7 AM to 6:30 PM
Wellstar Avalon Health Park, 2450 Old Milton Parkway, Suite 101 in Alpharetta: Open from 8 AM to noon
Wellstar Camp Creek Imaging, 3890 Redwine Road SW, Suite 104 in Atlanta: Open from 7 AM to noon
Wellstar Cherokee Health Park, 1120 Wellstar Way, Suite 104 in Holly Springs: Open from 8 AM to 4 PM
Wellstar Cobb Medical Center, 1625 Hospital North Drive in Austell: Open from 8 AM to noon
Wellstar East Cobb Health Park, 3747 Roswell Road, Suite 102 in Marietta: Open from 8 AM to noon
Wellstar MCG Health Imaging, 3722 Wheeler Road, Suite A in Augusta: Open 8 AM to 8 PM
Wellstar Kennestone Cancer Center, 340 Kennestone Hospital Blvd., Suite LL 10 in Marietta: Open from 7 AM to noon
Wellstar MCG Health Medical Center, 1120 15th St., Entrance F Second Floor in Augusta: Open from noon to 4 PM
Wellstar Paulding Medical Center, 2518 Jimmy Lee Smith Parkway in Hiram: Open from 7 AM to 7 PM
Wellstar Spalding Medical Center, 601 South 8th St. in Griffin: Open from 8 AM to noon

In addition to these special hours November 9, low-dose CT lung scans are available at several Wellstar imaging locations.

Highlights

Partner with Wellstar Center for Genetics to Reduce Your Risk of Cancer

While the cancer care experts at Wellstar are dedicated to providing world-class cancer treatment, our care teams are also committed to preventing disease and helping you evaluate your risk so you can be proactive with your health.

Some patients may have an increased risk of developing cancer if they have a family history or a genetic mutation. For example, a family history of prostate cancer could be indicative of a genetic mutation that increases the family’s risk for breast cancer, and vice versa. The Wellstar Center for Genetics determines if you may develop or carry certain genetic disorders. Using a compassionate approach, Wellstar genetic counselors ensure patients have the information they need to make an educated decision about genetic testing. Our team supports you every step of the way, answering questions and often working through complicated emotions.

At Wellstar, our focus is PeopleCare—personalized healthcare tailored uniquely for you. Your care team will ask you about your family’s history of cancer, including if you have had any relatives with cancer. If you do have a family history, they will ask how old your family members were when they got diagnosed.

If you have a family history of cancer, your doctor might recommend you start screenings such as mammograms or prostate-specific antigen tests earlier or get screened more frequently. Your care team may also suggest preventative measures like medications or lifestyle changes, and they’ll partner with you to take action against potential cancers.

Some possible signs of hereditary cancer include:

Unusually early age of cancer onset
Multiple primary cancers in a single patient—primary cancers are an original tumor that forms in the body before the cancer potentially spreads
Cancer in paired organs (such as in cancer in both breasts)
Multi-generational cancers
Rare tumors
An unusual presentation, such as male breast cancer
Belonging to an ethnic group known to be at high risk for hereditary cancers
No environmental explanation for the cancer

Your care team may evaluate your risk of hereditary cancer by looking at your BRCA genes. Mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes are most commonly associated with breast cancer, but they are also tied to an increased risk of several other cancers, including ovarian, pancreatic and prostate cancers. A BRCA gene mutation can also make a man more likely to develop breast cancer.

“Since these genetic mutations can affect someone’s risk for several different types of cancer, it’s important that you discuss any family history of cancer with both your relatives and your Wellstar care team,” Wellstar Urologist Dr. Justin Watson said.

These conversations can be beneficial to both you and your family members.

“Men diagnosed with prostate cancer at an early age may pass along a higher genetic risk for both prostate and breast cancer to their children,” Dr. Scott Miller, Wellstar Urology specialty lead and director of robotic surgical services, explained. “Understanding these risks empowers families to take preventive steps earlier and opens the door to targeted screening programs.”

If you are wondering if you may have a genetic predisposition to certain cancers, the Wellstar Center for Genetics has eight convenient locations, and our genetic counselors can help you learn more about your risk. Your physician can refer you for genetic testing, or you can contact the genetics team directly to make an appointment. In an initial 45-minute appointment, your genetic counselor will meet with you to review your family history and discuss testing options. Most testing can be done with a saliva sample.

Genetic testing is one way that families can work to protect and inform each other so everyone can reduce their cancer risk. “The whole family is in this together,” Kimberly King-Spohn, director of the Wellstar Center for Genetics, said. “Testing helps us manage their risk and know what they're at risk for, and it's an opportunity for prevention.”

To learn more about the Wellstar Center for Genetics or make an appointment, call (470) 793-7472.

Wellstar Community Outreach