Get to Know Wellstar

About Wellstar

At Wellstar, people are at the center of everything we do and every decision we make. As a not-for-profit organization, we have made a generational commitment to transform healthcare for all. We work to ensure every person has access to personalized care that helps them spend more time being a person, rather than a patient. That’s what we mean when we say we’re more than healthcare–we’re PeopleCare.

Wellstar is nationally recognized for our inclusive culture, exceptional doctors and team members, and personal, high-quality care. We thoughtfully reinvest in prevention, wellness programs and charity care, and provide access to compassionate, world-class care through our expansive system of 11 hospitals, 329 medical office locations, 11 cancer centers, 91 rehabilitation centers, 35 imaging centers, 20 urgent care locations, five health parks, three hospice facilities and two retirement villages. To learn more about how we care for the communities we serve, visit wellstar.org.

Mission, Vision and Values

• Our Mission is to enhance the health and well-being of every person we serve.
• Our Vision is to deliver world-class healthcare to every person, every time.
• Our Values are to serve with compassion, pursue excellence and honor every voice.

Milestones

Wellstar has a breadth of historical firsts, including, but not limited to:

• Performed the nation’s first laparoscopic gallbladder removal at Kennestone Regional Medical Center (1988), now known as Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center
• Acquired Georgia’s first open high-field MRI scanner at Paulding Hospital (2008), now known as Wellstar Paulding Medical Center
• First orthopedic center in Georgia to achieve The Joint Commission’s Certificates of Distinction in both Management of Hip Fracture and Advanced Total Joint Replacement at Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center (2018)
• Launched Catalyst by Wellstar, a first-of-its-kind global digital health and innovation center (2021)
• Recognized as the only healthcare system in Georgia and one of 25 nationwide to receive a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2023)
• Named the second highest provider of charity care in the nation by Modern Healthcare (2023)
• First health system in Georgia and the fifth in the nation to be accredited as a Network Cancer Program run by the American College of Surgeons
• First health system in the nation to offer Sharecare digital health and wellness app to its team members

Coverage at a Glance

When we say we serve the community, we mean it. Wellstar medical centers, health parks, medical offices and other facilities are conveniently located across the state of Georgia.

• 11 hospitals
• 2,729 licensed beds
• 5 health parks
• 20 urgent care locations
• 329+ medical offices
• 11 cancer centers
• 91 rehabilitation centers
• 35 imaging centers
• 3 hospice facilities
• 2 retirement villages
• 9 pediatric centers
• 11 sleep labs
• 7 wound care centers
• 10 counties offering home health services

With more than 1 million patient visits in 2023, the Wellstar Health Parks in East Cobb, Acworth, Avalon, Cherokee and Vinings provided patients with seamless care and convenient access to primary care, specialists, outpatient procedures, pharmacy, urgent care, physical therapy and imaging—all at a single location. It’s part of our commitment to offer access to quality healthcare at the right time and place for our patients.

Clinical Expertise

Led by physicians and other clinicians, our service lines support and connect people, processes and technologies. Experts within each specialty bring their insight and innovation to colleagues across our system. The result is better patient care and a healthier community. Our clinical specialties include:

• Behavioral health
• Cardiovascular
• Digestive health
• Emergency care
• Hospital medicine
• Musculoskeletal
• Neuro care
• Oncology
• Pediatrics
• Primary care
• Pulmonary
• Surgery
• Women’s health

Community Needs

Wellstar remains dedicated to improving the health of the community. We conduct Community Health Needs Assessments (CHNAs) to help us better understand the unique healthcare needs of our communities. By working with a diverse group of community leaders and the Georgia Health Policy Center, we collect comprehensive data for our CHNAs. We implement a plan based on this data to develop actionable and measurable programs and services to optimize patient outcomes and improve overall community health.

The areas listed below emerged as priority for the communities that Wellstar serves and inform the Wellstar Center for Health Equity programs and partnerships.

• Access to care
• Behavioral health
• Food access and healthy living
• Housing
• Pediatrics
• Women's health

For more information on Wellstar Community Health Needs Assessment, visit our Community Health Needs Assessment website.

Innovation

Wellstar has a vision for healthcare that continues to evolve and equip us to bring the best technology and the best care to our communities. We launch strategic partnerships, pilot new therapies, develop less-invasive procedures and advance technologies to transform healthcare and improve people’s lives. This is why we launched Catalyst by Wellstar, a first-of-its-kind global digital health and innovation center, and why we built Catalyst Voice, an online community for over 100,000 Wellstar patients to help shape the future of healthcare.

Here are some examples of advancements over the past few years.

• Invested in an advanced electronic medical system with artificial intelligence technology (AI) that allows for early warning detection, anticipates needs of patients based on their profiles and determines if patients may be predisposed to disease or infection based on family history, medical history and DNA
• Use of AI to identify large vessel blockage, which increases the risk of stroke, and identify key terms to screen for lung nodules
• Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center is the first hospital in Georgia to offer parents a private 24/7 livestream of their baby in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit through NICVIEW, a bedside camera system.

Partnerships

Wellstar highly values partnerships that bring new service options and supportive initiatives to our patients, community members and team members, including:

• American Cancer Society
• CLEAR
• Engage (Wellstar is the only healthcare company to partner with Engage.)
• Goodr
• Northwest Georgia Oncology Centers
• United Surgical Partners International
• Mayo Clinic Care Network
• Kennesaw State University
• Cobb County School District, including the Cobb Innovation & Technology Academy
• Moth+Flame