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Article Category: Newsroom

Augusta University Health System, Wellstar Health System announce letter of intent for statewide health care partnership

An innovative new partnership to create a broader affiliation as Augusta University Health System and Medical College of Georgia (MCG) join Wellstar

Published on December 27, 2022

Last updated 05:10 PM December 27, 2022

Photo of woman and child. Text reads "creating a healthier future for Georgia." Wellstar, Medical College of Georgia and Augusta University Health logos

Augusta University Health System (AUHS) has signed a letter of intent with Wellstar Health System to form an innovative new partnership that would expand Augusta University’s educational and research missions and allow Wellstar Health System to create a broader affiliation with the university’s Medical College of Georgia (MCG) as AUHS joins the Wellstar Health System.

The potential partnership is the culmination of a thoughtful and deliberate process begun in 2019 by AUHS, its governing board and Augusta University to strategically grow MCG while expanding and improving both patient care and Georgians’ access to health care services across the state. 

The proposed partnership would innovate clinical care, training and research while adopting a successful model of bringing together community-based health systems and academic medical centers such as MCG and its teaching hospitals. MCG and Augusta University are part of the University System of Georgia (USG), and MCG serves as the only public medical school in the state.

“AUHS, Augusta University and the Wellstar Health System have a shared mission to solve Georgia’s health care challenges,” USG Chancellor Sonny Perdue said. “By joining forces and working together, we can leverage Wellstar’s clinical platform and leading-edge systems to support patients while providing more opportunities for students to learn, train and care for residents in local communities across Georgia.”

Pending a definitive agreement and regulatory approval, the partnership would focus on three strategic initiatives:

  • Expanding digital health offerings to create more convenient access to care and provide more individualized care regardless of location.
  • Growing the pipeline of physicians and other health care providers serving Georgia by increasing the number of students who train and conduct research through MCG.
  • Developing new treatments, innovative care offerings and scalable care models to optimize the health and well-being of every patient.

“By bringing Augusta University Health System together with Wellstar Health System and leveraging our respective strengths, we would improve the health of the community, address social determinants of health and expand access to quality care for all Georgians,” said Candice L. Saunders, FACHE, president and chief executive officer of Wellstar Health System.

While there are aspects of the proposed partnership yet to be determined, the partnership would likely result in significant investments to improve existing healthcare facilities and to expand access to care across the state, including a new hospital and medical office buildings in Columbia County.

“Providing health care has never been as dynamic and complex as it is today, and this partnership with the Georgia-based, not-for-profit Wellstar Health System would enable us to extend our mission of improving health through excellence in patient care, education and research for the benefit of Georgians,” said Brooks A. Keel, PhD, acting chief executive officer of Augusta University Health System and president of Augusta University.

Through an expanded affiliation with the university’s Medical College of Georgia, the partnership would address the need to train more physicians and address a growing statewide shortage. With 60 percent of MCG graduates entering a primary care residency, training more physicians in these disciplines would support increased access to frontline care provided by specialists such as family medicine physicians and general pediatricians, especially in underserved areas of the state. 

A new teaching campus in Atlanta at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital could also be established under the proposed partnership. As a result, MCG, which already has the ninth-largest freshman medical school class in the nation, would grow to become one of the largest public medical schools in the country.

“With our entire nation facing a physician shortage and our state typically ranking about 40th in the number of physicians per capita, educating the next generation of physicians is more critical than ever,” said David Hess, MD, dean of the Medical College of Georgia and executive vice president of medical affairs and integration at Augusta University. “I’m excited about the partnership with Wellstar, since it will enable our students and residents to continue to learn from some of the most highly qualified physicians and other health care professionals in the state while allowing MCG to expand its contributions to improving public health in Georgia especially in more rural regions.”

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Wellstar Health System Expands Partnership with Virtual Reality Company Moth+Flame

This month Wellstar Health System announced it is extending its partnership with Moth+Flame to further utilize its virtual reality (VR) training technology throughout the enterprise.

Moth+Flame is an award-winning VR communication technology developer and premier enterprise-grade immersive learning provider offering innovative and adaptive learning programs for mastering technical and cognitive skills. Their platform includes content focused on emotional intelligence. When learners put on their headsets, they inhabit and interact with immersive simulated environments. They decide in the moment how to respond and see for themselves the impact their words and decisions have on others — and reflect on how to improve. Trainees receive an empathy rating score at the end of their session.

Last May, Catalyst by Wellstar led Wellstar’s first-ever VR-based leadership development training in collaboration with Moth+Flame. This was Moth+Flame’s first healthcare partnership, and the use of this technology continues to expand within Wellstar’s enterprise.

Following the training, 97% of participants recommended the virtual learning experience to others. They also reported that the training reduced their anxiety around difficult conversations by 57%. As a result of the successful pilot, Wellstar decided to offer VR emotional intelligence training regularly.

“We believe strongly that immersive learning is the future of learning and builds more confidence through practice,” said Kevin Cornish, CEO and founder at Moth+Flame. “Using virtual reality puts you inside of a difficult conversation and gives you a chance to learn in a safe simulated environment.”

The VR emotional intelligence training encourages Wellstar’s employees to build composure and gain practical experience in a highly realistic scenario by navigating difficult conversations and testing resiliency in an emotionally charged environment. This experience helps Wellstar’s workforce develop strategies to build situational awareness and prioritize composure, critical thinking and conscious emotional responses when engaging in triggering conversations.

By gaining conversational expertise and knowledge, Wellstar’s team will know how to respond in real scenarios with the confidence to interact appropriately and strategically.

“The realism within Moth+Flame's VR experiences, from using real-life actors, dramatically increases the emotional connection to the content and helps learners retain the information they learn. We are grateful for Moth+Flame's partnership in helping introduce VR to our leaders,” said Steven LeClercq, executive director of learning and onboarding at Wellstar Health System.

This use of innovation keeps Wellstar on the leading edge of training and team development, and the organization will continue to explore use cases for this technology within a clinical setting.

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Exterior photo of Wellstar North Fulton Medical Center. Wellstar and Joint Commission logos.

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Wellstar North Fulton Medical Center Receives Comprehensive Stroke Center Certification

Wellstar Health System announced today that The Joint Commission recognized Wellstar North Fulton Medical Center as a Comprehensive Stroke Center, the most demanding stroke certification recognizing hospitals that have specific abilities to receive and treat the most complex stroke cases. With two of the eight Comprehensive Stroke Centers in Georgia, Wellstar Health System now offers stroke patients greater access to the highest level of stroke and aneurysm care. Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center is also Joint Commission certified as a Comprehensive Stroke Center.

“For years, we have provided world-class stroke care for each and every patient when they need it most. This designation represents how hard we have worked to provide the very best quality care for patients in North Fulton County and across Georgia. We’re proud that our work and subsequent positive patient outcomes are being recognized,” said Dr. Michael Mendoza, medical director of the Stroke Program at Wellstar North Fulton.

Wellstar North Fulton’s certification allows more Georgians to have access to the most advance diagnostics and treatments for cerebrovascular disease such as stroke. This is important because Georgia is located in the Stroke Belt, which is comprised of 11 states in the Southeast where the associated mortality rate for stroke patients is 10 percent above the national average.

At Wellstar North Fulton and Wellstar Kennestone, patients have access to advanced diagnostics and therapies to care for even the most complicated strokes faster and more effectively. These include:

  • Neuro Intensive Care Units –  A multidisciplinary team of physicians and nurses who specialize in neurocritical care.
  • Minimally-invasive treatment – Wellstar is one of only four programs in the state that offer neuroendovascular treatment, such as minimally-invasive clot retrieval, patients can be provided with a much less invasive treatment technique.
  • Cutting-edge imaging – Neurointerventional biplane imaging shows detailed, 3D views of blood vessels in the brain. This allows neurosurgeons to flip neuroendovascular cases to an open neurosurgical case when needed.
  • Pioneering technology – Wellstar North Fulton was among the first hospitals in the country to use the groundbreaking Artemis Neuro Evacuation device to treat brain bleeds, a condition that was nearly impossible to treat in the past.
  • Around-the-clock care – Artificial intelligence such as VizAi allows quicker identification of patients who are candidates for thrombectomy and organizes care in a connected system by quicker response to identify and provide care as quickly as possible.

“Our team of neurosurgeons, neurocritical care physicians, neuroradiologists, advanced practice practitioners and nurses work together to perform world-class thrombectomies, aneurysm treatments, carotid surgeries and cerebral bypass procedures so that patients can regain their best quality of life. Additionally, our dedicated hybrid neurovascular suite is equipped with innovative bi-plane technology. This allows neurosurgeons to view highly detailed images of brain vessels, so we as a team can customize treatments in real time,” said Dr. Arthur Grigorian, neurosurgeon, Wellstar North Fulton.

“When you have a stroke, every second counts. Getting fast, expert stroke care can mean the difference between life, death, or lasting brain damage. We are proud to receive this prestigious certification at Wellstar North Fulton, informing the surrounding community that they don’t have to go far to receive the best treatment possible. We will continue to work hard to provide an interdisciplinary, innovative, and compassionate approach to safe and quality comprehensive stroke care to all the communities we serve,” said Jon-Paul Croom, president, Wellstar North Fulton and senior vice president, Wellstar Health System.

Wellstar is a leading provider of stroke and aneurysm services in Georgia and performs one of the highest numbers of thrombectomy and aneurysm treatments in the country. The Joint Commission is a United States-based nonprofit organization that accredits more than 22,000 healthcare organizations and programs.

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Photo of Bernice A. King. Text reads "Life's most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’" -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

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Wellstar Honors the Life and Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

On January 12, Wellstar honored the life, legacy and many contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a live-streamed tribute. The program included performances from The Wellstar Singers, interfaith prayers and a keynote address featuring a conversation between Dr. Bernice A. King, youngest daughter of Martin and Coretta Scott King, and Monica Kaufman Pearson, beloved former Atlanta news anchor. 

The program was themed around a 1957 quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “Life's most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’" 

Throughout the program, Dr. Bernice A. King shared important life lessons instilled in her as a child, including the value of forgiveness and nonviolence. Dr. King provided insight about the state of the world, growing polarization and the need to take time to listen to those who we perceive as our enemies. 

Watch the program. 

As CEO of The King Center, Dr. Bernice A. King’s mission is to spread her father’s philosophy and methodology of nonviolence. Through programs like Nonviolence365®, Beloved Community Leadership Academy and Students with the King, she is working to make perspective-altering resources available to people of all ages. 

This program was pre-recorded in November at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. The conversation was held in front of a live audience including Wellstar leaders, members of the Minority Physician Business Resource Group and our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team.  

Wellstar is honored to celebrate the life and legacy of American Civil Rights Movement leader and activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and recognizes Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a paid holiday. Team members are encouraged to take the day “on” by volunteering in the community.

Wellstar is proud to be a corporate sponsor partnering with The King Center on a variety of events leading up to the holiday on Jan. 16.

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