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Article Category: Highlights

Feeling Sick? Know Where to Go to Get Care in Douglas

Published on September 14, 2023

Last updated 09:36 AM April 21, 2025

Illustration of person thinking. Icons show bed, virtual visit on phone, family on couch, person talking to medical provider and ambulance.

Whether you experience an injury, minor illness or simply need a wellness exam, the most important step you can take is getting the care you need. That way, you can find trained experts for your specific medical needs, stay ahead of potential health issues or even help prevent existing conditions from worsening. 

With primary, virtual, urgent and emergency care services available, as well as retail pharmacies, how do you decide which type of care is best for your medical situation? Learn the differences between each type of medical service Wellstar offers in Douglas County—so you don’t delay and get care right away.

Virtual Urgent Care

In addition to virtual primary and specialty care appointments, we also have a 24/7 Virtual Urgent Care for minor medical concerns including allergies, sinus infections, strep throat or urinary tract infections.

Your Virtual Urgent Care clinician will offer the same personalized, tailored treatments you expect from us. That may include treatment recommendations and prescriptions to manage an immediate health issue, like an antibiotic or cough medicine.

After your Virtual Urgent Care visit, all Wellstar clinicians, including your primary care doctor or specialist, can see a record of your appointment. You will also be able to access it through Wellstar MyChart. Keeping all of your trusted physicians in the know is just one way we provide you with seamless care.

While virtual care is a convenient way to stay well, it should never be used in place of emergency care. If you are experiencing a life-threatening medical emergency, call 911 right away. 
 

Primary care 

Primary care is ongoing, comprehensive care and preventative medicine that helps you live a full, healthy life. 

Your primary care provider gets to know you and your health history on a deeper level. That means they have a more holistic view of your overall wellness. 

Services include: 

  • Annual wellness exams 
  • Health screenings, labs and imaging 
  • Care for chronic conditions, such as diabetes or high blood pressure 
  • Immunizations for children and adults 
  • Treatment for acute illness, such as the flu or colds 
  • Coordinating care with other specialists 
  • Physical and mental health concerns, such as weight loss or anxiety 

Wellstar has three primary care locations in Douglas County:

8820 Hospital Drive
Douglasville, GA 30134
(770) 947-3000

6043 Prestley Mill Road, Suite B
Douglasville, GA 30134
(770) 941-8100

6095 Professional Parkway, Suite 100
Douglasville, GA 30134
(770) 920-2255

Urgent care

If you’re dealing with a minor injury or illness or need care after your physician’s regular office hours, going to urgent care is often the right choice. Wellstar Urgent Care centers provide quick, convenient care for non-emergency medical conditions. 

Wellstar Urgent Care provides: 

  • Care for minor illnesses and injuries, such as coughs, colds, sprains and broken bones 
  • Treatment for medical issues like bites, burns and cuts 
  • COVID-19 testing and evaluation for patients 12 and older 
  • Lab and X-rays 
  • Sports physicals 
  • Occupational health services 
  • Worker’s compensation services 

Check in online to reduce your wait time at Wellstar Urgent Care in Douglasville.

Emergency care

In a life-threatening medical emergency, every second counts. Never put off getting the proper care when lives are on the line. Remember, driving yourself to the emergency department is dangerous and may delay care, so call 911 for the fastest access to emergency care. 

When the unexpected happens, Wellstar Douglas Medical Center is always ready in a medical emergency. Our trained team provides expert emergency care 24 hours a day for people of all ages. We also have a dedicated pediatric emergency room, specifically designed to treat children. 

Recognize the signs of a medical emergency: 

  • Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath 
  • Chest discomfort or pain 
  • Severe abdominal pain 
  • Fainting or loss of consciousness 
  • Sudden dizziness, weakness or vision changes 
  • Sudden, severe pain 
  • Uncontrolled or severe bleeding 
  • Choking, coughing up blood or severe vomiting 
  • Suicidal or homicidal thoughts 
  • Changes in mental status, such as confusion or unusual behavior 
  • Traumatic injury due to a motor vehicle or other accidents 

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Illustration of a lung scan

Highlights

Wellstar Experts Collaborate to Help People Fight Lung Cancer

From catching cancer to following through with expert care, Wellstar ensures patients never have to fight lung cancer alone.

We are dedicated to early intervention in lung cancer, which improves outcomes for patients. After detection of an abnormality on a CT scan, patients are immediately surrounded by an interdisciplinary support team devoted to their well-being.

Identifying lung cancer early

If you are at increased risk for developing lung cancer, talk to your care team about screenings. With a low-dose CT scan of the chest, it only takes a few seconds to check in on your lung health. These screenings are offered at several Wellstar imaging centers.

The United States Preventive Services Task Force has revised lung screening guidelines. Patients may qualify for screening if they are 50 to 80 years old and smoked for 20 years. If they are a former smoker, they may qualify if they quit less than 15 years ago.

“Finding lung cancer early leads to better outcomes, and screening with CT scans is recommended as the only proven way to minimize delay in diagnosis,” said Wellstar Thoracic Surgeon Dr. Daniel Fortes.

Because finding cancer and starting treatment sooner can be life-saving, Wellstar has invested in one of the nation's largest lung screening programs and an incidental nodule program. When people come into a hospital seeking care for something else—whether that be a health condition like appendicitis or a traumatic event like a motorcycle accident—they might get a scan of the abdomen or chest that also shows portions of the lungs.

Using artificial intelligence, reports of those scans are fed to report coordinators, categorized based on their risk level and if a patient is higher-risk, forwarded to nurse navigators for review. Nurse navigators consult with physicians about the findings, and Wellstar can then initiate care if cancer is suspected.

The program, which started in fall 2020, has identified a total of 203 lung cancers and 22 other types of cancer, as of November 2025.

Expert care and support at every step

From the very beginning, people with lung cancer at Wellstar are surrounded by a team of experts. Rather than go through the time-consuming process of driving to multiple appointments with different specialists, patients meet with all these physicians in one place.

The Wellstar Lung Cancer STAT Clinic—at Wellstar Cobb, Wellstar Douglas, Wellstar Kennestone, Wellstar North Fulton, Wellstar Paulding and Wellstar West Georgia Medical Centers, as well as Wellstar Cherokee Health Park and the Thoracic NOW Clinic at Wellstar MCG Health Medical Center—give patients immediate access to specialists in medical oncology, radiation oncology, pulmonary medicine and thoracic surgery.

"We plan patients’ appointments ahead of time, ordering multiple tests that will be necessary for the treatment decision-making. These can include PET scans, CT scans, MRIs and/or a pulmonary function test," Dr. Fortes said. "We’re always gaining time in the patient’s overall treatment because we are anticipating and creating a plan as a team."

Getting multiple expert opinions from the start not only gives patients peace of mind, it speeds up treatment, too. In the United States, the average time between an abnormal scan and the beginning of treatment is 60 to 90 days. The STAT Clinic reduces that time to as little as 14 days. Time-to-treatment affects long-term survival in patients with lung cancer.

"We have data to show that if we delay treatment, even in early-stage cancers, we decrease the chance of a cure," Dr. Fortes said. "The goal of the STAT Clinic is to get them the quickest we can into their final treatment plan."

High-tech surgery options

For many patients, surgery is a crucial part of lung cancer treatment. Wellstar offers several minimally invasive options, reducing recovery time for patients.

More than 90% of lung cancer surgeries at Wellstar are performed using either the Da Vinci Surgical System or Video Assisted Thoracic Surgery techniques (VATS).

Minimally invasive surgeries reduce pain, scarring, blood loss and infection, as well as time to recover—getting patients back to work and other routines quicker.

The Da Vinci system is equipped with 3D cameras and instruments that can make very intricate, precise movements, allowing for shorter incisions and more accurate surgery. Some patients can leave the hospital as early as the next day.

For biopsies, Wellstar has completed 500 procedures using the Ion system, a robotic-assisted platform.

The system uses a three-dimensional spatial recognition technology that helps guide a catheter down the airway, deep into the lung, all the way to small nodules where biopsies can be performed. The robotic catheter maintains its shape and stability throughout the biopsy process, significantly improving diagnostic yield compared to other modalities.

"The better the image and the more certainty we have of the spatial location of the catheter, the better we can avoid complications by making sure we are not too close to a blood vessel or the edge of the lung," said Dr. Fortes.

To reduce your risk of lung cancer and keep your lungs healthy, talk to your primary care team and follow a few tips, such as exercising and avoiding smoking. Learn more about treatments on our lung cancer care page.

Keep reading
Person breathing

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 clinician 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.

Keep reading
Doctor speaking with patient

Highlights

Wellstar Opens New Locations in Metro Atlanta

To serve our community’s growing healthcare needs, Wellstar has opened new urgent care, primary care and pediatric locations in Metro Atlanta.

Wellstar Primary Care

Primary care is ongoing, comprehensive care and preventative medicine that helps you live a full, healthy life. Services include wellness exams, vaccinations, treatment for acute illnesses like flu and management of chronic conditions such as diabetes. Wellstar Primary Care often has same-day or next-day availability and is welcoming new patients. Visit our new locations at:

Douglasville
2710 Fairburn Road, Suite 150
(943) 202-8560

Kennesaw
1550 Due West Rd NW, Suite 100
(943) 202-8520

Villa Rica
662 Carrollton Villa Rica Highway, Suite 200
(943) 202-8560

Wellstar Pediatrics

From wellness checkups and immunizations to chronic and complex conditions, Wellstar Children's of Georgia focuses on the physical, mental and emotional well-being of every patient, helping families navigate care with confidence. Visit our new location at: 

Douglasville
2710 Fairburn Road, Suite 100
(943) 202-8660

Wellstar Urgent Care 

If you’re dealing with a minor injury or illness or need care after your physician’s regular office hours, going to urgent care is often the right choice. Wellstar Urgent Care centers provide quick, convenient care for non-emergency medical conditions such as coughs, colds, sprains, broken bones and minor bites, burns and cuts. Visit our new locations at:

Douglasville
2710 Fairburn Road, Suite 175
(943) 202-8640
Check in at this location

Kennesaw
1550 Due West Rd NW, Suite 150
(470) 986-7302
Check in at this location

Villa Rica
662 Carrollton Villa Rica Highway, Suite 100
(943) 202-8590
Check in at this location

 

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