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Small and Rural Hospitals Receive Lifeline From Digital Care Network
Wellstar Digital Care Network helps hospitals across Georgia treat complex medical conditions while keeping patients close to home.
Published on June 11, 2025
Last updated 01:18 PM June 11, 2025
Augusta, Ga. (June 11, 2025) -- Small and rural hospitals across the country too often struggle to survive, faced with the monumental challenges of providing specialized care to sparsely populated communities. Wellstar, in affiliation with Augusta University’s Medical College of Georgia (MCG) Center for Digital Health, is working to change that. Through the Wellstar Digital Care Network, Georgians in rural communities are accessing crucial resources more quickly and conveniently than they could just a few years ago.
Twenty-four percent of rural critical access hospitals in Georgia take advantage of the Wellstar Digital Care Network to strengthen their local emergency departments and inpatient and critical care units. Through this network, they can access needed specialists remotely—experts who might otherwise be out of reach. Care includes adult and pediatric emergency room triage, inpatient and intensive care unit (ICU) support, and critical disease management.
“Our team’s digital care supplements the great work already being done at these rural hospitals,” said Dr. Matt Lyon, director of the MCG Center for Digital Health and a specialist in emergency medicine. “We do more than support these fantastic care teams as they treat their patients. We also uplift their communities by helping keep their healthcare local.”
About 70% of patients in the program remain at a nearby hospital for treatment—a dramatic reversal from when the digital care program started in 2019, when only 30% of patients remained in their local hospital.
“Small hospitals are often challenged to provide the infrastructure needed for specialty services, much less multiple types of specialty services,” said Dr. Hank Capps, executive vice president and chief information and digital officer for Wellstar Health System. “We’re using technology to help bridge these gaps so more Georgia physicians and their patients can access specialty care close to home when they need it most.”
The innovative program has helped some hospitals improve their financial outlook, avoid closure and even expand services to benefit their communities. In Metter, northwest of Savannah, Candler County Hospital went from facing likely closure—admitting an average of only two to three patients per day—to regularly caring for up to 25 patients at a time.
“We noticed that a high number of our patients would avoid care instead of driving farther distances to larger healthcare institutions. Because of the advanced care offered through the Digital Care Network, we were able to expand our existing services and offer more critical care, which enabled more people to receive care locally,” said Michael Purvis, former chief executive officer of Candler County Hospital and current chief executive officer of Dodge County Hospital in Eastman. “As a result, we decreased our transfers by 50% and were able to justify more acute inpatient days. We appreciate the team approach that the digital care leadership has established through this very meaningful program.”
A similar story unfolded east of Athens in Washington, Ga., where Wills Memorial Hospital was able to launch the state’s third long-term ventilator management program for patients who need daily mechanical ventilation for more than three weeks. While most patients get discharged before this point, this program provides a critical resource for people who need extended acute care to properly transition off respiratory support.
In addition to support from Wellstar doctors, rural hospitals in the network are sharing best practices and, when needed, transferring patients to one another to keep care as close to home as possible. For example, a patient who requires a higher level of ICU care might now be transferred to Dodge County Hospital.
“The best thing I ever saw was a helicopter bringing a patient to Dodge instead of taking a patient from Dodge,” said LaDon Toole, former chief executive officer of Dodge County Hospital and current chief executive officer of Memorial Hospital and Manor in Bainbridge. “We are proud to be a vital resource for not only our patients, but also for other communities.”
The Wellstar Digital Care Network’s collaboration with small and rural hospitals goes beyond emergency and critical care. In partnership with MCG, Wellstar also provides remote access to tele-stroke, cardiology, sickle cell, transplant and pediatric subspecialty services for physicians and patients across Georgia.
“Through real-time conversations about diagnoses and treatments, our care team is able to join these doctors in the trenches as they meet the emerging and often urgent needs of their patients,” Dr. Lyon said. “This network saves time, saves lives and even saves hospitals. I am so grateful for how Wellstar and MCG care for the people of Georgia.”
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About Wellstar Health System
Wellstar personalizes the patient experience. We call it PeopleCare, and it's only possible thanks to our 33,000 team members who provide expert, compassionate care for every stage of life. PeopleCare also means we serve our communities as a nonprofit health system, providing more than $1 billion annually in charity care and community programs, and operating the largest integrated trauma network in the state of Georgia. We embrace innovation and technology, nurture early-stage companies through our venture firm Catalyst by Wellstar, and train future generations of caregivers with academic institutions including the Medical College of Georgia. Wellstar honors every voice and is one of the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For. To learn more, visit Wellstar.org.
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CLEAR and Wellstar Health System Modernize the Patient Experience Using CLEAR1’s Digital Check-In
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“The results of the study speak for themselves. By leveraging CLEAR1’s technology we introduced a modern, digital check-in experience that saves patients and team members time, reduces administrative costs, and streamlines the check-in process for everyone,” said Dr. Hank Capps, EVP and Chief Information and Digital Officer for Wellstar Health System and President of Catalyst by Wellstar. “Wellstar partnered with CLEAR because we are committed to investing in technologies that elevate the patient experience, alleviate the stress on staff, and reduce friction across every part of the patient journey.”
Key outcomes achieved since launching CLEAR1 for check-in include:
CLEAR's mission is to strengthen security and create frictionless experiences. With over 33 million Members and a growing network of partners across the world, CLEAR's secure identity platform is transforming the way people live, work, and travel. Whether you are traveling, at the stadium, or on your phone, CLEAR connects you to the things that make you, you—making everyday experiences easier, more secure, and friction-free. CLEAR is committed to privacy done right. Members are always in control of their own information, and we do not sell biometric or sensitive personal data. For more information, visit clearme.com. About Wellstar Health System
Wellstar personalizes the patient experience. We call it PeopleCare and it's only possible thanks to our 33,000 team members who provide expert compassionate care for every stage of life. PeopleCare also means we serve our communities as a non-profit health system, providing more than $1 billion annually in charity care and community programs, and operating the largest integrated trauma network in the State of Georgia. We embrace innovation and technology, nurture early-stage companies through our venture firm Catalyst by Wellstar, and train future generations of caregivers with academic institutions including the Medical College of Georgia. Wellstar honors every voice and is one of the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For. To learn more, visit Wellstar.org.
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- Improved Patient Experience – Digital check-in adoption increased from 2 to 10 percent, with strong engagement among patients 45 and older. 73 percent of patients who used CLEAR1’s digital check-in technology reported that they would use it again.
- Operational Efficiency – In just six months, CLEAR1-enabled check-ins freed up more than 1,500 hours of staff time, allowing teams to focus on higher-value tasks such as assisting patients with complex problems.
- Reduction in Duplicate Records & Cost Savings – By linking appointments to a verified identity, Wellstar has been able to uncover and resolve duplicate patient records before visits, reducing costly administrative rework and minimizing claim complications. Collectively, these improvements are projected to deliver $2 million in savings for every 25,000 patients verified through CLEAR1.
CLEAR's mission is to strengthen security and create frictionless experiences. With over 33 million Members and a growing network of partners across the world, CLEAR's secure identity platform is transforming the way people live, work, and travel. Whether you are traveling, at the stadium, or on your phone, CLEAR connects you to the things that make you, you—making everyday experiences easier, more secure, and friction-free. CLEAR is committed to privacy done right. Members are always in control of their own information, and we do not sell biometric or sensitive personal data. For more information, visit clearme.com. About Wellstar Health System
Wellstar personalizes the patient experience. We call it PeopleCare and it's only possible thanks to our 33,000 team members who provide expert compassionate care for every stage of life. PeopleCare also means we serve our communities as a non-profit health system, providing more than $1 billion annually in charity care and community programs, and operating the largest integrated trauma network in the State of Georgia. We embrace innovation and technology, nurture early-stage companies through our venture firm Catalyst by Wellstar, and train future generations of caregivers with academic institutions including the Medical College of Georgia. Wellstar honors every voice and is one of the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For. To learn more, visit Wellstar.org.