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Effective November 2, 2024, Surgery Center of Columbia County and AU Health Imaging will be transitioning to Wellstar Outpatient Surgery Center Columbia County and Wellstar MCG Health Imaging Wheeler Road, respectively.

This change is part of Wellstar’s ongoing commitment to enhance the quality of care we provide and to ensure that our patients receive the most comprehensive and integrated care. As a result, patients will have greater access to a broader range of medical services, specialists, and advanced technologies within our hospital network.

While transitioning to a hospital-based entity will result in changes to the billing and payment process, it is our goal to make this transition as simple and convenient for patients as possible. Moving forward, patients will receive billing statements from two entities: Wellstar MCG (Hospital) for services rendered during treatment, and Wellstar Medical Group (WMG) for physician services. Our surgery and imaging services will stay at their current locations and our team members remain committed to providing world-class patient care and services to our community.

We encourage patients to contact their insurance carrier and/or Wellstar Customer Service at 956-STAR (770-956-7827) with any questions.

Thank you for entrusting Wellstar with your care. It is our privilege to serve you.

At the recent Health Connect South conference, Dr. Charles Craton, Quality Medical Director of Primary Care at Wellstar Health System, participated in an impactful panel discussion titled “Driving Innovation in Your Backyard: Helping Local Startups Get Off the Ground.” The discussion brought together Dr. Craton and other medical experts to explore how innovation and technology are shaping healthcare access and outcomes across the state.

“Part of my role as the Quality Medical Director is to provide great evidence-based care, but I also want to make it easier on our primary care doctors and help reduce burnout,” Dr. Craton explained.

He highlighted Catalyst by Wellstar's pilot program, developed in collaboration with MapHabit, a company dedicated to helping individuals with cognitive disorders. The technology allows patients living with Alzheimer’s disease, intellectual and developmental disabilities, autism, and traumatic brain injuries to live more independently. After learning about MapHabit, Dr. Craton reached out for more information.

“We don’t have great tools for these conditions,” he said. “While we have medication to slow disease progression, this is a tool that can help a lot of people live a better life.” Matt Golden, CEO of MapHabit, was also a panelist. He discussed the growing prevalence of Alzheimer’s, asking audience members to raise their hands if they knew someone affected by the disease. Nearly 80 percent of attendants raised a hand.

“Ten years ago, you might have only had half that response, but unfortunately, Alzheimer’s disease is exploding as people live longer,” Golden shared.

The collaboration between Wellstar and MapHabit is a testament to Wellstar’s ongoing commitment to innovative care. The pilot program, currently taking place in Douglasville and through Population Health Managers, involves ten primary care physicians and 75 families from these practices. The study includes a diverse population, with 65% of study patients being African American, ensuring that the findings and benefits of the program are relevant and beneficial to a wide range of communities.

MapHabit is the first company to use the spared memory system through visual cues and applied behavioral analysis—proven habit-building techniques that benefit people with cognitive decline. The system allows caregivers to set up step-by-step guides for specific tasks they want their loved ones to learn. Patients can follow these visual steps and, over time, perform daily activities without thinking through each step, using a preserved area of the brain. This unique approach helps drive independence for neurodiverse individuals.

Dr. Craton shared that they are halfway through enrolling participants in the pilot, which serves as a proof of concept, and early results have shown improved outcomes. His vision is to see the tool implemented across the entire Wellstar system.

“My ultimate goal is to conduct a full study and publish comprehensive data,” Craton said.

Wellstar’s commitment to safely streamlining the flow of information was among the highlights at a gathering that brought together more than 1,200 health leaders from across the South.

Bob Speakman, Wellstar’s VP and Chief Technology Officer, participated in a panel discussion titled, “The Rise of the Digitally Native Health Care Consumer” at Health Connect South’s annual event Wednesday at the Georgia Aquarium. Speakman gave insights into Wellstar’s partnership with CLEAR, the technology company that provides biometric travel document verification systems at airports and stadiums across the U.S.

In May, Wellstar became the first healthcare system to pilot a program that allows patients to efficiently check in for appointments using CLEAR’s technology integrated into Epic’s kiosks and tablets. The technology uses facial recognition to verify a patient’s identity and streamline the check-in process safely and reliably. Wellstar pioneered the development of this solution in partnership with CLEAR and Epic.

“Everything we’re doing is based around the patient experience,” Speakman said. “We’re trying to make things better, easier, less stressful. Our objective is to replace the clipboard.”

As patients of all ages become more comfortable with having technology at their fingertips, Wellstar continues to lead the way in exploring the application of smart-phone and other technology innovations in the healthcare setting.

During the gathering, Speakman also said he’s excited about healthcare innovations surrounding artificial intelligence.

“I’m excited about the AI stuff. It’s going to be a game changer,” he said.

Other participants in the Health Connect South panel discussion were David Bardan, General Manager and Head of Healthcare for CLEAR, and Dr. Priyanka Agarwal, Founder and CEO of HealthEx. Ryan Howels, Principal of Leavitt Partners, served as the moderator.