Top Marks for Heart Care at Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center

Communities across Cobb County and Metro Atlanta are growing quickly—and so is the need for world-class healthcare.

The new Yellow Tower at Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center is helping meet that need. The nine-story, 235-bed patient tower expands hospital capacity, strengthens specialty care and enhances the patient experience through state-of-the-art technology and spaces that support healing.

Opening to patients April 15, 2026, the tower represents a $400 million investment in the future of healthcare for the region—helping ensure families across Georgia can access expert care when and where they need it.

Expanding capacity and advancing care

The approximately 300,000-square-foot tower increases acute care capacity and strengthens key service lines, including cardiology, neurology, oncology and surgery. Dedicated units for cardiac critical care, surgical care, neurological care and medical oncology allow care teams to deliver advanced treatment in environments built for each specialty.

The new tower also introduces a next-generation neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and enhanced neonatal services, expanding care for our smallest patients. A dedicated Women’s & Children’s entrance improves access and reinforces family-centered care.

"This tower is more than a new building—it reflects our commitment to providing extraordinary care for people across the Southeast,” said Ketul J. Patel, Wellstar president and CEO. “Wellstar Kennestone has become a destination hospital, with a Level I Trauma Center and nationally recognized specialty programs, including one of the best heart programs in the country. This investment allows us to serve more patients, support families during life’s most important moments, and give our teams the space and tools they need to deliver safe, high-quality care to every person, every time. When someone needs advanced care, they can find it at Wellstar.”

Technology that supports care

Every element of the Yellow Tower was designed with patients, families and care teams in mind.

All adult patient rooms are private, offering greater comfort and functionality. Natural light, sound-reducing features and adjustable lighting and privacy controls create a calm, quiet setting. Durable antimicrobial materials support infection prevention and help maintain a clean, safe space.

Throughout the new tower, smart-room technology keeps patients and care teams connected. Interactive digital whiteboards in each patient room display real-time care information, including medications, care team details and daily treatment plans.

Smart technology also supports patient safety. Remote monitoring allows trained team members to observe patients who may be at risk of falls or other complications. Virtual nursing helps coordinate admissions, discharges and documentation so bedside nurses can focus on direct patient care.

Other advanced capabilities—including AI-assisted monitoring and virtual rounding—enhance the care experience by helping identify risks earlier, improving decision-making and extending access to expert providers.

These advancements are especially impactful in high-acuity areas like neurology and neurosurgery.

“Expanding our neuro beds allows us to bring advanced technology and specialized brain and spine care directly to more patients,” said Frances Van Beek, assistant vice president of neuroscience and trauma services at Wellstar. “Because many of these services aren’t widely available, this growth helps ensure patients across Georgia can access the expert care they need.”

Specialized care for newborns and families

The Yellow Tower includes a 49-bed next-generation NICU designed to care for infants who are premature or critically ill while supporting families during a challenging time.

The new unit emphasizes natural light, quiet healing spaces and advanced monitoring technology that promotes healthy growth and development.

A centralized Milk Lab prepares fortified human milk, donor milk and prescribed formulas to meet the unique nutritional needs of infants in the NICU. The unit also includes six couplet care rooms, allowing mothers and babies receiving specialized care to remain together—encouraging bonding during treatment.

This focus on family-centered care reflects Wellstar’s commitment to supporting people at every stage of life—ensuring families have access to compassionate, specialized care when they need it most.

Hospitality-inspired dining experience

Under the patient tower, a new 22,000-square-foot kitchen powers a hospital-wide in-room dining service that blends restaurant-quality meals with clinical nutrition.

Patients can order meals when they’re ready to eat during service hours, with breakfast favorites available throughout the day. This model gives people greater choice and flexibility during their stay.

“We designed this program to give patients more control over their dining experience—so they can order what they want, when they want it,” said Ben Behimer, director of nutrition and food services at Wellstar Kennestone. “Our goal is to create a more personalized, restaurant-style experience that reflects the same level of quality and care patients expect across our hospital.”

Visitors and team members can also enjoy retail dining, including Mountainside Bistro—which features seven food concepts—and Wellbean Coffee, along with expanded indoor and outdoor seating.

The new kitchen and dining areas are over 50% larger than the previous space and feature dual production lines, allowing teams to prepare fresh meals efficiently for everyone they serve.

Rapid access when minutes matter

Wellstar Kennestone plays a critical role in caring for patients with serious injuries and complex conditions across Georgia. The hospital is verified as a Level I Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons and designated by the Georgia Department of Public Health—the highest level of trauma care available.

The new tower strengthens that capability. Expanded helipads and integrated flight paths connect the hospital directly with the Wellstar AirCare network, helping ensure patients can reach advanced care quickly.

Dual heavy-lift helipads support high-volume air medical operations, while overlook spaces within the tower provide views of the surrounding campus.

Wellstar AirCare operates a 24/7 air ambulance service with helicopters based in Augusta and south of Metro Atlanta. Care teams provide lifesaving care during transport, including whole blood transfusions for severe blood loss and support for patients requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).

Built for the future of care

The Yellow Tower was designed to adapt to evolving healthcare needs. Entire floors can be converted to negative pressure environments, allowing the hospital to respond quickly during infectious disease outbreaks or other public health emergencies.

The new tower also enhances Wellstar Kennestone’s ability to provide exceptional care every day—from welcoming babies to supporting people through cancer treatment and recovery. It ensures the hospital can continue caring for the community with the level of excellence people expect while preparing for what’s ahead.

Learn more at wellstar.org/kennestone.

Cancer treatment can save lives—but for some people, it can also be hard on the heart.

Wellstar's Cardio-Oncology Program provides specialized care to address this risk. The program offers cancer-focused heart care that helps protect cardiovascular health before, during and after treatment.

Our cardio-oncology experts support people with cancer who have heart disease, are at high risk for heart problems or are receiving therapies that may affect heart function. By monitoring heart health and coordinating care, we help people receive the most appropriate cancer treatment while reducing the risk of heart complications.

Expertise in heart disease and cancer care

Researchers have identified a connection between cancer care and cardiovascular health, leading to the creation of cardio-oncology. At Wellstar, this specialized care is available in metro Atlanta and Augusta, expanding access for people across Georgia.

“Cardio-oncology exists because more people are surviving cancer and living long enough to face heart-related complications,” said Dr. Avirup Guha, a board-certified cardio-oncologist at Wellstar Georgia Cancer Center and the first designated fellow of the International Cardio-Oncology Society in Georgia. “For some patients, cancer treatments can damage their heart. For others, they may have existing cardiovascular disease that needs careful management during cancer care. That requires expertise beyond cardiology—knowing how to modify therapy without causing harm.”

Cardio-oncologists are cardiologists with advanced training in how cancer therapies affect the heart. They help guide treatment decisions and work closely with oncology teams to ensure patients receive safe, effective care.

“A lot of oncology treatments are very effective for cancer, but the heart can become an innocent bystander,” said Wellstar Cardio-Oncologist Dr. Nikolas Krishna, who also specializes in advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology. “We advocate for these patients so their oncology and cardiology teams work together for the best possible outcome.”

Coordinated, team-based care

Multidisciplinary collaboration is central to Wellstar Cardio-Oncology. Cardiologists, oncologists, nurse navigators and other specialists communicate directly to align care and support both cancer outcomes and heart health.

“Our program helps address complications before they happen and streamlines care so people aren’t going back and forth between specialists,” Dr. Guha said.

Wellstar Cardio-Oncology teams partner with patients and families to understand risks and create a personalized plan. This may include imaging, blood tests and ongoing monitoring to detect early signs of heart conditions during chemotherapy, hormone therapy or radiation.

Additionally, Wellstar Cardio-Oncology nurse navigators—registered nurses with advanced training—provide compassionate guidance throughout the care journey.

“Nurse navigation plays a key role in educating patients and making sure they .understand their care plan,” said Dr. Guha. “It’s all about communication.”

Who can benefit from cardio-oncology care

Cardio-oncology care supports people from diagnosis through survivorship, especially when treatments or existing conditions may affect heart health.

You may benefit from cardio-oncology services if you have cancer or were treated for cancer within the past five years and you:

• Have heart failure or another existing heart condition
• Are at high risk for heart disease
• Have experienced cardiovascular complications after cancer treatment
• Require chemotherapy that may be cardiotoxic or radiation therapy to the chest

Some cancer treatments can weaken the heart muscle or alter heart function, making monitoring and early intervention essential. Therapies known to affect the heart include anthracyclines, platinum-based chemotherapy, HER2-targeted therapies, tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and fluoropyrimidines.

“Too often we see patients years after treatment when heart problems have already developed,” Dr. Krishna said. “By screening earlier and seeing patients upstream, we can prevent disease rather than treat it after it occurs.”

Support that extends into survivorship

When cancer treatment ends, Wellstar Cardio-Oncology teams continue monitoring heart health and providing preventive care tailored to each person’s history.

“Survivors may face accelerated cardiovascular risks years later,” said Dr. Krishna. “By continuing to screen and monitor, we can help catch any issues and protect their long-term health and quality of life.”

This ongoing care gives patients greater peace of mind as they navigate recovery.

“We want patients to know we are a layer of reassurance,” Dr. Krishna said. “They don’t have to worry about treatment hurting their heart—we are here to protect it so they can focus on healing.”

By combining advanced expertise, early monitoring and compassionate support, Wellstar’s Cardio-Oncology Program helps people face cancer with confidence.

Learn more about cardio-oncology services at Wellstar.

Pat Gelisse has been dancing for 30 years. She even taught the Carolina shag for a while. It’s a partner dance, sometimes compared to Swing dancing to beach music.

But severe heart failure downgraded Pat’s dancing queen status for close to 10 years.

“I went from feeling happy to feeling like a nothing,” she remembered of that time in her life.

With a team of Wellstar heart specialists working together for her, Pat found hope and new life on the dance floor.

Heart failure masquerades as acid reflux

It started more than a decade ago when Pat lived in central Georgia. She scheduled a doctor’s appointment for what she thought was acid reflux. She popped in on a quick break from her marketing job, assuming it wouldn’t take long.

Blood work and an EKG got Pat a ticket straight to the hospital and a quadruple bypass. 

“My heart got worse; it wasn’t pumping blood,” Pat said.

She was in acute heart failure, a life-threatening condition where the heart doesn’t pump well enough to deliver the necessary amount of oxygen to her body. Pat’s ejection fraction (EF)—the percentage measurement of the blood that leaves the heart each time it pumps—was only 10%. The normal range is 50 to 70%.

It was a scary time, and with a family history of heart problems, Pat was worried. She’d lost both parents to heart failure, as well as other family members.

“I just knew for sure I was going to be next,” said Pat.

Doctors from various academic institutions discussed serious treatments ranging from LVAD to transplant, but because the pumping performance of her heart improved, she was no longer a candidate for those procedures. Instead, Pat spent close to nine years managing her heart failure with a pacemaker and various medications—treatments that failed to get her back on the dance floor.