Wellstar Announces Retirement of Jim Budzinski, EVP & Chief Financial Officer After 15-Plus Years of Service

Leading healthcare institutions in the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) have joined forces to enhance collaboration and address critical healthcare needs in the region. The inaugural meeting of the CSRA Healthcare Leadership Council convened Dec. 12, 2023.

Comprising the top executives from the area’s foremost hospitals, the council includes Ralph Turner, president of Wellstar MCG Health Medical Center; Joanna Conley, chief executive officer of Doctors Hospital; Lily Henson, chief executive officer of Piedmont Augusta; and Robin Jackson, medical center director of the VA Augusta Health Care System.

Wellstar MCG Health’s Ralph Turner emphasized the significance of collaboration among healthcare leaders. “Sometimes there’s a focus on competition among hospitals, but we have a common goal of wanting to take care of the people in our community.”

Joanna Conley added: “At Doctors Hospital, our mission is that, above all else, we are committed to the care and improvement of human life. By convening regularly, we can strengthen our partnership and elevate the level of care across the CSRA.”

Robin Jackson of VA Augusta Health Care System said the council is about sharing resources, knowledge and best practices. “Quality healthcare doesn’t happen in isolation. It starts with partnership. The communication and collaboration coming out of the CSRA Healthcare Leadership Council will only strengthen the quality of care we deliver to local veterans and the wider community.”

The group’s monthly meetings will focus on recurring topics such as community health and emergency preparedness for the area.

“Piedmont Augsuta is creating real change across Georgia, in part through partnerships that empower our communities with education and access to seamless, hassle-free, high-quality care,” said Lily Henson. “By embracing the future and exemplifying teamwork and connections, we can make a positive difference in every life we touch.”

The council’s monthly meetings will rotate among participating facilities, fostering inclusivity and equitable engagement. These gatherings will serve as forums for discussing pressing healthcare issues and identifying collaborative opportunities to enhance patient care and community well-being.

AUGUSTA, Ga. (Aug. 8, 2024) – With courage that belies her 15 years, Harper Mathis stepped to the podium at Wellstar Children’s Hospital of Georgia and spoke to visitors from Hyundai, Wellstar Health System, Wellstar Children’s, Wellstar Georgia Cancer Center and Augusta University. When she finished, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

“This is my second chance at life,” she told them. “Without this trial, I don’t know if I would be here today. I just got the best MRI I’ve gotten in a while.”

On Thursday, Harper and other patients at Wellstar Children’s made their mark for kids battling cancer across the country by pressing their paint-covered hands onto white stickers, which were then placed on a new white Hyundai Santa Fe. The effect is a custom handprinted paint job to commemorate Hyundai Hope on Wheels’ $400,000 grant for pediatric cancer research.

Each year, Hyundai Hope on Wheels visits children’s hospitals across the U.S. to donate a two-year Scholar Hope grant to researchers working to improve outcomes and treatments for children diagnosed with cancer. The annual event also raises awareness for pediatric cancer research.

The $400,000 Scholar Hope grant will fund Dr. Ted Johnson’s research project titled, “Novel measurement of molecular immune activation to predict response to pediatric immunotherapy.” Dr. Johnson is a pediatric hematologist-oncologist at Wellstar Children’s and co-director of the Pediatric Immunotherapy Program at Wellstar Children’s and Wellstar Georgia Cancer Center.

Dr. Johnson and his research team are working to define the mechanisms that suppress the body’s immune response and allow tumor survival, so they can identify ways to counteract those processes and fortify the immune system to fight the tumor instead.

“This grant represents another critical pledge in our fight against pediatric brain tumors,” Dr. Johnson said. “This investigation is important because the more we understand about how these tumors quietly advance, the closer we will get to developing better treatments and therapies. This could positively impact care for children with brain tumors by improving their quality of life.”

This is the fourth Hyundai grant awarded to Dr. Johnson, who has received a total of $925,000 in Hope on Wheels funding since 2011 for his pediatric immunotherapy studies. The current Scholar Hope grant will fund research to measure the immune system’s activation and response to pediatric immunotherapy.

Harper and her family, who are from Michigan, have spent nearly six months at Wellstar Children’s to participate in the study.

“It means the world to me that Dr. Johnson has made his life all about this trial because I needed it so badly and so do other kids,” Harper said. “So many people don’t understand how meaningful this all is and how grateful and thankful we are."

Hyundai Hope on Wheels is a nonprofit organization committed to finding a cure for childhood cancer. The organization provides grants to eligible institutions nationwide that are pursuing critical research aimed at improving treatments and saving lives.

KENNESAW, Ga. (Aug. 13, 2024) — Kennesaw State University (KSU) and Wellstar Health System (Wellstar) today announced a new collaboration to support the health, wellbeing, and performance of KSU student-athletes. The partnership has three main components:

• Wellstar has provided the lead funding commitment for a new state-of-the-art training and conditioning complex for KSU student-athletes as they compete in Conference USA.
• KSU and Wellstar will partner to create a new center to support the physical and mental wellbeing of KSU student-athletes and conduct cutting-edge research into sports performance; the center will be called the Center for Research on Human Sport Performance and Wellbeing.
• Beginning July 1, 2026, Wellstar will be the exclusive orthopedics and sports medicine provider, partner, and sponsor of the KSU Athletics Association, providing key services for Kennesaw State student-athletes.

Today’s agreement builds on a longstanding partnership between the two institutions. Wellstar manages the University’s on-campus student health clinics and is the named donor of KSU’s Wellstar College of Health and Human Services and its Wellstar School of Nursing. In 2020, Wellstar made a $9 million funding commitment to help KSU double enrollment in its Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, which is helping meet Georgia’s urgent need for nurses.

“We are grateful to Wellstar for their continued generosity and support of Kennesaw State’s mission,” said KSU president Kathy S. Schwaig. “Their latest contribution comes at an exciting and pivotal time for the University, and it will further strengthen our ability to train the next generation of healthcare providers, as well as to support athletic programs that will benefit our students for years to come.”

“We congratulate Kennesaw State for growing its healthcare programs and expanding its medical research,” said Candice L. Saunders, president and CEO of Wellstar Health System. “We appreciate the opportunity to take an active role caring for our community’s athletes and providing the next generation of athletes with opportunities to improve their physical and mental wellness, on and off the field.”

Subject to approval by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, the Sports Performance Complex and the Sports Medicine and Training Center will provide comprehensive services to more than 450 student-athletes, including injury prevention and treatment, physical therapy, and hydrotherapy, and will contain a strength and conditioning suite, training table, locker rooms, and new weight room. In addition, the complex will provide a new home for KSU’s football program with team and position meeting rooms, coaches’ offices, and a team locker room.

Wellstar’s funding will also support the creation of the Center for Research on Human Sport Performance and Wellbeing in the Wellstar College of Health and Human Services. The center will engage in research and teaching that explores technological methods to improve sport performance and athletes’ overall well-being.

Officials from KSU and Wellstar celebrated the agreement at a signing ceremony held on the Kennesaw campus, which comes 10 months after the University launched its most comprehensive fundraising campaign, The Campaign for Kennesaw State.

KSU competes in NCAA Division I in eight men’s sports and 10 women’s sports. Since joining Division I in 2005, KSU has won 61 conference championships across a range of women’s and men’s sports.

Earlier this month, KSU assistant coach Daniel Haugh competed in the Summer Olympics in Paris in the hammer throw, becoming the first former student-athlete in Kennesaw State’s Division I history to compete in the Olympics twice. Current student Emma Hunt competed in the Paris Olympics in sport climbing. Other recent success has included the KSU men’s basketball team making a memorable March Madness run to the NCAA Tournament in 2023, and track and field standout Isaiah Rogers winning the national championship in the weight throw.