Wellstar Partners with Morehouse School of Medicine to Support At-Risk Populations

Annual lung cancer screenings are recommended preventive screenings—much like mammograms and colonoscopies. Yet in Georgia, fewer than 14% of patients who are eligible for lung cancer screenings get them.

Why the hesitation?

According to Dr. Daniel Fortes, a board-certified thoracic surgeon at Wellstar, the reasons for hesitation may include:

• Guilt: “I smoked. If there’s a problem, I caused it.”
• A lack of awareness about screening and insurance coverage
• Fear that screening will find something abnormal

It's important for current and former smokers age 50 and older to champion their health and stay up to date on lung screenings. When caught early, lung cancer is more treatable and likely curable.

“Wellstar puts our patients at the center of their care,” Dr. Fortes said. “We do everything to minimize patient anxiety and maximize the speed at which they travel through the system, so that we can get them to their treatment as quickly as possible.”

What is lung cancer screening?

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among men and women. For many years, most cases were not detected until the disease was already advanced.

That began to change about 20 years ago. Research revealed that screenings with low-dose CT scans were finding cancer earlier, at a stage that is far more treatable. Today, we know that annual low-dose CT screenings for individuals at high risk have been shown to reduce lung cancer deaths by about 20%.

“That was a breakthrough,” Dr. Fortes said. “It was the first time we knew that there was something we could do to decrease the mortality of lung cancer proactively.”

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a government agency, added annual lung cancer screenings to its list of recommended screenings. Medicaid, Medicare and most private insurance plans began covering the costs for patients over 50 whose smoking histories put them at risk.

The screening is painless and fast. Sometimes, the CT scan reveals a lung nodule, or a small, round growth. But not all nodules are cancerous. Old infections, scarring or inflammation can cause benign (non-cancerous) nodules. If the scan is abnormal, the patient will be referred to a Wellstar STAT Clinic for Lung Cancer.

Shorter time from diagnosis and treatment

At Wellstar, STAT Clinics (short for Specialty Teams and Treatments) provide dedicated guidance and help shorten the time from diagnosis to treatment. Within the STAT Clinic for Lung Cancer, the multidisciplinary care team may include a surgeon, pulmonologist, medical oncologist, radiation oncologist and a nurse navigator.

Before a patient visits the STAT Clinic, their team meets to review their scan and develop an initial plan. The patient and their family then meet with the appropriate team members on the same day. Their nurse navigator provides education, support and advocacy from diagnosis through treatment and recovery.

“This takes away a lot of anxiety from patients who are running from one office to another without an answer,” Dr. Fortes said. “They have a defined plan, and we expedite everything. Things happen much faster. Our average is about four to six weeks total from when we first identify a problem to the time a patient receives treatment. That’s compared to four months nationwide—and we’re trying to decrease the time even more.”

Advancements in lung cancer treatment

For patients with early-stage lung cancer, surgery to remove the affected portion of the lung and surrounding lymph nodes is often the center of the treatment plan.

“Many patients with early-stage cancer are candidates for minimally invasive techniques, either by video techniques or robotics,” Dr. Fortes said. “These techniques require small incisions in the chest without much disruption or trauma to the chest wall.”

As a result, patients have less pain after surgery and recover faster. They often leave the hospital after a day or two.

“There have been so many advancements that have changed lung cancer care,” Dr. Fortes said. “When we find lung cancer at the earliest stages and patients have surgery, they have up to an 85% chance of being cured.”

Who should get annual lung cancer screening

If you are 50 or older, currently smoke or smoked in the past, ask your healthcare provider if you should have lung cancer screenings.

The American Lung Association and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommend annual screening for adults 50 to 80 who have a 20 pack-year smoking history. That could mean one pack a day for 20 years or two packs a day for 10 years.

The guidelines apply whether you still smoke or have quit within the past 15 years. You do not need to have symptoms to be screened.

Remember: Finding cancer early, when no symptoms are present, increases your chances of being cured or living longer with lung cancer.

Take the next steps toward screening

• Learn more about lung cancer screening at Wellstar.
• Call (470) 793-4AIR to learn more about eligibility, financial assistance or to schedule a screening.
• Read about a patient whose lung cancer screening results showed cancer in an early stage.
• Need a doctor? Find a Wellstar provider and book an appointment.

Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center has earned three-star ratings—the highest ratings possible—in five cardiac surgery categories from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), placing it among a select group of programs nationwide achieving top-tier performance across a broad range of procedures and making it the only program in Georgia to achieve this distinction.

The STS Adult Cardiac Surgery Database (ACSD) star rating system is one of the most comprehensive and respected measures of quality in the industry, evaluating outcomes from hundreds of hospitals in North America and serving as a leading benchmark for clinical excellence. A three-star rating indicates performance that is significantly better than the national average in key measures such as survival, complication rates and adherence to evidence-based care.

“The STS three-star rating is the highest distinction a cardiac surgery program can earn, and even a single category is rare. Receiving it in five is extraordinary, and it’s a direct reflection of the trust patients place in Wellstar every day,” said Ketul J. Patel, president and CEO of Wellstar Health System. “Our physicians, clinicians and care teams are setting a national standard for quality and safety, making Wellstar a center of excellence for cardiovascular care. This is one of the many ways that Wellstar’s care teams are improving health outcomes in the Southeast.”

In the previous reporting cycle, the program achieved three-star ratings in four categories—an already rare and notable achievement for cardiac surgery programs nationwide. Building on that success, Wellstar Kennestone has now expanded to five three-star categories, underscoring sustained excellence and a continued commitment to advancing high-quality cardiac care.

Wellstar Kennestone received a three-star overall composite quality rating in five of six evaluated procedure categories:

• Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG)
• Aortic valve replacement (AVR)
• Combined AVR and CABG procedures
• Mitral valve repair and replacement (MVRR)
• Multi-procedural cardiac surgery

The program also earned a two-star rating in the combined MVRR and CABG category.

“For patients, these ratings translate to better outcomes, fewer complications, improved survival and a smoother recovery after major heart surgery,” said Dr. Barry Mangel, chief of clinical service lines at Wellstar. “Achieving and sustaining this level of performance across multiple complex procedures is extraordinarily rare and reflects a deeply coordinated, team-based approach to care.”

Wellstar Kennestone’s cardiac surgery program brings together a highly integrated team of cardiac surgeons, cardiologists, anesthesiologists, intensivists, perfusionists, advanced practice providers, nurses, technologists and support team members. This collaborative approach enables the team to deliver consistently high-quality, coordinated care for patients with even the most complex heart conditions.

These results reflect a sustained commitment to clinical excellence, continuous improvement and delivering the highest standard of cardiovascular care to every person, every time.

For more information about heart care at Wellstar, visit wellstar.org/heartcare.