Wellstar Kennestone Hospital Celebrates 71 Years of Community Service and Care Excellence

Wellstar Health System honored the life, legacy, and many contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a tribute and virtual ceremony on Jan. 13. The event included team members, faith leaders, and powerful voices from the diversity, equity, and inclusion community with uplifting and moving blessings, song, dance, images and messages.

Allyship, connectedness, and advocacy emphasized as tools to combat injustice 

Wellstar physicians, caregivers, and team members are connected by the desire and commitment to serve with compassion, pursue excellence and honor every voice as the system strives to meet the vital needs of patients and communities. 

During the virtual event, Wellstar president and CEO Candice L. Saunders reflected on the organization’s deep commitment to caring for people and Dr. King’s view of the world that all life is interrelated. 

The ceremony’s keynote speaker, Dr. Johnetta Betsch Cole, chair and seventh president of the National Council of Negro Women and former president of Spelman College, an historically black college, emphasized the theme of the event from Dr. King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” wherein he stated: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” She talked about the importance of being an ally and advocate for any struggles against injustice, and encouraged all to build a better world where we can stand together. Dr. Cole was introduced by Le Joyce Naylor, Wellstar’s senior vice president and chief diversity, equity & inclusion officer.

In addition to inspiring messages from Dr. Cole and Saunders, the event included prayers and blessings from David A. Spencer Jr., manager of Wellstar Spiritual Health; Cavit Agu, chaplain for Wellstar Health System; Rabbi Judith Beiner of Jewish Family and Career Services of Atlanta; and Patricia Symonette, director of Wellstar Spiritual Health, who sang “Show Me How to Love,” by Babbie Mason. The Fellowship Bible Baptist Church Worship and Arts Ministry sang and danced to “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” by J. Rosamond Johnson and James Weldon Johnson. Dr. Scott Swayze, chair of the Wellstar Board of Trustees, closed the event with a message about Wellstar’s commitment to compassion, excellence, and inclusion.  

Wellstar is honored to celebrate the life and legacy of American Civil Rights Movement leader and activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and acknowledge this important federal holiday and National Day of Service in recognition of his enduring impact and example. Wellstar has added Martin Luther King Jr. Day to the paid holiday calendar starting Jan. 17, 2022. To watch Wellstar’s “2022 Celebration of the Life and Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” click this link.  

Six major health systems that serve metro Atlanta and the state of Georgia have unified to address the public regarding the latest COVID-19 impacts and the result of the rapid  spread of the Delta and Omicron variants.

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory Healthcare, Grady Health System, Northeast Georgia Health System, Piedmont Healthcare and Wellstar Health System are once again experiencing a staggering surge in adults and children with COVID-19 symptoms and diagnoses. Collectively, the healthcare systems have experienced 100–200% increases in COVID-19 hospitalizations in the past eight days and the vast majority of inpatients are unvaccinated. This comes at a time when the health systems are preparing for an influx of patients with seasonal flu.

Emergency room activity has also increased significantly for both emergent and non-emergent situations, including those seeking COVID-19 testing without the need for further care or treatment. To keep emergency rooms available to individuals who have the most critical health needs, individuals should obtain care at the most appropriate medical facility for their condition and seek COVID-19 testing at primary care locations, public health and mass testing sites or use at-home testing kits.

While hospitals in metro Atlanta and throughout Georgia have best practices in place to actively manage capacity and provide high-quality patient care, we need the public’s help and support. Doing the following will help us all navigate this significant wave, minimize serious illness and hospitalizations from COVID, and better manage emergency room diversions and wait times at our facilities:

• Get fully vaccinated for COVID-19, obtain the COVID-19 booster when eligible and get the seasonal flu vaccine.
• Go to the most appropriate medical facility for your condition when you require care — and do not delay care if you are in need of immediate medical attention.
• Please remember that emergency rooms are for those seeking examination and treatment for medical emergencies, not for routine COVID-19 testing or mild symptoms.
• Please only call 911 with a true emergency. Local 911 operators and EMTs are overwhelmed with calls, so if there is not a real emergency, please call your medical provider for guidance.
• Use at-home testing kits, public health testing locations or independent testing facilities if you need to be tested for COVID-19 unless you are ill and need medical care.
• For routine COVID-19 tests, you can find a location near you on the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) website at: dph.georgia.gov/covidtesting.
• Consult your provider for appropriate treatment options if you are diagnosed with COVID-19.
• Continue to actively follow CDC and DPH guidelines, and practice the “3 Ws” safety measures — wear a mask, wash your hands, and watch your distance.
• Anticipate increased wait times for medical services. Due to the influx of patients and increased demands placed on our health care workforce, we ask everyone who enters our facilities to practice patience and kindness with each other and with our care team members who are providing expert, compassionate care.

The health and safety of our patients and communities remains our top priority. The six metro Atlanta health care systems will continue to work together to educate and inform the public regarding COVID-19 and address the most critical health needs impacting our area. We also would like to express our appreciation to the Governor for his support of our workforce and the newly announced funding to address staffing shortages at hospitals across the state due to COVID-19, and to the Georgia Department of Public Health for continued outreach to the public regarding issues affecting our patients, care team members and community.

Wellstar patients will be among the first in Georgia to benefit from a new, FDA-approved imaging technology that detects the extent of prostate cancer earlier and with greater accuracy than current imaging methods.

This diagnostic agent called PYLARIFY (piflufolastat F 18) is given to patients as an injection. Once it is in the body, it binds to PSMA, or Prostate Specific Membrane Antigens. Prostate cancer cells usually have a higher level of PSMA. 

When used with PET scans, this innovative technology gives physicians a clearer image of prostate cancer lesions and enables providers to determine the best course of treatment. 

“We have the most sensitive PET scan for prostate cancer available,” said Wellstar Radiation Oncologist Dr. Justin Hart.

Wellstar is among the first in Georgia to routinely offer PSMA PET scans with PYLARIFY.

While standard scans have limited sensitivity for prostate cancer, this advanced imaging is much more capable of identifying prostate cancer, which allows Wellstar doctors to determine if the cancer is limited to the prostate or if it has spread to other parts of the body.

“It allows us to make sure we’re not missing any sites of cancer that aren’t picked up with old-school imaging,” said Wellstar Urologist Dr. Justin Watson. “If there is an area of cancer outside what we’d typically treat and we pick it up with this imaging, we can make sure we address that area, too.”

Providers can then tailor treatment to each patient’s individual needs, collaborating with the patient to find the best course of action and improve outcomes.

“It’s actionable information to make sure patients get the right treatment. It makes all the difference in the world,” Dr. Hart said.

Dr. Hart and Dr. Watson compared the new imaging technology to upgrading a 20 inch tube style TV from 1981 to a 60 inch LCD flat screen TV today.

“This is several leaps forward in our ability to see prostate cancer on a scan in high resolution,” Dr. Watson said. “In the older scans, things are difficult to see and sometimes not even perceptible, and with the new scans, they light right up and we know much better what we’re dealing with.”

This PSMA imaging is currently available at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital, with plans to expand to other locations.

Men between the ages of 55 and 69 should discuss prostate cancer screening with their primary care providers, and men who are at higher risk may need to start screening earlier. Your Wellstar physician will get to know your health needs and history, then work with you to decide whether you might benefit from screenings.

If you have been diagnosed with prostate cancer, talk to your provider about whether PSMA imaging should be part of your care plan. To learn more about prostate cancer treatment at Wellstar, visit our prostate cancer page or call 1 (877) 366-6032.