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  • Wellstar Kennestone Hospital Verified as Level II Trauma Center by American College of Surgeons
Article Category: Newsroom

Wellstar Kennestone Hospital Verified as Level II Trauma Center by American College of Surgeons

Wellstar Named Top Five National Finalist for American Hospital Association 2021 Quest for Quality Prize; More than 25% of Georgia Trend’s 2021 “Top Doctors” List from Wellstar

Published on June 03, 2021

Last updated 10:48 AM June 03, 2021

Exterior of Kennestone with Wellstar and Committee on Trauma logos

Wellstar Health System,  which has the largest trauma network in the state, has announced that the Wellstar Kennestone Hospital Trauma Center has been verified as one of only four Georgia Level II Trauma Centers by the American College of Surgeons (ACS). This achievement recognizes the Trauma Center's dedication to providing optimal care for injured patients.

Building on Wellstar’s commitment to healthcare excellence, the system was also named a top-five finalist for the American Hospital Association’s 2021 Quest for Quality Prize and had 130 physicians – representing almost 26% of the total list – named as Georgia Trend “Top Doctors.”

Largest Trauma Network in Georgia Adds LII Trauma Care Verification for Wellstar Kennestone

Wellstar operates the largest trauma network in Georgia, with Wellstar Kennestone’s new state-of-the-art emergency department, which opened in July 2020, being one of the largest and busiest in the nation. Kennestone provides comprehensive trauma care, with 24/7 access to on-site trauma, critical care trained surgeons, and a wide range of surgical subspecialties to consistently meet the needs of the most seriously injured patients following the highest care, quality and safety standards.

Established by the ACS in 1987, the Committee on Trauma’s (COT) Consultation/Verification Program for Hospitals promotes the development of trauma centers. Participants provide the hospital resources and level of care necessary to address the needs of all injured patients across the entire trauma continuum of care. Trauma center verification provides a structure for trauma care that can raise the overall level of performance throughout a hospital.

This prestigious verification recognizes the Wellstar Kennestone Trauma Center’s commitment to providing the highest quality of care for injured patients, spanning community outreach and injury prevention efforts, emergency trauma, operative care, critical care, and rehabilitation.

"Receiving this verification further validates the exceptional life-saving care we provide at Wellstar Kennestone for patients who have suffered from all ranges of traumatic injury," said Mary Chatman, Wellstar Health System executive vice president and president of Wellstar Kennestone and Windy Hill Hospitals. "We are so proud of the Trauma Center team's commitment to ensuring that all patients get the appropriate care in a timely and coordinated manner because our communities rely on Wellstar to provide the very best care for every person, every time."

Trauma is the leading cause of death and disability between ages 0-44 and the fourth leading cause of death overall. According to the Georgia Trauma Foundation, nine main causes account for 92.1% of trauma in Georgia. The leading causes of major trauma are motor vehicle crashes (37.7%); falls (22.2%); gunshot wounds (8.0%); motorcycle crashes (5.4%); pedestrian incidents (5.2%); assaults (4.3%); accidents (4.0%); stab wounds (2.9%) and all-terrain vehicle crashes (2.4%).

Top Five Finalist for National Quality Award

As an additional indicator of excellence, Wellstar was one of only five national American Hospital Association 2021 Quest for Quality Prize finalists. The award recognizes healthcare leadership and innovation in providing, improving, and advancing health in communities.

Nominees are highlighted for partnering with community organizations to improve health outcomes, developing new models of care, and collaborating with patients to design the patient care experience. One way that Wellstar addresses vital community needs to enhance health and wellness is via the Wellstar Center for Health Equity (WCHE). Over the past year, the WCHE orchestrated multiple, high-impact initiatives, including free pop-up COVID-19 testing, mobile food markets, and anchoring vulnerable patients with resources, benefiting thousands of Georgians. Wellstar was also honored for pandemic response efforts, including quickly leveraging telehealth to serve patients, creating team member mental wellness programs, and allocating and redeveloping resources across the system.

Georgia Trend Highlights Wellstar Physicians as Top Doctors

The May issue of Georgia Trend included the 2021 “Top Doctors,” the second annual listing of the state’s top physicians. Close to 26% of the physicians on the list were part of the Wellstar Health System enterprise, totaling 130 doctors across the majority of categories.

Physicians deemed by Georgia Trend as “outstanding” span Wellstar’s service areas, facilities, and service lines, including cardiology, neurology, gynecologic oncology, pulmonology, internal medicine, family medicine, emergency medicine, radiology, endocrinology, pediatric orthopedics, spine surgery, and sports medicine, among others. The physicians are selected via peer voting and review of government information sources. Inclusion on this list of the top medical experts in the state further validates Wellstar’s commitment to world-class healthcare.

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Highlights

Personalized Breast Care Close to Home at Wellstar North Fulton

By Wellstar Breast Surgeon Dr. Laura Pearson

I have never met a woman who enjoyed getting mammograms, including myself. They can be uncomfortable, awkward and anxiety-provoking—especially if you have had scares in the past or are at high risk for getting breast cancer.

There are so many additional resources for risk reduction and surveillance available that go hand-in-hand with mammograms. At Wellstar, reducing your risk and screening for cancer starts with a physical from your primary care doctor.

If you are at average risk of developing breast cancer, you should begin annual screening mammograms at age 40. If you have a family history or other risk factors, your doctor may recommend earlier or more frequent screening. If something is detected on a mammogram, the Wellstar Comprehensive Breast Health Program has nurse navigators who will help arrange diagnostic imaging, biopsy procedures and referrals to breast specialists. If you are diagnosed with cancer, the compassionate and oncology-trained nurse navigators with Wellstar Cancer Care walk patients through diagnosis, evaluation, treatment and beyond.

If you’re diagnosed with breast cancer, your treatment and care will transition from our Comprehensive Breast Health Program to the Wellstar Cancer Care team. In Wellstar STAT Clinics, which stands for Specialty Teams and Treatment, we put you at the center of your care plan. In our STAT Clinic for Breast Cancer, the care team, including breast oncology nurse navigators, surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists, nutritionists and genetic counselors, will meet with you and your support system on the same day to formulate a treatment plan personalized to your specific cancer, as well as your personal and cultural needs. Patients are able to ask questions, make decisions and start treatment sooner, improving outcomes.

Many times, surgical intervention can be done as an outpatient procedure. We can also offer some people intraoperative radiation therapy, or IORT—the option of doing their radiation treatment in the operating room at the same time as their lumpectomy, meaning they are able to avoid four to six weeks of radiation treatments. Any other interventions, such as chemotherapy or radiation, including our CyberKnife for treatments like targeted partial breast radiation therapy, are found in the cancer center on Wellstar North Fulton’s medical campus. We have physical therapists, social workers and palliative care specialists who are there for you if the need arises.

Your Wellstar care team can also help you reduce your risk of developing breast cancer. Being overweight or obese or being a smoker can increase your risk. Patients at Wellstar have access to our Center for Best Health to assist in weight management. We also have smoking cessation programs and dietitians waiting to help you make healthier choices that can positively impact your health.

Wellstar provides more than healthcare, PeopleCare—working relentlessly to exceed national standards and our patients’ expectations while remembering the humanity of every patient. We are here for all the situations and stages of our patients’ lives by offering the tools and resources to be healthy and thrive. Wellstar clinicians live in the communities we serve. We must get physicals, mammograms and biopsies. We need help being our healthiest selves. We get sick and have family members who need compassionate care. PeopleCare means offering our patients world-class healthcare in the communities where they live and work.

Your care team can put your mammogram order in Wellstar MyChart to book online, or you can schedule by calling (678) 581-5900.

Visit wellstar.org/northfultoncancercare to learn more about cancer care at Wellstar North Fulton.

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New Medical College of Georgia Campus Opens at Wellstar Kennestone

Newsroom

New Medical College of Georgia Campus Opens at Wellstar Kennestone

MARIETTA, Ga. — With applause, camera flashes, and a ceremonial snip of the ribbon, Augusta University’s Medical College of Georgia (MCG) officially launched its newest two-year clinical campus Tuesday at Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center. The campus is MCG’s first in the Atlanta area.

The celebration of the new campus–known as MCG Atlanta at Wellstar Health System–marked a bold step forward in expanding medical education into the heart of Metro Atlanta, where 48 third- and fourth-year students will now live, learn and care for patients as part of their training. Their areas of focus will include internal and family medicine, pediatrics, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, psychiatry and neurology.

The event brought together leaders from Augusta University, the University System of Georgia and Wellstar Health System to celebrate the launch of MCG Atlanta at Wellstar Kennestone.

“This is a moment of pride, but also a moment of responsibility. Pride in the years of dedication, collaboration and vision that have brought the Atlanta campus to life, and in our students, faculty and partners who believed in this mission before it was fully realized," said Augusta University President Russell T. Keen. "Now, we have the possibility, the opportunity and the responsibility to do even more to strengthen the physician pipeline for Georgia."

University System of Georgia Chancellor Sonny Perdue praised the collaboration as a model for the state’s future.

“It’s a great day to celebrate,” said Perdue. “We look forward to the leadership here at Wellstar Kennestone and know that great things will happen here.”

“When we joined forces with Augusta University, we promised to expand access to care, increase educational capacity and build a stronger healthcare workforce for Georgia. This campus is a powerful example of how we’re keeping that promise," said Candice L. Saunders, president and CEO of Wellstar Health System. “We’re honored to help train future generations of caregivers for every corner of Georgia.”

Following the ceremony, guests toured the new campus suite at 61 Whitcher St. The expansion builds on a decade-long relationship between MCG and Wellstar Kennestone, where students have been getting first-hand experience since 2015.

MCG’s statewide network now includes four-year campuses in Augusta, Athens and Savannah, and regional clinical campuses in Albany, Brunswick, Dalton, Rome and Savannah, making it one of the largest medical school networks in the country.

"MCG has the fourth largest class size in the nation," said MCG Dean David Hess. "That would not be possible without regional clinical campuses like this one. By increasing our capacity to educate more medical students, we’re directly addressing the physician shortage that affects communities across the state. More students mean more graduates, and more graduates mean more doctors ready to serve Georgia."

New Medical College of Georgia Campus Opens at Wellstar Kennestone

Classroom and collaboration spaces at MCG Atlanta at Wellstar Health System
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A friendly image of Ray and Ellie

Highlights

Wellstar’s Atherton Place Honors 80 Years of Love and Service with Ray and Ellie Williams

Cheers and history intertwined on Friday, August 15, 2025, as Ray and Ellie Williams—both proud U.S. Navy veterans—marked an extraordinary milestone: their 80th wedding anniversary. Their remarkable love story began on one of the most pivotal days in American history, when Japan announced its surrender, bringing World War II to a close and ushering in a new era of peace.

Ray, now 101, served 21 years in the Navy, including during WWII and the Korean War. Ellie, who will turn 100 on August 31, proudly served in the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) program, a pioneering initiative for women in the U.S. Navy Reserve. The two met in April of 1945 when Ray returned from the Pacific and was sent to the Navy headquarters in Gainesville, Ga., where Ellie worked in the administration office. They married after a whirlwind four-month courtship.

A friendly image of Ray and Ellie

The couple exchanged vows on August 15, 1945, the same day Japan announced its surrender, marking the beginning of peace and the end of a global conflict. Their wedding day, linked to V-J Day (Victory over Japan Day), has become a symbol of love, sacrifice and the enduring strength of the human spirit.

Ray and Ellie remember their wedding day well. “It was a wonderful day,” said Ellie. “All the guys were celebrating that the war was over.”

“The mood in the nation was ultimate joy and relief,” said Ray. “And, of course, we had the personal joy of being newlyweds, so it was a double-joy for us.” 

Now residents of Wellstar’s Atherton Place, Ray and Ellie were among the honorees at a special ceremony on Friday, hosted by the community. The event, which also paid tribute to the many veterans who call Atherton Place home, brought together family, friends, fellow residents and Wellstar team members to celebrate not only the couple’s milestone, but also the legacy of service that defines the community.

The ceremony included a proclamation by Marietta Mayor Steve Tumlin, who declared August 15, 2025, as “Ray and Ellie Williams Day.”

“Their commitment to each other is truly inspiring,” said Anita Perkins, manager of resident care at Atherton Place. “It’s an honor to care for them and to celebrate their incredible bond with our entire community.”

Located on the campus of Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center, Atherton Place offers a vibrant and supportive environment for seniors, several of whom are veterans. The event highlighted the community’s commitment to honoring its residents’ lives and legacies.

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