Wellstar Supports Child Literacy Through Community Collaboration

Wellstar Center for Health Equity and Wellstar West Georgia Medical Center have launched the Food as Medicine program. In partnership with Feeding the Valley Food Bank, this initiative supports Wellstar’s strategy to improve food access in high-need communities.  

Patients will be screened during primary care visits at offices in the LaGrange area for food insecurity. Clinicians will then connect patients who screen positive for food insecurity to a medically tailored meal program offered by Feeding the Valley.

Participants will receive 10 healthy, prepared meals each week for 90 days. They will also gain access to Cooking Matters classes held at Wellstar West Georgia’s Enoch Callaway Cancer Center, where they will learn to shop for and cook healthy meals on a budget. By equipping patients with practical nutrition knowledge, budget-friendly cooking skills and a three-month supply of healthy meals, Wellstar aims to support people in making lasting, health-boosting changes to their diets and overall well-being. While food insecurity is a concern identified by our Community Health Needs Assessment, diabetes and other diet-related illnesses are also a major threat to our community’s well-being.

Wellstar is increasingly working toward healthy food solutions that address both food access and health. Our efforts with Wellstar Mobile Markets, in partnership with Goodr, and our food rescue initiatives, in collaboration with Goodr and Second Helpings Atlanta, show our commitment to increasing food access.

Learn more about the Wellstar Center for Health Equity. 

Wellstar Health System recently recognized Loran Wills, who is retiring from the Paulding County Hospital Authority after serving on the board since 1978.

Wills, 93, became involved with Wellstar Paulding Medical Center before the original hospital was even built.

“When I came home from the Navy in 1953, I started hearing about the hospital,” said Wills.

The following year, his father, John Loran Columbus Wills, a hardware store owner, was appointed treasurer of a seven-member hospital authority to lead efforts to establish the county’s first hospital. Wills remembers his father going door-to-door, keeping a logbook of pledges from community members, friends, neighbors, employees of local businesses, and family members.

“He said, ‘Son, I need a hundred dollars out of you,’” Wills recalled. “He said, ‘We’re going to build a hospital. You don’t have to pay it now.’”

At the time, the younger Wills only made about $50 a week.

“That was two weeks’ pay at Lockheed then,” he said.

Wills signed the pledge. Three years later, his father came to collect.

“He said, ‘It’s time to ante up,’” Wills recalled.

“It was a sacrifice,” said his wife, Peggy. “We had just gotten married, and a hundred dollars was a lot of money.”

By 1957, the people of Paulding County had raised the money they needed for the project. They held a groundbreaking ceremony on August 2 of that year. A year later, a 25-bed, 14,000-square-foot hospital known then as Paulding Memorial Hospital opened in Dallas. It was later renamed Paulding Memorial Medical Center.

Following in his late father’s footsteps, Loran Wills joined the hospital authority in 1978.

“Since then, he's served faithfully for 46 years,” said Rusty Durham, a longtime friend and fellow board member. “Loran is an exceptional person, very respected in the community because of his low-key approach.”

“I have never heard him complain,” said Peggy Wills, recalling the countless hours her husband spent ensuring the county had adequate healthcare.

With Wills as the hospital authority’s chairman, the hospital joined Wellstar Health System in 1994. Twenty years later, Wellstar Paulding Medical Center moved to its current facility in Hiram.

“We now have a thriving medical center with lots of specialists,” said Durham. “It’s what I would consider a world-class facility.”

In recent years, Wellstar Paulding Medical Center has received numerous awards, including the Malcom Baldridge National Quality Award, the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses’ PRISM award, and an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from the Leapfrog Group, which recognizes its commitment to patient safety and exceptional care.

“It took a lot of hard work by a lot of people to get it done,” Wills said.

Wills recently spent a few days in the hospital as a patient.

“The people are so nice,” he said. “Every person that came in my room was just super great.”

“I just hope the hospital continues to grow,” Wills said before accepting a plaque at a recent regional hospital authority meeting. “We've got a great thing going here in Paulding, and I expect greater days in the future.”

Wellstar Health System announced Wednesday the expansion of its obstetrics and gynecology services in Spalding and Upson counties.

Griffin OB-GYN Clinic has joined the health system as Wellstar Spalding OB/GYN.

“This addition reflects Wellstar’s commitment to providing world-class care for every woman, every time in the communities it serves,” said Preston Hendrickson, Wellstar assistant vice president of Women’s Health Services.

Patients from Griffin OB-GYN Clinic’s primary location, its Thomaston office, and Renew Gynecology will transition to the new practice. Most services will move to a new medical office building near Wellstar Spalding Medical Center, including immediate upcoming appointments for Thomaston patients. The existing Thomaston location will officially open to serve patients at a later date. The phone number for the clinic will remain unchanged.

“As part of Wellstar, caregivers will be able to connect patients to an expanded network of specialists, advanced technologies and centralized resources,” Hendrickson said. “The transition to Epic and MyChart for electronic medical records will also grant them access to integrated patient information, ensuring more comprehensive care.”

This integration also aligns with Wellstar’s broader commitment to addressing maternal and infant health disparities. Through the support of the Healthy Start program, Wellstar is actively addressing maternal and infant health in Spalding, Butts and Troup counties. This initiative prioritizes pregnant women at higher risk of health complications, demonstrating Wellstar’s dedication to improving outcomes for both mothers and infants.

Wellstar continues to increase access to care in Spalding and nearby counties, opening new primary care and neurology clinics in 2024 and previously opening or expanding clinics for cardiology, oncology, orthopedics and gastroenterology. Wellstar also recently expanded its graduate medical education program at Wellstar Spalding, knowing that new physicians are more likely to stay in the communities where they begin their careers. The health system has more than 900 team members in Spalding.

Wellstar has earned multiple awards—including Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For—for its strong and diverse culture.