Wellstar Community Outreach
At Wellstar, community outreach is an important facet of our mission to enhance the health and well-being of every person we serve.
- Community Outreach
Community Outreach at Wellstar
Wellstar Health System is a nonprofit organization and is committed to being an engaged community partner. At Wellstar, we are more than healthcare, we are PeopleCare, and our passion for people extends into the communities we serve. We are committed to elevating the health and well-being of our community through outreach and partnership that honors all voices. Wellstar relies on and values our community partners and the role they play in positively impacting the health and well-being of every person we serve. Wellstar partners with mission-aligned and other non-profit organizations to address priority health needs and social determinants of health as defined through our Community Health Needs Assessments, and that also further a social cause and provide community benefit. We work alongside our business and civic partners and leaders to amplify health awareness, contribute to economic development and growth, and to help our communities thrive through service. We also partner with both academic and other organizations dedicated to career development to help prepare the next generation of caregivers and healthcare workers in both clinical and non-clinical capacities. In addition to community partnerships, Wellstar also engages in our community through corporate volunteerism, sponsorships, event participation and speaking engagements that align with our areas of focus. Each request for Wellstar to provide community support is carefully considered. Please contact us about speaking engagements, sponsorships, events, and other partnership opportunities. If you would like to receive our monthly Community Update eNewsletter, please submit your request here: [email protected]Just a few outreach examples
Wellstar supports our partner organizations such as those providing access to food and housing by engaging our team members in volunteerism and community service through Wellstar’s CommunityCare initiative. Wellstar also provides health education and awareness on important health and wellness topics such as cardiac health and stroke prevention, breast and prostate cancer prevention, and mental health including suicide prevention, and substance abuse prevention and treatment.
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Highlights
When Community Meets Care: Why Resources Matter and How Wellstar Find Help is Changing Lives
“Jane” sits quietly in the exam room, clutching the discharge papers the doctor has just handed her. Her blood pressure has improved, but she is still overwhelmed with worry—not because of the diagnosis, but because of what awaits her outside the hospital.
She has a new prescription in her hand, but no reliable transportation to pick it up, and a diet plan to follow, but an empty fridge at home. She has advice to rest, but a job that didn’t offer paid time off, which will mean no way to pay her utilities or her rent.
Her doctor has done everything right medically—yet Jane still is not set up completely for a positive health outcome.
This is the moment where health systems face a truth we cannot ignore: Health doesn't begin in the exam room, and it doesn’t end there either. It lives in kitchens, workplaces, neighborhoods, families and within our communities. It is shaped by whether someone can afford groceries, find safe housing or get to their appointments.
These everyday circumstances—known as social determinants of health or non-medical drivers of health—affect nearly every outcome. They determine whether treatment plans succeed, whether chronic conditions worsenand whether families thrive or struggle. In fact, research shows that up to 80% of health outcomes are tied to social determinants, not clinical treatment alone.
And for too long, patients like Jane have been left to navigate these challenges alone.
A Shift in Healthcare: PeopleCare
Imagine if every healthcare visit didn’t only diagnose health needs, but also understood life needs:
- “Do you have access to healthy food?”
- “Are you worried about housing or utilities?”
- “Do you need transportation to follow-up appointments?”
This is the movement taking place today: healthcare shifting beyond treating illness to supporting everyday well-being. Medicine can lower blood pressure, and community support can keep it down.
Enter Wellstar Find Help: Support at Your Fingertips
To bring this vision to life, Wellstar has introduced Wellstar Find Help—a tool that connects individuals with thousands of community resources including:
- Food assistance
- Housing and utilities
- Transportation
- Employment support
- Mental health services
- Senior and caregiver programs
It’s a pathway, a bridge and a lifeline. All resources can be found very easily by entering the ZIP code for the person in need within the community. Refer your friend, a family member, a fellow church member or even yourself if you need it.
Here’s what makes it truly powerful. Anyone can use it—anytime, anywhere, from home or phone, and it’s built directly into Wellstar’s medical record system. The tool is publicly available and can be used anonymously—no account or medical record is required. When someone is sitting in a room like Jane was—overwhelmed, uncertain, quietly carrying life burdens—the care team doesn’t just send them home with instructions.
They can help them right there, in the moment by connecting them to real support before they walk out the door.
Healing happens in community
When community resources meet medical care, everything changes. A father on dialysis doesn’t miss treatment because a ride fell through. A mom recovering from surgery has healthy meals for her family. A senior gets help with housing instead of silently struggling. People don’t just survive. They thrive because sometimes the strongest medicine is hope.
Sometimes hope looks like a bus pass, a food pantry referral or a team member who says, “You don’t have to figure this out alone.”
Wellstar Find Help will assist us in figuring it out together or at least give us a place to start. Wellstar Find Help is more than a website. It’s a community initiative that suggests care doesn’t end when the hospital doors close, that supports every person's right to dignity, access and opportunity and acknowledges that healthcare isn’t just about treating bodies—it’s about overall well-being. For patients like Jane, that can make all the difference.
Community health challenge: working together to change lives
For community partners
You are the backbone of healthcare beyond the medical building walls. Our community’s food banks, housing organizations, transportation services, senior programs and faith-based organizations provide stability and opportunities for patients to heal as a whole. We invite you to:
- Claim your organization: share your programs, capacity and preferred referral pathways.
- Help us lift barriers proactively rather than reactively.
- Stay connected.
Healthcare needs you, and our communities thrive when we all work together. Together we can create and sustain a network of support that meets people where they are and then lifts them where they deserve to be.
Visit wellstar.findhelp.com to learn more and find resources.
Highlights
Small Steps. Real Change. Supporting Heart Health Where Life Happens
The CDC Foundation is launching Live to the Beat Virtual Coaching, a free program to help women take small steps toward better heart health. This flexible, virtual program offers practical guidance meant to support and encourage—never overwhelm.
Live to the Beat Virtual Coaching focuses on everyday habits that matter most for heart health. Women will learn how to manage blood pressure, reduce stress, improve sleep and build health routines. The program helps participants understand their numbers and learn the right questions to ask so they can be active partners in their care.
Through our partnership with the CDC Foundation, Wellstar provides support for the virtual coaching program. This includes Dr. Karla Booker, a Wellstar primary care physician and public health advocate. Dr. Booker helps participants to better understand their health, prepare for medical visits and work with their care team to manage their well-being.
"I want my patients to know that I am their dream weaver. Whatever life they envision for themselves is possible," Dr. Booker said. "I want to empower them to communicate openly with me to make their dreams come true."
Participants may choose to attend all five sessions or choose sessions that fit their needs. Each session offers practical tools, real‑world insights and clear next steps that can be applied immediately. Following the live sessions, instructional videos are available for download. Partners and community organizations can also use a facilitator guide (by request) and session worksheet to can help educate the community.
Learn more and register at livetothebeat.org/coaching.
Newsroom
Precision treatment advances cancer care with new non-invasive technology
Wellstar MCG Health Medical Center and Wellstar Georgia Cancer Center have begun treating patients using the new Gamma Knife Esprit, the latest state-of-the-art system for non-invasive treatment of neurological and oncologic conditions. The new technology provides patients with the gold standard for non-invasive brain tumor and cancer treatments, underscoring Wellstar and Wellstar Georgia Cancer Center’s dedication to innovation and patient-centered care.
The Gamma Knife Esprit delivers highly precise radiation therapy—to within 0.15 millimeter accuracy—which allows physicians to better treat complex or previously inoperable conditions while preserving surrounding healthy brain matter without the need for traditional surgery. This advanced technology minimizes risk, reduces recovery times and offers hope to patients who may not be candidates for more traditional procedures.
“Bringing the Gamma Knife Esprit to Augusta and the Central Savannah River Area represents a transformative leap in neurosurgical care for our region,” said Dr. Fernando Vale, chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Wellstar MCG Health and the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) at Augusta University. “With its pinpoint accuracy, we can better treat complex brain conditions while further improving quality of life and reducing patient discomfort.”
Gamma Knife Esprit can target the smallest tumors and lesions with sub-millimeter precision— smaller than the size of a pencil tip—to treat brain lesions, tumors and vascular abnormalities without incisions or general anesthesia. This non-invasive approach results in shorter hospital stays, fewer side effects and faster recovery, making it a powerful resource for patients and their families.
Dr. John Barrett, chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at MCG, added, “This technology allows us to provide effective, non-invasive treatment options for patients with brain tumors, vascular malformations and other neurological disorders. It’s a significant step forward for our patients and our clinical teams.”
“It is a privilege to serve our community by bringing leading-edge care to the CSRA,” said Ralph Turner, president of Wellstar MCG Health. “This cutting-edge technology strengthens our Neuroscience Center of Excellence and Wellstar Georgia Cancer Center, but most importantly, it ensures that patients from across the region have access to world-class, non-invasive treatment options close to home.”
The addition of the Gamma Knife Esprit further reinforces Wellstar MCG Health’s position as a leader in advanced neurological and cancer care. Through continued investment in technology and partnerships, Wellstar MCG Health remains committed to excellence, innovation and the well-being of every patient we serve.