Community Outreach

Community Outreach

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.

Wellstar Partnership Supports New Mothers

Wellstar Health System has partnered with Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Georgia (HMHBGA) to provide maternal health resources in support of new mothers and birth givers in Georgia.

Learn more

News

Highlights

Know Your Numbers: A Community‑Powered Approach to Heart Health

High blood pressure is often called the “silent killer”—not because it’s rare, but because so many people are living with it without knowing their numbers. Across Cobb and Douglas counties, a new, community‑centered effort expands access to blood pressure monitoring and education.

Through a partnership between Wellstar Community Health, Wellstar Foundation, American Heart Association and Cobb & Douglas Public Health, the Know Your Numbers initiative is helping residents take an active role in their heart health—one reading at a time.

Meeting people where they are

At its core, Know Your Numbers is built on a simple yet powerful belief: Awareness is key to better health outcomes. Many people—especially those who are unable to get the healthcare they need—do not have easy access to blood pressure monitoring tools or clear information about what their numbers mean.

Know Your Numbers addresses that gap by placing easy‑to‑use blood pressure monitoring stations directly inside community and faith‑based spaces. These are places where people already feel safe, welcomed and supported. By placing these tools into trusted environments, the program reduces barriers and normalizes conversations about heart health.

Advancing public health priorities together

Know Your Numbers is funded through the 2025–2026 Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) Partnership Grant awarded by Cobb & Douglas Public Health. The initiative directly advances CHIP priorities focused on access to care, chronic disease prevention and culturally responsive health education across Cobb and Douglas counties.

Through this grant period, the partnership is working toward meaningful outcomes, including:

Installing blood pressure monitoring stations in community settings
Delivering tailored education sessions on heart health
Expanding access to individual blood pressure kits
Increasing self‑reported blood pressure monitoring among participants
Strengthening connections to primary care and social care resources

These efforts are committed to long-term engagement and results, not just a one-time blood pressure check.

A collective commitment to heart health equity

No single organization can address high blood pressure alone. What makes Know Your Numbers powerful is the strength of the partnership behind it. The Wellstar Foundation plays a critical role in grant funding and supporting the program, while community partners bring local insight and trust. Together with American Heart Association and Cobb & Douglas Public Health, the initiative demonstrates what is possible when clinical expertise, public health strategy and community voice come together.

Looking ahead: strengthening health through trusted community partnerships

As Know Your Numbers continues to grow, the heart of the initiative remains its partnership with local churches and faith‑based organizations that open their doors, lend their leadership and serve as trusted anchors for health in their communities. These congregations are not simply host sites—they are active partners in promoting prevention, wellness and connection to care.

A special thank you to our Congregational Health Network partners supporting this work by hosting blood pressure monitoring stations:

Newsroom

Wellstar Health System to Acquire Mountain Lakes Medical Center

CLAYTON, Ga. (June 5, 2026) — Wellstar Health System and Mountain Lakes Medical Center (MLMC) today announced that they have finalized an agreement for Wellstar to acquire the northeast Georgia-based hospital. The transaction is expected to close August 1, pending the conclusion of regulatory requirements and customary closing conditions.

Mountain Lakes Medical Center is a 25-bed critical access hospital serving Rabun County and surrounding northeast Georgia communities. After the acquisition, MLMC will become Wellstar Mountain Lakes Medical Center and join Wellstar’s integrated health system network across Georgia.

“From our earliest conversations, it was clear that Mountain Lakes Medical Center was a special organization with a talented team, deep community roots and tremendous potential,” said Wellstar President and CEO Ketul J. Patel. “We collaboratively pursued this opportunity to build on the hospital’s strong foundation and create new possibilities for patients, clinicians and communities in Rabun County and beyond.”

Patel said the acquisition reflects Wellstar’s broader vision of enhancing patient care across Georgia and the Southeast.

“At Wellstar, we’re building a connected healthcare ecosystem that links community hospitals, physicians, specialists, advanced clinical programs and digital capabilities into a seamless experience for patients. We believe MLMC has an important role to play in that future.”

MLMC leaders said becoming part of Wellstar positions the hospital to continue growing while preserving its commitment to serving the local community.

“MLMC has long served as an important healthcare resource for Rabun County and the surrounding area,” said Mountain Lakes Medical Center CEO Kristy Hall. “We believe joining Wellstar creates exciting opportunities to build on that success while connecting our patients and clinicians to additional expertise, technology, specialty resources and healthcare capabilities that can help support the future of healthcare in northeast Georgia.”

Wellstar and MLMC emphasized that patients will continue to have access to the clinicians and care teams they know and trust. Wellstar intends to take a phased and thoughtful approach to integration that prioritizes continuity for patients, clinicians and team members.

As part of Wellstar, MLMC will gain access to broader clinical expertise, advanced clinical programs, technology resources and operational support. Over time, patients and clinicians will also benefit from Wellstar’s Digital Care Network, which connects local care teams with specialists and advanced clinical programs across the system in real time, helping accelerate diagnosis, treatment planning and coordinated care.

The organizations also believe the acquisition will strengthen healthcare access throughout northeast Georgia and the region. Wellstar views MLMC as an important healthcare access point uniquely positioned to help connect patients and communities to specialists, advanced treatment options and healthcare resources while allowing patients to continue receiving care close to home.

For team members and clinicians, the transaction represents an investment in the people and relationships that have made MLMC what it is today. Wellstar intends to retain current MLMC team members at the point of transition and anticipates continuity in local operations throughout the process.

Additional information and updates will be shared with team members, clinicians, patients and the community.

About Wellstar Health System

Wellstar Health System is one of the largest nonprofit health systems in the Southeast and a growing destination for care across Georgia and beyond. Guided by its PeopleCare culture, Wellstar is advancing a bold vision to deliver exceptional quality, safety and patient experience while expanding access to world-class medicine.

Today, more than 35,000 team members, one of the region’s largest physician networks and 11 hospitals serve communities through more than 400 care locations, including cancer centers, rehabilitation facilities, urgent care centers and a digital care network that extends specialty expertise to community and rural hospitals. Wellstar’s nationally recognized programs span cardiology, neuroscience, oncology, orthopedics, pediatrics and other specialties, bringing advanced treatment closer to the people who need it.

Through partnerships that include Augusta University’s Medical College of Georgia, Wellstar helps educate future clinicians, accelerate discovery and translate research into real-world impact. Recognized as one of Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For, Wellstar combines clinical excellence, innovation and collaboration to improve the health and well-being of every person it serves.

About Mountain Lakes Medical Center

Mountain Lakes Medical Center believes in providing the highest quality, compassionate care in a world-class hospital setting. As a Level IV Trauma Center and full-service, 25-bed acute care hospital, Mountain Lakes Medical Center is staffed by highly trained medical professionals who are passionate about improving healthcare and redefining how our community thinks about health and wellness.

Our dedicated doctors, nurses, and staff are committed to a truly person-centered approach—serving patients, families, our local community, and employees with kindness and respect every day. Serving the Northeast Georgia and the Western Carolinas, our hospital represents a bold step into the future of healthcare. We are committed to creating a healing environment that fosters collaboration and puts people first.

Newsroom

BD and Wellstar Advance Patient Care and Safety with Medication Management Powered by AI

BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), a leading global medical technology company, today announced a strategic partnership with Wellstar Health System to enhance the safety and quality of medication delivery for patients across its hospitals and care facilities.

Through this collaboration, Wellstar is building a more connected approach to medication management from the pharmacy to the bedside by combining BD Pyxis™ Pro medication dispensing technologies with BD Alaris™ Infusion Systems. By adopting the latest in dispensing and infusion technology, Wellstar is empowering clinicians with greater accuracy, real time visibility and streamlined workflows, helping them spend less time on manual processes and more time delivering safe, dependable care to their patients.

Powered by artificial intelligence, the new BD Pyxis™ Pro Dispensing Solution with Analytics in BD Incada™ provides Wellstar with enterprise wide visibility into medication inventory, including on demand insights through natural language queries. Customizable dashboards convert data into actionable intelligence, helping clinicians identify trends to ensure medication availability, reduce medication waste and optimize labor efficiency. And with BD Alaris™ Interoperability, Wellstar clinicians can use barcode scanning to verify patients, medications and smart pumps; send infusion orders directly from the electronic medical record and receive infusion statuses back into the EMR.

“At Wellstar, our focus is on delivering safe, innovative care to every patient, every time,” said Susan Wright, vice president of pharmacy services at Wellstar. “Partnering with BD to implement this technology strengthens our ability to focus on patient-centered programs and empower our teams to deliver care with confidence and compassion.”

Wellstar also participates in the Strategic Development Council for BD’s Medication Management Solutions business, where Wellstar leaders contribute expertise across enterprise pharmacy operations, medication safety, nursing and informatics. This input helps inform and shape future innovation at BD and drives next-generation solutions to meet the real world challenges faced by large, complex healthcare systems.

“BD is proud to partner with Wellstar to advance medication safety and help ensure patients receive the right medications at the right time,” said Connor Bates, worldwide president for medication management solutions at BD. “By integrating BD Pyxis™ and BD Alaris™ technologies, Wellstar is setting an example of how health systems can achieve connected, intelligent medication management that benefits both patients and clinicians.”

This collaboration reflects a shared vision to strengthen safety, efficiency and patient outcomes across the continuum of care, while positioning Wellstar as a leader in leveraging technology to improve the health of the communities it serves.