WellStar Acworth Health Park Offers Highly Advanced Imaging Services

The WellStar Acworth Health Park offers an array of the most advanced imaging services in the region. Along with digital mammography, digital X-Ray, bone densitometry, and ultrasound, the center provides the lowest dose CT scan available and a high field, open MRI with ambient features.
   
The WellStar Acworth Health Park is one of the only health care facilities in the region that offers the Ambient Experience open-MRI from Philips Healthcare, an innovative, calming and stress-relieving approach to diagnostic imaging. The high field, open MRI, which offers improved images for the radiologist and physicians, has an ambient feature which allows patients to choose a scene to be projected around the room to ease anxiety. The lighting of the room changes colors to compliment the scene and the patient will have the opportunity to listen to music that also matches the scene they have chosen. The Ambient feature offers the patient the ability to control the environment, enhancing their experience. Pediatric and adult patients can choose from images ranging from beach and mountain scenes to cartoons and desert landscapes.

The WellStar Acworth Health Park is also implementing a dosage program in which minimal dosage from CTs will be administered. With CT dosage and radiation levels a growing concern for patients, having the iDOSE4 capability allows an 80 percent reduction in the typical dose, while maintaining high quality imagery for the radiologist’s review of the images. The WellStar Acworth Health Park offers the low-dose CT scan to pediatric and adult patients.

WellStar Health System Opens First Health Park

The first floor of WellStar Health System’s first health park is now open! The first floor includes an imaging center, urgent care center, laboratory, pre-admission testing and a community education/wellness center. The retail pharmacy and café, also located on the first floor, will open later this summer.

The Urgent Care Center is staffed full-time with physicians and led by an emergency-trained physician, enabling a higher level of acuity to be treated. Patients from newborn through adulthood can be treated at the Acworth Health Park Urgent Care, which is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Located at 4550 Cobb Parkway NW, the WellStar Acworth Health Park is a three-story, 70,000-square-foot building. The second and third floors, scheduled to open in late August, will provide physician office space to 12 medical specialties with a strong foundation of primary care physicians: family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics and OB/GYN. Other physician specialists planned will include cardiology, pulmonary, ENT, hand surgery, orthopedics, gastroenterology, general surgery and neurosurgery.

*Make plans to attend a Family Fun Day and tour the Acworth Health Park on Sunday, Sept. 16 from 2-5 p.m. There will be numerous family fun activities including a rock wall, giant slide, inflatable obstacle course, police/fire and EMS vehicles on-site, Cobb County SafeKids car seat inspections, blood pressure checks and bike safety tips. Register to win prizes including a home gym, set of mountain bikes and a trip for four to Disney World.

WellStar Health Network to Participate as a Medicare Shared Savings Program Accountable Care Organization

On July 9, WellStar Health System announced that it has been accepted to participate in the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Medicare Savings Program as an Accountable Care Organization (ACO). WellStar is one of the 89 entities selected and the only organization from Georgia.

With this recognition by CMS, WellStar has joined an elite group of pioneering health systems across the country that CMS is confident can achieve its goals of improving quality while at the same time bending the cost curve.

Through the Shared Savings Program, WellStar Health Network will work with CMS to provide Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries with high quality service and care, while reducing the growth in Medicare expenditures through enhanced care coordination.

"WellStar Health System is pleased to be accepted into the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) Medicare Shared Savings Program as an Accountable Care Organization," said Reynold J. Jennings, president and CEO of WellStar. "Our success in innovation and creativity, along with our national recognitions in quality measures, integrated health and patient satisfaction has allowed WellStar to be selected. We are joining an elite group of health systems as innovators in how healthcare will be delivered across the country for years to come. Initially, more than 36,000 Medicare beneficiaries will be a part of the WellStar Health Network, which provides us an excellent opportunity to gain population management experience and to positively impact the quality of patient care."

July Department Meetings

WellStar Cobb Hospital

Committee/Dept.	Date & Time	Place
Credentials	7/3 – 12 p.m.	ABR
Medical Executive Committee	7/17 – 12 p.m.	Jasmine/Wisteria Room

WellStar Douglas Hospital

Committee/Dept.	Date & Time	Place
QRC PI Committee	7/12 – 7:30 a.m.	Sweetwater Room
Medical Executive Committee	7/10 – 12 p.m.	Sycamore Room
Gen. Staff & Medicine Dept. & Surgery Dept.	7/19 – 12 p.m.	Community Room - DMC

WellStar Kennestone Hospital

Committee/Dept.	Date & Time	Place
Credentials	7/10 – 7 a.m.	Kennesaw Mountain Room
Medical Executive Committee	7/10 – 6 p.m.	Kennesaw Mountain Room

WellStar Paulding Hospital

Committee/Dept.	Date & Time	Place
Medical Executive Committee	7/12 - 12:30 p.m.	Dogwood Room

Mark McLaughlin, M.D., Recognized for Bringing CyberKnife to WellStar

Mark McLaughlin, M.D. was recognized at the 2012 WellStar Foundation Gala for his outstanding  patient care and his significant contributions to the System, including bringing CyberKnife to WellStar.

Mark McLaughlin, M.D.

One of Dr. McLaughlin's patients, Jane Hollywood, began her battle against cancer eight years ago when she was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. She did very well following her initial treatment, but after five years her cancer returned. This time, her prognosis was very poor. She saw several physicians in the United Kingdom and was always told there was nothing that could be done and she should prepare for the inevitable.

Being the kind of person that does not give up easily, she decided to explore the Internet to see what her options were. Someone told her about CyberKnife, and it seemed like a possibility. She contacted several CyberKnife centers both in Europe and the United States, only to find that they were reluctant to treat breast cancer. She was turned down by all but one. She eventually found a study carried out by Dr. McLaughlin into the treatment of locally recurrent breast cancer with CyberKnife.

Jane Hollywood's story was included in the Gala program:
“When Dr. McLaughlin’s assistant, Madge, telephoned us to say that he could treat my cancer, John and I were elated, because we knew it was our only hope.  But when she told me the cost, I panicked because we would have had to re-mortgage the house.  I thought of my family paying off that debt long after I was gone and the pain and heartache that would cause. I decided against the surgery. My husband came home and tried desperately to persuade me to go forward with it. I contacted Madge the following day to let her know that we could not proceed with the treatment.


Madge called me and said that it may be possible to bring the cost down, and asked me to send her all my financial details.  Thanks to her hard work and the generosity of the WellStar Foundation, the cost of treatment became within our reach. 


I would like to thank everybody, Dr. McLaughlin, Madge, the rest of the team, and the WellStar Foundation staff and volunteers who raise funds to help cancer sufferers like myself. I want to thank all the sponsors, for their kindness in donating their hard earned money to helping others have a second chance.

Click here to view a video about Dr. McLaughlin – (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8u24ltaeYo&feature=youtu.be)

Click here to view a video about Dr. McLaughlin’s patient’s story  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc2dDDKSnnw&feature=youtu.be)

As colleagues of Dr. McLaughlin have said:
“He is so passionate about giving people another chance.  One of the things he did when he brought CyberKnife to Kennestone was to make sure that it would always be available for those who couldn’t afford it.  And, that is certainly exercised on a routine basis. If somebody needs it, they get it.  If they have to come from England to get it, they come from England to get it. He and Madge make that happen on a day-to-day basis.”

“Dr. McLaughlin is a great leader. If it were not for his leadership skills, our program would not be what it is. It does take a team and we have a wonderful team. But, in my opinion our program is what it is because of our leader.”

Hospitalists Go Live with PerfectServe

PerfectServe went live as a pilot for the Hospitalist service at all facilities on June 6. Only a few minor problems with phones and computer icons were uncovered as the system processed nearly 300 interactions in each of the first two days. PerfectServe has demonstrated that it can seamlessly connect the hospital to physicians and soon will allow physicians to connect to each other using PerfectServe. 

More than 70 percent of providers have given information to PerfectServe to allow them to continue to set up the system for a go-live at WellStar Douglas, Paulding and Windy Hill hospitals in July and at WellStar Cobb and Kennestone hospitals in September. If you have not given information to PerfectServe about your contact preferences, please visit PerfectServe at www.perfectserve.com/ws and provide your information online. You may also complete the registration documents mailed to you in April and fax them to 1-877-844-7728. The Medical Executive Committees of the hospitals will begin to receive reports this month of those providers who have not yet signed up. 

PerfectServe consultants will be at WellStar facilities this month through June 14. Please see them if you have questions.

WellStar Health System’s Gold Standards of Clinical Documentation Improvement

General and Endocrine-Specific Clinical Documentation Tips 

WellStar Health System’s Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI) Program is designed to ensure that clinical documentation in a patient’s medical record appropriately reflects the care provided. The most vital role of the CDI program is facilitating a true representation of healthcare services provided, through accurate reporting of the principal diagnosis, co-morbidities and any treatments or procedures.
As part of the program’s ongoing efforts, the CDI team offers specific tips monthly from the Program’s Gold Standards of Clinical Documentation Improvement. 

General Tips:

• Clearly document the patient’s “reason/diagnosis for admission.”
• If the patient’s reason for admission is a symptom, document the likely cause including probable, possible, suspected or differential diagnoses.

Endocrine-Specific Tips:

• When diabetes mellitus is documented, additional documentation is necessary (i.e., Type I versus Type II, uncontrolled versus controlled diabetes and any manifestations associated, if any).
• Documentation of “out of control” diabetes is assigned to uncontrolled.
• Documentation of “poorly controlled” and “inadequately controlled” cannot be captured.
• If a diabetic condition, or a condition due to the diabetes, necessitated the admission, the cause and effect relationship between the manifestation and diabetes must be documented.
• Diabetic manifestations:
        Neurological manifestations:
              DM neuropathy
              DMN with ulcers
              DMN with impotence
              DMN with foot drop
              DMN with gastroparesis
              Autonomic neuropathy

                Ophthalmic manifestations:
                      Retinopathy
                      Blindness
                      Cataracts
                      Glaucoma

                Diabetic peripheral manifestations:
                      DM PVD
                      DM PVD with ulcers
                      DM gangrene

                Diabetic renal manifestations:
                     DM nephropathy
                     DM nephropathy with renal insufficiency
                     DM nephropathy with chronic renal failure
                     DM nephropathy with nephritic syndrome
                     DM nephropathy with ESRD and hypertension

               Other manifestations:
                    Diabetic cellulitis
                    Diabetic ulcers (not PVD or neuropathy)
                    Diabetic bone changes
                    Diabetic osteomyelitis
                    Diabetic hypoglycemic with coma
                    Diabetic hypoglycemia without coma
                    Diabetic coma with ketoacidosis
                    Diabetic coma, nonketotic
                    Diabetic ketoacidosis without coma
                    Diabetic NKHHC (hyperosmolarity)
                    Diabetic impotence (not neuropathy)

WellStar Medical Group New Providers – June

Please welcome the following new providers who joined WellStar Health System in June.

Martha Ximena Aguilera, M.D., FACS - (not pictured) Dr. Aguilera received her bachelor’s degree in biology from Northeastern Illinois University and her medical degree from the University of Kansas School of Medicine. She completed her internship and residency in surgery at Saint Vincents Hospital of New York. She previously worked as a general surgeon at WellStar Cobb Hospital and at Cinica de Ortopedia y Medicina Laboral in Bogota, Columbia. 

Dr. Aguilera is board certified in surgery. She is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

Jeffrey Ellington, M.D.

Jeffrey Ellington, M.D. - Dr. Ellington earned his bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry from Berea College and his medical degree from University of Kentucky. He also completed his residency in internal medicine and pediatrics at University of Kentucky.

Dr. Ellington is board certified in internal medicine and pediatrics. In his spare time, he enjoys skateboarding with his son, hiking with his family, and raising and showing Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs with his daughter.

John Joon Han, D.O.

John Joon Han, D.O. - Dr. Han earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Michigan and his Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Wayne State University College of Nursing. He earned his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Han is board certified in internal medicine.

Hamilton Lam, M.D.

Hamilton Lam, M.D. - Dr. Lam earned his bachelor’s degrees in biology and arts from Emory University where he also earned his master’s degree in public health and his medical degree. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Emory University Department of Internal Medicine. Dr. Lam has worked as a hospitalist at Community Hospital South in Indianapolis, Ind., Southern Regional Medical Center in Riverdale, Ga. and Floyd Medical Center in Rome, Ga.

Dr. Lam is board certified in internal medicine and is certified in Advanced Cardiac Life Support.

Charles M. Moore, M.D.

Charles M. Moore, M.D. - Dr. Moore received his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Alabama and his medical degree from the University of South Alabama College of Medicine. He completed his internship in general surgery and his residency in emergency medicine at the University Hospital of Jacksonville in Florida.

Joanne Zhiwen Zhu, M.D.

Dr. Moore is board certified in emergency medicine. He is married with two daughters. Is his spare time, he enjoys hunting, camping, woodworking, church youth ministry and medical missions.

Joanne Zhiwen Zhu, M.D. (Moving to full time as of June 10) - Dr. Zhu earned her master’s degree in molecular biology from the University of Florida and her medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. She completed her residency in internal medicine at the University of North Carolina Hospitals.

Dr. Zhu is board certified in internal medicine. She is a member of the Society of Hospital Medicine.

Cobb Heart Walk

WellStar will once again be participating in the 2012 Cobb Heart Walk to benefit the American Heart Association.  This year, Robert Jansen, M.D, President of WellStar Medical Group, will serve as co-chairman of the 2012 Cobb Heart Walk along with Tony Britton, chairman of the Cobb County Chamber of Commerce. WellStar will again be a Signature Sponsor of the Heart Walk. Please save the date; the Heart Walk is October 13 at the Marietta Square.


Please help build our teams within WellStar. In 2010, WellStar raised $116,000 for the Cobb Heart Walk. This year, Dr. Jansen’s goal is to exceed $100,000 mark once again.

If you are interested in taking on a leadership role and serving as a team captain, please register your team online by June 30. If you have any questions about the registration process, you can contact the  Heart Walk Director, Laurel Tucker, at 678-224-2131 or by e-mail at laurel.tucker@heart.org. 

Instructions on how to register as a WellStar Team Captain:

1. Log on to www.cobbheartwalk.org and select Register. 
2. Next, select I agree to the waiver, then select Start a Team. 
3. Click on the radio button New Team Under and find your WellStar facility in the dropdown box. 
4. Follow the instructions to create a team name, set a fundraising goal, etc.

Family Fun Day

On June 9 from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m., providers from the following WellStar Medical Group physician practices hosted a Family Fun Day at Merchant’s Station in Marietta:

• Endocrinology
• Family Medicine
• Geriatric Medicine
• Internal Medicine
• Pediatrics



June 9 Family Fun Day in east Cobb County

• Pulmonary Medicine

During the event, community members learned about the WMG practices and how the providers could help them and their families. There were health screenings, games, inflatables, car seat checks and fun activities for the whole family. Cobb Safe Kids inspected about 20 vehicles during the event. Lunch was provided by Whole Foods.

WellStar Physician Biking Entire East Coast to Benefit Pediatric Cancer Research Glenn Hirsch, M.D., Pedaling Nearly 3,000 Miles in Honor of Nephew

As a teenager, Glenn Hirsch, M.D., had an ambitious goal: To ride his bicycle across the country. By the time he hit his 40s, he’d completed some long rides to benefit the MS Society, but still had not reached his cross-country goal.

When he turned 50 in 2000, he figured he’d better get moving. And he did – in a big way. He fulfilled his dream by riding 3,200 miles – from Seattle to Washington, D.C., in 48 days – to benefit the American Lung Association.

Glenn Hirsch, M.D.

For his next adventure, Dr. Hirsch thought about hiking the Appalachian Trail. But after he suffered a heart attack in late 2000 and underwent bypass surgery in 2001, the biking bug returned.
“During my post-op check with the cardiovascular surgeon, I was given a new weight restriction for lifting – 22 pounds,” he explained. “I figured my bike was light enough to lift, so three weeks after the surgery I took a short ride in the neighborhood. Later that fall, I took my first ride on the Silver Comet Trail.”

Then in 2004, the family medicine physician made an eight-day trek from San Francisco to Los Angeles to benefit the Arthritis Foundation.

The biker doc was back – and ready for an even bigger challenge. In 2006, Dr. Hirsch’s 11-year-old nephew, Ian, lost his battle with leukemia. Ian’s family founded the I Care I Cure Foundation to support research for gentler, more humane treatment for childhood cancers. In 2009, Dr. Hirsch began a 3,000-mile bike trip from Key West to Maine to raise money for that foundation and to honor Ian. Biking along the East Coast Greenway in segments, Dr. Hirsch, 62, has traveled through eight states so far, covering more than 1,800 miles.

One of the first WellStar Medical Group physicians, Dr. Hirsch, who practices at WellStar East Cobb Medical Center, joined the System in 1995. He credits WellStar with giving him the flexibility to reach his biking goals – and take time off to recuperate from his open heart surgery.

“I’m happy to be a part of an organization that supports me in all parts of my life,” said Dr. Hirsch. “You’re never too old to fulfill your dreams,” he added. “On my cross-country trek, I was inspired by a 79-year-old man who was on the ride. He paced himself – and he did it.”

Dr. Hirsch will finish his ride in 2013, the same year the Hirschs celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary. If you would like to follow “Uncle Glenn’s East Coast Greenway Bike Ride,” visit
http://icareicureicycle.blogspot.com, a blog created by Lynn Hirsch, Dr. Hirsch’s wife. The blog also provides a link for making contributions to I Care I Cure.

A blog headline last month featured the following quote from Lance Armstrong: “Chasing records doesn’t keep me on my bike. Happiness does!” According to Lynn Hirsch, the statement also applies to her husband. “Glenn isn't after any records, he isn't the fastest rider and he has his aches and pains when he gets off his bike after a long ride. But he loves cycling and has spent some of his happiest moments on his bike,” she wrote that day.

Transportation Referendum: Voice Your Opinion on Traffic – Vote on July 31

Traffic in Atlanta is a major issue.  Our city has the ninth worst urban congestion in the United States with an average commute lasting 60.2 minutes round trip. Atlanta is the 15th most stressful city to live in.  The traffic affects our family, our job and our quality of life as a whole.  This year, we have the opportunity to do more than just complain, we have the chance to speak up and express our opinion.

On July 31, Georgia voters will be asked to vote on the Transportation Investment Act during the General Primary Election. The Act allows 12 regions across the state to each vote on a one cent sales tax for transportation that would expire after 10 years. WellStar operations reside in two regions – the Metro Atlanta Region for Cherokee, Cobb and Douglas counties and the Northwest Georgia Region for Bartow and Paulding counties. 

WellStar senior leadership has reviewed this legislation and considers this initiative essential in helping the Metro Atlanta area remain competitive in the realms of economic development and new jobs as well as increasing the quality of life for those living in our region. Many of the individual projects will have direct impact on improving traffic flow around WellStar facilities.  Better transportation will help us attract and retain a high quality workforce. And it will improve the health and well being of our community.

Learn more about the Regional Transportation Referendum and the projects that will be financed using the tax by visiting http://transformmetroatlanta.com. Please take time vote on July 31 based on your individual beliefs and values.

WellStar Cobb and Kennestone Hospitals Renew Status as Accredited Chest Pain Centers

WellStar Cobb and Kennestone Hospitals Renew Status as Accredited Chest Pain Centers
WellStar Health System announced that both WellStar Cobb and Kennestone Hospitals have again received Chest Pain Center Accreditation from the Society of Chest Pain Centers (SCPC), an international not-for-profit organization that focuses on transforming cardiovascular care by assisting facilities in their effort to create communities of excellence that bring together quality, cost and patient satisfaction.

Hospitals that have received SCPC accreditation have achieved a higher level of expertise in dealing with patients who arrive with symptoms of a heart attack. They emphasize the importance of standardized diagnostic and treatment programs that provide more efficient and effective evaluation as well as more appropriate and rapid treatment of patients with chest pain and other heart attack symptoms. They also serve as a point of entry into the healthcare system to evaluate and treat other medical problems, and they help to promote a healthier lifestyle in an attempt to reduce the risk factors for heart attack.

To become an Accredited Chest Pain Center, WellStar Cobb and Kennestone engaged in rigorous evaluation by SCPC for their ability to assess, diagnose, and treat patients who may be experiencing a heart attack. To the community served by both hospitals, this means that processes are in place that meet strict criteria aimed at:

• Reducing the time from onset of symptoms to diagnosis and treatment
• Treating patients more quickly during the critical window of time when the integrity of the heart muscle can be preserved
• Monitoring patients when it is not certain that they are having a heart attack to ensure that they are not sent home too quickly or needlessly admitted to the hospital

Patient Satisfaction Graphs

 

Trupiano Selected to Serve on National Healthcare Supply Contract Council

Anthony Trupiano

Anthony Truipiano, senior vice president, Supply Chain, has been selected to serve on the Novation Capital, Facilities & Construction Council.a national network of more than 1,350 nonprofit, community-based healthcare organizations and more than 30,000 non-acute care providers nationwide. VHA works with its members to set new levels of clinical performance and identify and implement best practices to improve operational efficiency and clinical outcomes. Novation is the Voluntary Hospital Association’s (VHA) supply contracting company. WellStar is a member of VHA.

"WellStar continues to grow in order to meet the heathcare needs of the communities we serve, including development of state of the art facilities, such as the new Paulding hospital and the medical park in Acworth," said Trupiano. "Participating in this new VHA council will allow me to work with peers from around the country to develop a contract portfolio that can assist WellStar in managing the cost of capital and construction, while also gaining insight into new and innovative technology as it is introduced to the market."

Trupiano will serve as an advisor for the development and enhancement of supply contracts and programs. In this capacity, he will represent WellStar as he helps hospitals across the nation contain costs and better serve their patients.

Northwest Neurology is Fourth Lab to Receive AANEM Accreditation in Georgia

Northwest Neurology has received Laboratory Accreditation status from the American Association of Neuromuscular & Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM). Saba Bejanishvili, M.D., certified by the American Board of Electrodiagnostic Medicine (ABEM), is the laboratory’s medical director.
 
“I am excited to receive AANEM Laboratory Accreditation status”, explained Saba Bejanishvili, M.D. The AANEM Electrodiagnostic (EDX) Laboratory Accreditation Program is a voluntary, peer review process that identifies and acknowledges EDX laboratories that achieve and maintain the highest level of quality, performance, and integrity based on professional standards. Accreditation provides laboratories specializing in EDX medicine with a structured mechanism to assess, evaluate, and improve the quality of care provided to their patients.

 The AANEM established laboratory accreditation criteria for electrodiagnostic (EDX) laboratories to ensure patients receive quality medical care in a safe environment.  Laboratory accreditation provides patients, referral sources, and payers with a credible measure to differentiate the laboratory’s quality of care. The accreditation standards evaluate the diagnostic services and clinical operations essential to providing quality patient care, which include:

• Clinical staff qualifications and continuing education
• Physical facilities
• EDX equipment
• Protocols for performing EDX studies
• Patient reports
• Policies for ensuring the health and safety of every patient

AANEM is a nonprofit membership association dedicated to the advancement of neuromuscular, musculoskeletal, and electrodiagnostic medicine. For more information about AANEM, or to learn more about laboratory accreditation, visit www.aanem.org.

WellStar Health System Generates $2.2 billion for local, state economies

According to a recent report by the Georgia Hospital Association, the state’s largest hospital trade association, in 2010 WellStar Health System’s five hospitals, WellStar Cobb, Douglas, Kennestone, Paulding and Windy Hill, generated more than $2.2 billion in revenue for the local and state economy. The report also found that, during the same time period, WellStar provided approximately $106,594,815 in uncompensated care.  This is in addition to the unreimbursed cost of care provided by WellStar to Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries of $31 million and $58 million, respectively.  This commitment to our community has occurred, while sustaining more than 10,000 full-time jobs throughout northwest metro-Atlanta.  These jobs are non-WellStar employees, such as vendors and contractors, and are in addition to the more than 12,000 WellStar employees.

The report revealed that WellStar hospitals had direct expenditures of more than $957,000,000 in 2010.  When combined with the an economic multiplier developed by the United States Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis, the total economic impact of those expenditures was more than $2.2 billion. This output multiplier considers the “ripple” effect of direct hospital expenditures on other sectors of the economy, such as medical supplies, durable medical equipment and pharmaceuticals. Economic multipliers are used to model the resulting impact of a change in one industry on the “circular flow” of spending within an economy as a whole.

“This new report shows that, even in these difficult economic times, WellStar has an enormous positive impact on our local economy,” said Jim Budzinski, executive vice president and chief financial officer of WellStar Health System. “We thank our community’s unwavering support of WellStar and will continue to work hard to ensure that the citizens of this community have access to health care services that are second to none in quality and affordability.”

While WellStar remains a major component of the area’s economic engine, the System’s leadership, like the rest of the Georgia hospital community, is concerned about a wide array of economic challenges that have made it increasingly difficult to meet the community’s health care needs including continued cuts in Medicare and Medicaid payments and a fast-growing uninsured population. Presently, more than a third of all hospitals in Georgia are operating with negative margins. 

 “We’re extremely concerned with the current operating environment for hospitals,” said Budzinski. “We’ve made a commitment to every citizen of this community to be on call for them 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.  But our ability to do so is being compromised when, in many cases, we’re seeing an increasing number of uninsured patients while the state and federal governments are paying us far less than what it actually cost to treat Medicaid and Medicare patients.”

According to Budzinski state lawmakers must work to protect the state’s health care system with the same fervor that they do other initiatives like education and public utilities. 

“Our local health care system is indispensable,” Budzinski said. “It is the primary guardian of health in our community and is the key building block for everything else in our community including education and economic vitality.  It is our hope that, even in these challenging economic times, that our elected lawmakers will do what is necessary to protect our local health care system and preserve access to health care for everyone in our community.”

Diabetes Services Update

Diabetes Services provides inpatient bedside education at WellStar Cobb and Kennestone hospitals for patients newly diagnosed with diabetes, high-risk diabetes, or whose home self-management of their diabetes needs updating and reinforced. The patients are given a new blood glucose monitor and instructed how to use it with a return demonstration from the patient. The patient is also provided a Diabetes Survival Skills book or CD, and given instructions on safe diabetes care until they can follow-up with their primary physician. The Survival Skills curriculum reviews treatment of diabetes, monitoring, target blood ranges, hypo/hyperglycemia signs and symptoms and how to treat. Nutrition and diet information is also taught. Diabetes medications are reviewed, including insulin self-administration.

The goal of inpatient education is for the patient to feel confident in their diabetes care at home whether they feel sick or well. Outpatient diabetes education classes are also a primary goal, and each patient who receives inpatient education is scheduled for outpatient education as well.

To reach a diabetes educator at WellStar Cobb Hospital, call 770-732-4119. To reach a diabetes educator at WellStar Kennestone Hospital, call 770-793-7810 or 770-793-7836.

New Medical Staff as Approved at the June Governing Board Meeting

Medical Staff

Name	Specialty	Group Name	Appointment	Current Staff Membership
Aguilera, Martha X., M.D.	General Surgery	WellStar Surgical Assoc of Marietta	KH, WMG
Chander, Archana V., M.D.	Pediatrics	Kennesaw Pediatrics, PC	KH
Estrella, Eduardo, M.D.	Obstetrics and Gynecology	WellStar Cobb Gynecologists	CH, WMG
Herbst, Jonathon B., M.D.	Anatomic & Clinical Pathology	WellStar Pathologist Group	CH, DH, KH, PH, WH, WMG
Jaglan, Sandeep, M.D.	Nephrology	Georgia Kidney Associates	DH	CH, KH, WH
James, Kimone M., M.D.	Nephrology	Georgia Kidney Associates	DH, KH, WH, CH – App
Parker, Stacey A., M.D.	Family Medicine	Main Street Family Physicians	KH
Patel, Amish N., M.D.	Nephrology	Georgia Kidney Associates	DH	CH, KH, WH
Raines, Allison L., DO	Emergency Medicine	The Bortolazzo Group, LLC	CH, DH, KH, PH
Roseman, Barry J., M.D.	General Surgery	Surgical Oncology of North GA	WH
Silvera-Schwartz, Aixa I., M.D.	Pediatrics	WellStar Smyrna Primary Care Center	CH, WMG

Advanced Practice Professionals

Name	Specialty	Group Name	Appointment	Current Staff Membership
Adham, Sarah C., NP	Nurse Practitioner	Marietta Neurology & Headache	KH
Blackwood, Elizabeth P., NP	Nurse Practitioner	Pulmonary Medicine	WH, WMG – App	CH, DH, KH, PH,
Fort, Keith W., PA	Physician Assistant	The Bortolazzo Group, LLC	CH, DH, KH, PH
Howard, Rebecca L., PA	Physician Assistant	WellStar Pulmonary Medicine	CH, DH, KH, WMG
Naidu, Rammohan K., PA	Physician Assistant	Tariq Javed, MD	KH
Reardon, Elizabeth J., NP	Nurse Practitioner	WellStar Rheumatology	WMG

July CME Events

• Breast Cancer Tumor Board: July 11 and 25; 7 a.m.; Post Stat Cancer Clinic; WellStar Kennestone Hospital
• Cancer Conference (TB): July 11, 18 and 25; 12 p.m.; Wisteria/Jasmine Room; WellStar Cobb Hospital
• Cancer Conference (TB): July 6 and 20; 7 a.m.; Azalea/Camellia Room; WellStar Kennestone Hospital
• GI Tumor Board: July 5, 12, 19 and 26; 7 a.m.; Azalea/Camellia Room; WellStar Kennestone Hospital
• Safety First Recertification – July 23; 5:30 p.m.; Chestnut Room; WellStar Paulding Hospital
• Thoracic Clinic – July 11, 18 and 25; 5 p.m.; Post Stat Cancer Clinic, WellStar Kennestone Hospital
• Trauma Grand Rounds – Kennestone: July 29; 7 a.m.; Auditorium
• Wound Case Conference – July 6; 12 p.m.; Auditorium; WellStar Cobb Hospital