Wellstar
Kennestone Hospital Receives CON Approval for New Cardiac Surgery
Program in Conjunction with Emory Healthcare
MARIETTA, Ga
(December 14, 2001) --WellStar Kennestone Hospital received certificate-of-need
(CON) approval today to establish a community, not-for-profit open-heart
surgery program and related clinical education and research at WellStar
Kennestone Hospital, in collaboration with Emory Healthcare.
The new service will provide
for cardiac surgeons from Emory's top-rated program to perform open-heart
surgery at WellStar Kennestone Hospital. The Emory Heart Center has
been ranked among the nation's top 10 heart centers in the United States
by U.S. News and World Report since 1990.
"The community was overwhelmingly
supportive of a cardiac surgery program at WellStar Kennestone Hospital,"
says Dr. Robert Lipson, president of WellStar Health System. "Approximately
1,000 letters of support were received from area residents."
Serving a four-county region
in greater Atlanta and the northwest Georgia suburbs, WellStar Kennestone
Hospital treats over 200,000 patients per year. With over 100,000 patients
treated in the emergency room annually, WellStar Kennestone ranks second
to Grady Memorial Hospital in volume of emergency room visits.
WellStar's CEO Tom Hill said,
"We are very excited about expanding our cardiac program at WellStar
Kennestone Hospital to include open heart and angioplasty services in
conjunction with Emory Healthcare's nationally acclaimed cardiothoracic
surgery program. We are proud to offer patients access to this premier
program and some of the best cardiothoracic surgeons in the country."
As part of the agreement
with Emory Healthcare, WellStar Kennestone Hospital will be added as
a training site for Emory's preeminent teaching program, which includes
Emory University Hospital, Crawford Long Hospital, Children's Healthcare
of Atlanta, the Atlanta Veterans Administration Medical Center and Grady
Memorial Hospital.
"We're very pleased at the
opportunity to work with the outstanding physicians and hospital leadership
at WellStar Kennestone Hospital and to make our open-heart surgery services
more accessible to the broad community in that area," said John Fox,
president and COO of Emory Healthcare. "It's especially gratifying to
feel so welcomed by the hospital and the Georgians it serves."
Emory Healthcare is the most
comprehensive health care system in metropolitan Atlanta. It includes
The Emory Clinic, the Emory Children's Center, Emory University Hospital,
Crawford Long Hospital, Wesley Woods Center and the jointly owned Emory-Adventist
Hospital. EHCA, LLC, a limited liability company governed jointly by
Emory Healthcare and HCA-The Healthcare Company, further broadens Atlanta's
access to care under the Emory umbrella, as does a strong hospital affiliate
program throughout Georgia and neighboring states.
WellStar Health System is
a community-owned and operated network including Cobb, Douglas, Kennestone,
Paulding and Windy Hill hospitals; WellStar Physicians Group; Medical
Centers; Neighborhood Healthcare Centers; Health Place; Homecare; Hospice;
Atherton Place and WellStar Foundation.
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