For the Pollen-Affected, Let's Talk Allergies

Dr. Grace Chiang of WellStar talks identifying allergies, symptoms, managing reactions, children and allergies, pets, and more.

What should you do if you're suffering from the high pollen count? How do you know if you are having an allergic reaction, to pollen, animals, foods or other items? What are allergies, and how should children deal with them? Dr. Grace Chiang, who is in practice with WellStar Medical Group, Allergy and Asthma, and is board-certified in allergy/immunology and pediatrics, took the time to answer some questions about allergies. Many people have allergies triggered by substances inhaled from the air, such as pet dander, mold, dust mites and pollen (trees, grasses, weeds). The underlying cause of allergies is likely due to a complex interaction between genetics and environmental factors. Many studies are underway to further elucidate the causes …

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WellStar Joins the Joint Replacement Registry

WellStar Health System recently became a charter member of the American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR), an independent, not-for-profit database designed to store comprehensive data about joint replacement procedures.

WellStar Health System recently became a charter member of  the American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR), an independent, not-for-profit database designed to store comprehensive data about joint replacement procedures.  Last year, orthopaedic surgeons at WellStar performed more than 2,000 joint surgeries. The AJRR monitors the performance of an artificial joint in a database containing information about the patient, the surgeon who performed the procedure and the hospital where the procedure took place. The data collected helps doctors more quickly identify joints that are performing poorly, and helps them match patients, procedures and devices to ensure that every patient has the best possible outcome. “Joining the AJRR signals WellStar…

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WellStar Celebrates 20-Year Anniversary of Sleep Program

WellStar Health System is celebrating helping people sleep better with the 20th anniversary of WellStar’s Sleep Medicine Program.

WellStar Health System is celebrating helping people sleep better with the 20th anniversary of WellStar’s Sleep Medicine Program. The Sleep Medicine Program began in March of 1993 when a two-bed sleep center opened at WellStar Kennestone Hospital. Today, WellStar’s Sleep Medicine Program has 20 beds at four locations in metro Atlanta and has performed nearly 30,000 sleep studies.  About 40 million people in the United States suffer from chronic long-term sleep disorders, and an additional 20 million people experience occasional sleep problems.  The WellStar Sleep Medicine Program treats sleep disorders ranging from insomnia to sleep apnea. Sleep centers are located at WellStar Douglas, Paulding and Windy Hill Hospitals and the WellStar …

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WellStar, Piedmont Healthcare Partnering on Health Plan

The two health systems just last month formed a collaborative focused on the development of innovative healthcare delivery models.

Press release: Piedmont Healthcare and WellStar Health System have announced a partnership to develop a new health-system-based health insurance plan. The initial goals for the health plan include offering Medicare Advantage, commercial and self-funded products to the general public that will launch in 2014, as well as making the plan available to the two health systems’ combined employee and family base of more than 35,000. This partnership comes on the heels of last month’s announcement that the health systems had formed the Georgia Health Collaborative, a first of its kind in the state, focused on the development of innovative healthcare delivery models such as population management. Piedmont began development of a health-system-based …

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WellStar Unveils New Tool to Enhance Patient Safety

WellStar Health System is the only health system in metro-Atlanta using Xenex Healthcare Services’ room disinfection system in its patient and operating rooms.

WellStar Health System is the only health system in metro-Atlanta using Xenex Healthcare Services’ room disinfection system in its patient and operating rooms.  A “green”, mercury-free technology, the Xenex system is the "fastest, safest and most effective method for the advanced cleaning of hospital rooms, scientifically proven to destroy all major classes of microorganisms that cause hospital acquired infections (HAIs), such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile (C. diff)," according to WellStar. HAIs (also referred to as healthcare association infections), caused by deadly pathogens such as MRSA, C. diff, pneumonia and Acinetobacter, are the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and …

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WellStar Acquires Rights to the Center for Health Transformation

WellStar Health System has acquired the rights to the trademark, trade name and website address of the Center for Health Transformation (CHT), the healthcare think tank established by former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich in 2003.

WellStar Health System has acquired the rights to the trademark, trade name and website address of the Center for Health Transformation (CHT), the healthcare think tank established by former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich in 2003.  The CHT was a for-profit entity whose primary mission was to be a non-partisan collaboration of private and public sector leaders committed to creating a 21st century intelligent health system that saves lives and saves money for all Americans.   Through WellStar’s leadership, the CHT will begin as an invitation-only, collaborative network limited to 20 non-competing, not-for-profit health systems, which will evaluate and share best transformational and innovative practices aimed at …

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WellStar to Offer Lung Cancer Screenings to Veterans

Veterans at higher risk of lung cancer than civilians due to smoking history and exposure to known carcinogens, including Agent Orang.

WellStar Health System is reaching out to local military veterans to receive lung cancer and respiratory risk screenings during a one-day special event to honor these individuals who have served our country. Screenings will be conducted at three locations in Cobb and Paulding counties from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday, November 12 – the day after Veteran’s Day – and are being made available thanks the the WellStar Foundation.   Veterans will receive a FREE respiratory risk assessment to screen for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and sleep disorders in addition to a lung cancer screening evaluation.  Those who meet the criteria for being at risk for lung cancer will be offered a low-dose lung CT scan for $49 (normally $199). …

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Kennestone Honored by Georgia Donation Collaborative

Marietta's WellStar Kennestone Hospital received a medal for reaching a 79 percent conversion rate, which means 79 percent of the people who could become an organ donor did.

WellStar Kennestone Hospital was honored with a Department of Health and Human Services Bronze Medal of Honor at the National Learning Congress in Grapevine, TX for having outstanding organ donation rates from April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2012. Attaining a Medal of Honor for conversion rate means that 75 percent or more of people who could become an organ donor did.  WellStar Kennestone reached a 79 percent conversion rate by recovering 80 life-saving organs for people in end-stage organ failure. Nationally there are more than 115,000 people waiting for a life-saving organ donor; of those people 3,500 are listed in Georgia.  The goal of the National Learning Congress is to quicken the spread of leading practices to continue breakthrough …

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Georgia Cancer Specialists Settles with Feds over Medicare Billing

The U.S. Attorney's Office reached the $4.1 million settlement over allegations the oncology practice violated the False Claims Act.

Georgia Cancer Specialists has reached a settlement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia in which the medical practice agreed to pay $4.1 million to settle claims that it violated the False Claims Act in Medicare billing. The claims settled by the settlement agreement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability. Georgia Cancer Specialists is one of the largest private oncology practices in the country with 27 offices located throughout the Atlanta metro area, including Marietta. The civil settlement resolves the United States’ investigation into Georgia Cancer Specialists’ practices relating to billing for evaluation and management (E&M) services on the same day as a related procedure…

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Help Wanted

Help Wanted: WellStar Clinical Care Partner

Take a look at the latest job openings in and around Marietta.

Kennestone Hospital is looking for a Clinical Car Partner, a support care provider who functions under the direction of the registered professional nurse. For more information and to apply for the position, click here.  To search for a job in the Marietta Patch classifieds, go here. Keep up with all the news you care about by subscribing to our free email newsletter, liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter.

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