Registered Nurse

Wellstar Columbia County Medical Center set to open Aug. 26 in Georgia. The facility includes dedicated intensive care unit rooms, while every patient room can be converted to function as an ICU room if needed. Photo Credit: SmithGroup. * Wellstar Columbia County Medical Center is scheduled to begin seeing patients Aug. 26 in Grovetown, Georgia. * The 100-bed hospital will expand access to emergency, surgical, imaging, cardiology, neurology, oncology, orthopedic, specialty and inpatient care. * SmithGroup's project profile describes a 22-acre campus with six operating rooms, 19 emergency exam rooms, interventional radiology and cardiac catheterization, plus patient-room pods designed around close nursing visibility. * An adjacent 92,000-square-foot medical office building with 11 outpatient clinics is expected to open later this fall. GROVETOWN, Ga. - Wellstar Columbia County Medical Center is preparing to open Aug. 26 in Grovetown, Georgia, adding a 100-bed hospital and new clinical capacity in Columbia County and the broader Central Savannah River Area. Along with expanded inpatient and specialty services, the campus incorporates design features intended to support flexible care delivery, staff collaboration, patient visibility and future growth. The hospital will provide emergency care, surgical services, advanced imaging, cardiology, neurology, oncology, orthopedics, specialty care and inpatient services. Wellstar said every patient room can be converted for intensive care use if needed, while telehealth technology can connect patients with Wellstar MCG Health specialists and family members. Digital whiteboards are intended to keep patients and care teams connected to current medical information. "When a new hospital comes to life, it creates opportunities that will benefit a community for generations," according to an article from Wellstar. SmithGroup, which provided full design and fit-out services for the hospital, describes the project as a new medical campus on a 22-acre wooded site along the Interstate 20 corridor. Its project profile says the hospital includes Level II trauma care, an emergency department with critical care and trauma rooms, 19 exam rooms, six operating rooms, interventional radiology and cardiac catheterization, inpatient and outpatient imaging suites, pharmacies, dining and a central utility plant. The design also organizes medical-surgical patient rooms into pods, with a nursing station for every four rooms to improve sightlines. Glass-walled team rooms between nurse stations provide collaboration and teaching space, while separate on-stage and off-stage circulation is intended to reduce disruptions. Public areas are organized around a glass-enclosed main concourse designed to support wayfinding and daylight. SmithGroup said the campus plan preserves existing woodlands and a creek, with a small park on the west side and planned walking trails intended to connect the healthcare campus with the surrounding community. "What's being built here is an investment in the CSRA as well as an important part of strengthening the healthcare workforce across Georgia through Wellstar MCG Health, Augusta University, and the Medical College of Georgia," according to an article from Wellstar. The project also extends the partnership among Wellstar, Augusta University and the Medical College of Georgia, creating additional learning opportunities for students and future healthcare professionals. Next to the hospital, a 92,000-square-foot medical office building with 11 outpatient clinics remains under construction and is expected to open later this fall. Stay ahead of the industry. Get HCO News delivered free.

Why curiosity is the hallmark of great supply chain teams. August 24, 2026- Healthcare supply chain teams are often measured by their ability to execute consistently, but according to Tiffany Weaver, Executive Director of Procurement and Procure-to-Pay Center of Excellence Operations at Wellstar Health System, consistency alone isn't enough to achieve excellence. "Good supply chain teams follow established processes and procedures," Weaver said. "They execute the work consistently." What separates great teams, she explained, is curiosity. Rather than accepting existing processes at face value, high-performing teams dig deeper when challenges arise. They ask questions, investigate root causes and continuously look for opportunities to improve. Just as importantly, they rely on data - not assumptions - to guide decisions and drive innovation. That mindset was critical during one of Wellstar's most significant recent projects: the implementation of the Workday ERP system. Over the past three years, Wellstar has completed several major initiatives, including the acquisition of an academic medical center, changes to supplier credentialing and the implementation of a new invoice management system. But Weaver points to the Workday transition as the most impactful. With approximately 35,000 team members across the organization and nearly 4,000 employees with purchasing access, the implementation required extensive testing, training and education. Weaver's team worked to ensure both procurement staff and end users were fully prepared before the system went live. The successful rollout demonstrated the qualities Weaver believes define great supply chain teams: a willingness to learn, a commitment to continuous improvement and the discipline to let data drive decisions. In today's rapidly evolving healthcare environment, those traits may be the difference between simply maintaining operations and transforming them.

Curative adds Wellstar Health System as the cornerstone of its Georgia provider network. Friday, August 21st, 2026 Curative, the employer-sponsored health plan redefining access to healthcare through its $0-deductible, $0-copay model, today announced a network agreement with Georgia-based Wellstar Health System, adding 12 hospitals and more than 400 medical office locations, as Curative continues to build out statewide coverage. As a major integrated health system partner for Curative in Georgia, Wellstar becomes the cornerstone of the company's growing provider network in the state. The agreement marks an important milestone in Curative's strategy to build direct partnerships with leading health systems that share its commitment to improving access, affordability, and patient experience. By combining premier provider networks with a benefit design that eliminates financial barriers to care, Curative is creating a more accessible healthcare experience for employers, members, and providers alike. Curative members now have in-network access to Wellstar's full continuum of care - including women's and maternal health, pediatrics, cancer, cardiovascular, neurology, and orthopedics, - with zero copays and zero deductibles after completing a Baseline Visit. For Georgia employers and brokers, the agreement pairs one of the state's most trusted health systems with a health plan designed to improve access to care while helping employers better manage healthcare costs through a simpler, more connected care experience. "Wellstar is exactly the kind of health system we want as we build out a provider network that employers, brokers, and members can trust," said Fred Turner, CEO of Curative. "Their reputation for excellence and high-quality providers is well established across the state, where, for too long, rising deductibles have shifted costs onto families instead of improving healthcare. We're proving there's a better way - one with zero copays, zero deductibles, and access to exceptional care." "Our priority was building a partnership with Wellstar that delivers value from day one," said Ramzy ElGomayel, Senior Vice President of Network Development & Management at Curative. "We move at the speed a health system actually needs, without decades of legacy systems to work around. Our engaged members become their engaged patients. That's what makes Curative worth signing for." "At Wellstar, we look for ways to make care more accessible and affordable to further our mission of enhancing the health and well-being of every person we serve," said Barbara Courey, Senior Vice President for Managed Care at Wellstar Health System. "Providing people with opportunities to receive the right level of care at the right time, beginning with proactive primary and specialty care visits, is increasingly important. Making options available to our patients, from in-person and virtual visits to a variety of payment options such as those offered by Curative, are all critically important to improving a person's overall health and cost of care." As the company continues to expand, Curative is building a statewide provider network comprised of leading health systems that deliver the quality, scale, and coordinated care employers and members expect. Together, these partnerships will help remove barriers to care and support better health outcomes for Georgia communities.