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cham 690Paulding’s Chamber of Commerce hosted their June Georgia Power Luncheon in Dallas last week. WellStar President/CEO Candice Saunders was the keynote speaker.
Ms. Saunders spoke to Paulding business leaders about Paulding WellStar and also offered a broad perspective on current issues throughout the healthcare industry.
Paulding’s state-of- the-art hospital facility opened in Hiram in April 2014, with 56 beds and 40 emergency exam rooms and an emergency department, cancer center, women’s imaging, surgical and other healthcare services.
Saunders said the top medical issues in Paulding County are Obesity and TYPE 2 diabetes, diagnosed in 12 percent of adults, which is above the state average. Lung cancer and heart disease are leading causes of death in Paulding. But she said that tobacco use is going down and the number of smokers has declined by about 5 percent from two years ago, which is below the state average.
She characterized the past eleven months as “lively” and put some numbers on the activity. 67,000 patients a year, out-patient surgical volume is up from 500 to 2,500 and in-patient surgery volume is up to 800, double what it was at the previous site, she said.
WellStar Paulding President Mark Haney announced last June that the expansion of Paulding’s 265,000 square-foot hospital complex would move forward with two additional floors. Two more patient floors are opening in the fall and with that additional OR space, increasing the staff and adding to the services offered.
The addition to the hospital came sooner than had been originally anticipated, reflecting growth in the area. Paulding’s population is expected to reach close to 240,000 in the next 15 years. There are 11 WellStar facilities throughout the metro area, Saunders said, with 20,000 team members and 3,000 doctors.
Saunders noted that changes within the industry are probably the most rapid than she’s seen in her 40-year career. 10,000 baby-boomers a day are becoming eligible for Medicare as the population is aging, she said.
Saunders also serves as chair of the state hospital association in Washington. She said that heading into this election year there is, despite frequent questions, no change coming in health care policy as there is no viable plan being put forward.
In terms of industry challenges, Saunders said the one thing that hospital officials regularly appeal to lawmakers in Washington D.C. is to lessen the amount of regulation they must devote valuable time to. Recent regulation regarding physician’s compensation from the federal government runs to 1,000 pages that must be worked through, she said.
Another major area of focus today, Saunders said, concerns cyber- security and the safeguarding of patient data. There are up to 1,700 attempts per day to access hospital IT systems, she said. But Saunders concluded her remarks by noting that most people are leading longer, healthier lives with the innovations in healthcare available today, and the mission remains centered on people. “Our success in grounded in our people; we are a people taking care of people company,” she said.

Photo: (Left to Right) WellStar Paulding President Mark Haney, WellStar Health System President and keynote speaker Candice Saunders and Christine Mullinax, chair, Paulding Chamber, last week at the Georgia Power Luncheon in Dallas. (Photo: R. Grant)