Marietta, Ga.-based Wellstar Health System has reached an agreement for Stephens County Hospital in Toccoa, Ga., and related entities to become part of the system.
The transaction is expected to close toward the end of 2026, pending regulatory approvals, according to a Sept. 2 news release. Stephens County Hospital is a 96-bed nonprofit acute care hospital that employs nearly 500 people and has a medical staff of nearly 200 physicians and advanced practice providers.
The two organizations already collaborate through a tele-stroke program, the release said. Under Wellstar, the hospital will gain access to the system’s specialist network, telehealth capabilities and operational resources.
Stephens County Hospital CEO Van Loskoski said in the release that joining Wellstar will allow the hospital to expand access to specialized services and invest in its long-term future. The hospital has expanded its surgical program in recent years, particularly in general surgery and orthopedics, and now has five operating rooms and two full-time orthopedic surgeons.
Stephens County would be Wellstar’s 14th hospital. The system acquired Mountain Lakes Medical Center, a 25-bed critical access hospital in Clayton, Ga., as its 12th, and opened the 100-bed Wellstar Columbia County Medical Center in Grovetown, Ga., its 13th, in August.
The system in July cut 761 jobs, or about 2% of its workforce, affecting corporate and shared services functions and certain administrative roles within Wellstar Medical Group. The reductions did not affect front-line care roles, a spokesperson said in a July 28 statement shared with Becker’s.
Wellstar operates 13 hospitals and more than 400 care locations with 35,000 employees.
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