Georgia attorney general's office gives go-ahead for Wellstar take over of Augusta U Health System

The Georgia Office of the Attorney General has given its green light for Wellstar Health System to take over the Augusta University Health System (AUHS). 

While the deal still requires final approval from the federal government, the Thursday approval brings the Marietta-based health system closer to the takeover of AUHS. Wellstar could pick up over 800 beds if the deal goes through. 

Wellstar, which currently operates nine hospitals in metro Atlanta, would gain control of the 632-bed Augusta University Medical Center as well as other, related health care facilities in Richmond County. The health system would gain academic partnership with the Medical College of Georgia, where many of the state’s medical professionals are trained. 

Wellstar would also take over the Warm Springs Rehabilitation and Specialty Hospitals, made up of a 32-bed long-term acute care hospital and a 52-bed inpatient rehabilitation facility. Those two facilities will rebranded as Wellstar Warm Springs. 

Wellstar drew criticism last year when it closed its hospitals in Atlanta and East Point, which served large low-income populations. Wellstar CEO Candice Saunders contended that continuing to operate the two Atlanta hospitals would have been financially impossible.  

The closings drove up wait times at other local hospitals, health system leaders said in June.

“I think Wellstar should be bringing dollars to the table to address the hole they left here [in Atlanta],” state Sen. Nan Orrock said at a legislative hearing about the state’s hospitals in June.

Wellstar commits to community benefits

The AUHS takeover includes a promise of from Wellstar to provide $797 million worth of community benefits over 10 years, according to the report from the attorney general's office.

Wellstar would build a 100-bed hospital in neighboring Columbia County. The state has already granted its permission, called a certificate of need, to build that hospital. Construction on the Columbia County facility was slated to begin this summer and be completed by 2025. 

Wellstar would also build an adjacent medical office building and relocate a surgery center in Columbia County. 

Wellstar also committed to spending $62 million at Augusta University Medical Center within the first two years of the deal’s closing. It would spend another $139 million in the third through 10th years. If AUHS’s operating margin meets a 2% threshold, Wellstar would spend an additional $201 million.

Wellstar plans to implement Epic, the market-leading electronic health record system that is already used throughout its health system. That would help integrate patient records across the large system, which also includes urgent care centers and physician practices.

Details about the Wellstar, AUHS deal

While the report moves the deal one step closer to completion, the Federal Trade Commission must also give its approval. 

“We are working diligently toward the goal of completing the deal this summer,” said University System of Georgia Chancellor Sonny Perdue, Saunders, and acting CEO of AUHS Brooks Keel in a joint statement issued Thursday night. 

Patients at Wellstar and AUHS will not lose access to care or insurance plans amid the takeover, according to leaders. Wellstar was the only health system interested in taking over AUHS, according to the attorney general report.

Under the deal, Wellstar needs approval from the USG Board of Regents to stop any AUHS-provided care. Those services include the emergency department, OB/GYN services, and high-level adult and pediatric trauma services, among others. 

USG owns the medical facilities and leases them to the AUHS. The takeover means Wellstar will "become the sole controlling member of AUHS," according to the report.