Wellstar Health System

Background

Wellstar Health System operates an extensive network of hospitals and more than 300 ambulatory care locations across the greater Atlanta region. As the system continued to grow, leadership initiated a coordinated planning effort to ensure its real estate portfolio, facilities, and ambulatory network remained aligned with long-term strategic priorities.

Rather than evaluating properties and campuses independently, Wellstar sought a systemwide perspective on how existing assets could support future demand, where ambulatory access should evolve, and how real estate and capital decisions could be prioritized over the next decade. Wellstar engaged Hammes, in collaboration with architecture partner Perkins &Will, to support this comprehensive planning effort.

Challenge

The size and complexity of Wellstar’s portfolio required a consistent framework for evaluating assets across diverse markets, care settings, and facility types. With numerous hospitals, hundreds of outpatient locations, and several significant initiatives already underway, individual real estate decisions needed to be considered within the context of the broader system strategy.

Before advancing additional development or expansion, Wellstar sought to understand how effectively its existing portfolio could accommodate projected demand. The analysis needed to integrate facility utilization, operational capacity, physician recruitment, ambulatory access, and long-term capital planning.

Solution

Hammes led the strategic and analytical components of the engagement, evaluating market demand, operational capacity, and ambulatory network needs across the system. The team assessed inpatient and outpatient utilization to identify opportunities to make more effective use of existing facilities while supporting anticipated growth.

Hammes also analyzed regional market trends and incorporated physician recruitment projections to model future service demand. Using the Hammes Precision® platform, the team evaluated geographic opportunities for ambulatory access and future provider alignment across the region.

The resulting framework connected portfolio decisions with market strategy, care delivery needs, and capital priorities. It provided Wellstar with a coordinated basis for optimizing existing assets, guiding ambulatory network decisions, and aligning future real estate investment with long-term system objectives.

‍

‍