ATLANTA
Georgia
Nearly 800 employees cut from one of GA’s largest healthcare system
Irene WrightUSA TODAY
July 29, 2026, 12:26 p.m. ET
Wellstar Health System, one of the largest in the state of Georgia, is making major cuts to its workforce, but those working in provider roles seem to have been spared
The company announced Tuesday that 761 employees from its corporate offices, services teams and administrative functions as part of Wellstar Medical Group, will belaid off
Wellstar cuts 2% of workforce in Georgia
The Marietta-based non-profit healthcare organization said the employees being laid off account for about 2% of the company’s total workforce in Georgia, which exceeds 35,000 employees
“Following a comprehensive review of our organization, we made the difficult decision to implement workforce reductions that impact our compare and shared services functions, as well as certain administrative roles,” the company said in a statement on July 29
The company will not make changes to the doctors, nurses and patient-care providers at this time
“Our mission has not changed, and our patients will continue to receive the same compasionate, high-quality care they expect,” the company said
Wellstar operates 11 hospitals in Georgia, including in the great Atlanta metro area, as well as 5 health parks and more than 300 medical offices across the state
Georgia healthcare ranked one of the worst in U.S
The cuts at Wellstar come as Georgia has been ranked as one of the worst states in the country for health care
In a report published July 27 from WalletHub, Georgia ranked 49th in the country (including Washington, D.C.)
The report compared cost to access and outcomes, including factors like monthly insurance premiums, emergency room wait times, nurses per capita, telehealth services, life expectancy, maternal mortality, child vaccination rates and more
Georgia ranked higher than Mississippi and Alaska, but under all other states. New Hampshire, Minnesota and Iowa were the top-ranked states
“Healthcare has two crucial components, cost and quality. The best healthcare in the nation isn’t helpful if it bankrupts the people who ty to get it, and cheap healthcare isn’t worth paying for if it provides subpar or ineffective treatment,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said in the report. “Therefore, the best states for healthcare are those that make high-quality care affordable, on top of providing many options for doctors and making insurance easily accessible.”
Irene Wright is the Atlanta Connect reporter with USA Today’s Deep South Connect team. Find her on X @IreneEWright or email her at ismith@usatodayco.com
