Wellstar Kennestone elevated to Level I trauma center; county expands mental‑health response

Chairwoman Lisa Cupid announced that Wellstar Kennestone Hospital has been elevated to a Level I trauma center and outlined county efforts to expand mental-health access, including a county Find Help platform and joint response programs pairing mental-health professionals with public-safety responders.

"A strong county requires us to be a healthy county," Cupid said, noting the trauma-center designation places Wellstar Kennestone among a select group of Georgia facilities able to handle the most critical emergencies. She said the upgrade reduces the need for Cobb residents to travel into Atlanta for highest-level trauma care.

Cupid also described developments in behavioral-health services. She credited the Cobb Collaborative for helping launch the county’s Find Help platform and said the county’s correspondence programs and partnerships with the police are pairing mental‑health professionals with public‑safety responders for mental‑health–related calls. Cupid noted Highland Rivers, the county’s contractual behavioral-health provider, recently purchased a facility in Austell to house a Mothers Making a Change rehabilitation program.

No new funding ordinance or countywide mandate was announced at the address; Cupid presented these items as ongoing partnerships and program expansions. County officials said they will continue to coordinate with hospitals, contracted providers and community partners to implement the programs.