Wellstar Douglas Frontline Staff Thanked by County Commissioners

DOUGLASVILLE, GA — With the COVID-19 pandemic slowly winding down, Douglas County officials took time late last month to honor frontline workers at Wellstar Douglas Hospital.

“The effort to show gratitude and appreciation for all their hard work and sacrifice in the battle against COVID-19 had to be conveyed,” Chairman Dr. Romona Jackson Jones said at a ceremony April 28 in the hospital’s main lobby. “We were honored to have members of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) staff break away for a few moments so we could say thank you for caring for our Douglas County residents.”

Two former COVID-19 patients with county connections who recovered at Wellstar Douglas also spoke. One was Douglas County Communications Director Rick Martin, who helped coordinate the event. The other was retired Douglas County Sheriff’s Captain Ross Brown. Both men had to be put on ventilators while battling the virus.

“I went into the hospital here in August of 2020 and finally got out of rehab in March 2021,” Brown said. “I just want to thank everyone here for what you’ve done for me and my family. God was with us all and he brought us through.”

District 4 Commissioner Ann Jones Guider recalled how her husband was hospitalized during the pandemic for a non-COVID health matter and the impression the hospital staff made on her. “I had to stay outside, and I had to let you’all love on him.” Guider said. “Thank you for your hands and your hearts that reach out to people that just need a loving touch, besides healing.”

The ceremony was capped by an award from the Douglas County Board of Commissioners to the hospital for “excellence in service”

“This is very humbling, said Dr. Ramin Saghafi, Wellstar Douglas’s medical director of the intensive care unit. “I can’t say enough how much this means to us and to our staff. Many of us have gotten COVID and some of us haven’t made it. But we are here today, and we are continuing to fight. From the bottom of my heart, this means a lot to all of us and honestly goes out to all of our staff, thank you.”

Douglas County Communications Director Rick Martin contributed to this article.

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