Wellstar Kennestone Opens 9-Story Tower, Expand Specialty Capacity and NICU Services

The Yellow Tower marks one of the largest healthcare investments in the region, ensuring community members have access to expanded, specialized care. | Photo Credit: Gary Gomez

• Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center opened its new Yellow Tower to patients April 15, 2026. 
• Wellstar described the project as a nine-story, approximately 300,000-square-foot tower and a $400 million investment. 
• The tower adds private adult rooms, a 49-bed neonatal intensive care unit and expanded specialty units in areas including cardiology, neurology, oncology and surgery. 
• The tower addition includes 151 new acute-care beds, two shell floors, and new kitchen and servery space.  

MARIETTA, Ga. — Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center in Marietta, Ga., recently opened a new nine-story patient tower designed to expand inpatient capacity and specialty services across several high-acuity lines.  

Wellstar said the Yellow Tower began receiving patients April 15, and added new inpatient units, technology-enabled rooms and expanded support services tied to trauma, women’s and children’s care to the network. 

The Yellow Tower is a nine-story, 235-bed patient tower spanning roughly 300,000 square feet and representing a $400 million investment. The project is intended to increase acute-care capacity while strengthening cardiology, neurology, oncology and surgical services.  

The tower also includes dedicated units for cardiac critical care, surgical care, neurological care and medical oncology, as well as a dedicated Women’s & Children’s entrance and a next-generation neonatal intensive care unit.  

All adult inpatient rooms are private and incorporate features intended to support comfort, infection prevention and staff workflows. The system also highlighted smart-room tools including interactive digital whiteboards, as well as remote monitoring and virtual nursing intended to support admissions, discharges and documentation.  

“Expanding our neuro beds allows us to bring advanced technology and specialized brain and spine care directly to more patients,” according to an article from Wellstar Health System.  

In women’s and children’s services, the tower’s 49-bed NICU is designed for premature and critically ill infants and includes a centralized milk lab and six couplet-care rooms intended to keep mothers and infants together during care.  

The project also includes food and nutrition upgrades. A 22,000-square-foot kitchen under the tower supports hospital-wide in-room dining and expanded retail dining. “We designed this program to give patients more control over their dining experience—so they can order what they want, when they want it,” according to an article from Wellstar Health System.  

Designed by HKS and CDH, with Aptitude: Intelligent Integration providing IT support, the project required extensive enabling work and thoughtful coordination to minimize disruption to existing operations. JE Dunn maintained access to critical patient care areas and integrated complex infrastructure upgrades throughout the complicated project, which required 15 connection points between the new tower and three existing towers. The new tower’s unique design features — such as flexible care spaces that can flex up for higher acuity patients, and advanced technology integration — underscore Wellstar’s mission to deliver nationally recognized clinical programs and patient experience. 

The Yellow Tower marks one of the largest healthcare investments in the region, ensuring community members have access to expanded, specialized care. This project included two pandemic-ready floors, central energy plant enhancements, an expansive kitchen to serve the entire campus, as well as multiple dining options and a coffee bar for the public and staff. 

“I was born at Kennestone, so this is a full-circle moment for me,” JE Dunn Project Director Brad Stolz shared. “It’s been rewarding and incredibly meaningful to contribute to this new tower that will play such a pivotal role for patients and families in our community. This is exactly why we do what we do.” 

This article is based on reporting originally published by Wellstar Health System on April 13, 2026, and project information published by JE Dunn Construction (dated Nov. 28, 2023 on the project page). 

The post Wellstar Kennestone Opens 9-Story Tower, Expand Specialty Capacity and NICU Services appeared first on HCO News.

The post Wellstar Kennestone Opens 9-Story Tower, Expand Specialty Capacity and NICU Services appeared first on HCO News.