Branding:

Continued from Page 12 cities done when they leaned into creating … a culture of wellness in their city?” Elwood asked. “Why are they known for that? Maybe it’s the infrastructure, maybe it’s the policies or programs …” on internships, opportunities and how to get started in STEM fields.

Elwood said the Vitality Committee is perceived as a “branding committee,” but it doesn’t make the brand. Branding falls under the scope of the city’s Communications Department, she said.

Some councilmembers wanted to cancel the committee’s April meeting to regroup but ultimately decided to move forward as scheduled.

“Obviously, we’ve got work to do,” Bradberry said.

Johns Creek Mayor John Bradberry, who inaugurated the event, said life science and biosciences have a strong and growing presence in the city.

“I feel like this is a very auspicious occasion,” Bradberry said, “because, you know, basically what this represents to me is that our community, especially at the student level, is hand in glove with what we're attempting to do at the city level.”

Bradberry said Boston Scientific is coming to the Town Center’s

Mayor opines on media

At the following City Council meeting, former Johns Creek City Councilman Brian Weaver shared concerns with the council about the city’s role in the Juneteenth celebration, which was approved last month. Weaver was asked to join the Juneteenth Planning Committee.

Weaver said he was informed that all decisions would have to go through city staff first. Concerned that the city might become a “dictator” in Juneteenth planning, Weaver reminded councilmembers that the Arts, Entertainment and Culture (ACE) Committee recommended a partnership with Impact Johns Creek.

He questioned the city’s process and noted that the event was once headed in a different direction.

“It was, I guess, the combination of the Fourth of July and

Innovation Hub later this year, and the city will repurpose the water reclamation plant at Cauley Creek Park into a STEM playground this summer.

“That is something that, whether it's going to be robotics or something related to art or engineering, that is going to be a place that, of course, you can enjoy the fun parts of the park,” Bradberry said. “But there, you'll be able to actually have a space where you can pursue your extracurricular intellectual endeavors as well.”

Greg Hampikian, founder of the

Juneteenth,” he said.

While public comment does not typically entail back-and-forth, Mayor Bradberry interjected and said, “Yeah, that’s a … that’s a misnomer that’s been put out there. And I was disappointed that the media was led to believe that because there was no basis in fact.”

In early February, Appen Media reported that the idea of a freedom festival, which would wrap Fourth of July and Juneteenth together in a weeks-long celebration, had been floated at a previous ACE Committee meeting.

The comments can be found around the 47-minute mark in the Dec. 8 ACE Committee meeting video recording, available on the city’s website.

The committee’s idea of a freedom fest was also mentioned by Bradberry, himself, at the strategic planning retreat Jan. 29 in Greenville, South Carolina.

Idaho Innocence Project, presented via Zoom on the use of genetics in exoneration efforts in Georgia and across the country.

The event concluded with a student-led interactive game in which participants used their phones to design a baby using CRISPR, a genome editing technology. Students in the Genetics Engineering Club also shared recent projects.

Students interested in starting a genetics engineering club at their school can reach Prahalad at vaishali.prahalad@gmail.com for more information.

While no city video of the retreat is available, Appen Media was in attendance, and its reporter audio taped workshop discussions.

Speaking at the Jan. 29 retreat, the mayor commented on the concept.

“One thing that the [ACE] Committee is talking about is — just like we have July 4, Juneteenth is very significant to, you know, our Black residents,” Bradberry said Jan. 29. “And the possibility of maybe combining those in some way as like a … almost like a two-week freedom festival, when they celebrate freedom for everyone in our country …”

To Bradberry’s comment, Councilman Erramilli asked for clarification.

“Juneteenth to July 4?” Erramilli asked.

Bradberry said, “Yeah.”

Wellstar:

Wellstar North Fulton about five years ago the cancer care process was disjointed for patients. There was no “one-stop shop” to receive care, and with spread out doctors and appointments things fell through the cracks.

“It’s really difficult for patients to navigate that very difficult diagnosis,” McLaughlin said.

When the oncologist presented his cancer center plan to Wellstar North Fulton President Croom, he said the goal was to make that vision a reality. The vision came with a hefty price tag, though: $12 million.

McLaughlin said he’s glad the Wellstar administration decided to invest fully into the cancer center. The money went to advanced technology like CyberKnife, an approximately $6 million radiation therapy device.

The CyberKnife is a non-invasive device that uses “real time imaging” to treat difficult to reach spots, like lung and brain tumors. With those areas, McLaughlin said the tumor is “always moving.” CyberKnife has a robotic arm that moves with the patient, allowing high doses of radiation to hone in on the tumor’s location.

“What it allows people to do, instead of having five to eight weeks of treatment, it can shorten that to one to five treatments,” McLaughlin said.

The concentrated radiation allows patients to finish treatment faster. Prior to the cancer center in Roswell, patients would have to travel to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital for the CyberKnife treatment.

According to McLaughlin, the hospital in Kennestone has one of the second busiest CyberKnife treatment programs in the United States.

The Wellstar Kennestone Hospital is about 40 minutes from Wellstar North Fulton Hospital. McLaughlin and Croom said the distance adds difficulty to treatment for patients and their families.

“When my parents were diagnosed with cancer and treated at Kennestone, it was hard for me to get from appointment to appointment,” McLaughlin said.

A key feature of the cancer center in Roswell is the Specialty Teams and Treatments Clinic, called “STAT” by hospital staff. The model brings medical, surgical and radiation oncology under one roof. Rather than having cancer patients travel to see specialists, they can meet with an entire team in one location at one time.

“All the doctors all know each other and are talking to each other, so you’re getting one congruent answer,” McLaughlin said.

Collaboration between doctors keeps patients from receiving different medical opinions as well. McLaughlin said typically, if a patient visits a surgical specialist, they’ll simply perform the treatment rather than look at another option.

At the cancer center, he said doctors can “put their heads together” to figure out the best care for a patient, even if it differs from what the patient expects.

“If I have a patient that comes in and says I want CyberKnife, we’ll meet in the clinic and I’ll know the CyberKnife is not their best treatment,” McLaughlin said. “It could be medical, it could be a combination, but the model allows us to discuss things with the patient.”

The cancer center will officially open to the public on March 27, but the CyberKnife machine is already at full capacity. The hospital expects to serve many of the cancer patients who have had to relocate to Kennestone Hospital for comprehensive care. Croom said Wellstar is already looking towards cancer center expansions to accommodate more patients.

“Cancer is one of those diseases that touches so many people, everybody has somebody that has suffered from it or died from it,” Croom said. “It’s so real, and to be able to have something right here, where you don’t have to go to Atlanta or travel long distances is just right.”