Wellstar
Legal name: Au Medical Center Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 582144788
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2023–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Marietta, GA, USA
- Phone
- (770) 956-7827 / (470) 245-9998 / (470) 644-0419
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Single Organization Support
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,291,179,170
- Expenses
- $1,210,722,515
- Assets
- $659,019,027
- Liabilities
- $1,131,937,807
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
35 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- CANDICE SAUNDERS (PRESIDENT & CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- CANDICE SAUNDERS (PRESIDENT & CEO): $5,069,923 total reported compensation
- LEO REICHERT (EVP & GENERAL COUNSEL): $1,619,966 total reported compensation
- RICHARD CAPPS (EVP CHIEF INFO & DIGITAL OFFCR): $1,579,418 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
PeopleCare means putting people at the center of healthcare decisions—working to improve access to personalized, high-quality care so people spend more time being a person rather than a patient. Healthcare decisions can be difficult—for patients, for families, and for clinicians. But it helps to know that the Wellstar Ethics Program is available to support patients, families and healthcare teams in navigating the moral and ethical dimensions of patient care. When you or a loved one are cared for by a Wellstar provider, you can count on behavior and decision-making that aligns with our mission, vision and values. And, when you’re faced with making hard medical choices, our Clinical Ethicists will be by your side with information, guidance and resources. Home.
What it reported doing in 2024
See schedule o
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 87% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 78
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 76
- Sustainability: 45
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 86.2%; rating input score 86
- Program expense ratio: 92.1%; rating input score 92
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 84.6%; rating input score 85; 1st percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 6 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 58.8%; rating input score 59; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 6.2%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.54; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.72; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0.2%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 28.1% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 25.4% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 0.1% per year; rating input score 100; 8th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 8 programs and campaigns described on the official site
- Where the money goes: 86.2% of revenue deployed · 92.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 10 of 17 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.1B in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $5.1M · 35 people listed · 6 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 29 of 30 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 21 filed related-organization links
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
- People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Review — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 59/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 20/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 2/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.