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Jason Karr is the man who oversees the emergency department at WellStar West Georgia Medical Center.Karr, 36, has served as emergency department manager for the last five years and has been a registered nurse for 12 years. All of those years he’s spent in the ER, a role that isn’t for everybody.  

“ER Staff must remain adaptable and resilient at all times as situations and circumstances may change by the minute,” Karr said. 

“Maintaining a culture that empowers our team to continually improve processes while putting patient care at the center of every decision is the best part of my job. I love seeing our team work together and come up with innovative solutions to problems. I also love the ability to wear my scrubs to work, and jump in with the team and help out when I can. Bedside nursing is a passion that doesn’t go away, and there is a lot of satisfaction in helping someone in need.”

Karr was born and raised in LaGrange and earned a bachelor of science in nursing from Columbus State University.

The ER department won a national award in 2019 from the Huron Studer Group for Excellence in Patient Care — Emergency Department Throughput. The award was announced in Dallas, Texas at the What’s Right in Healthcare Studer Conference. 

Karr also served on the WellStar Trust Collaborative for two years, which served as a way to identify opportunities to improve employee trust, engagement and overall job satisfaction. 

He’s also served as a Safety First Relationship and Reliability instructor.

As for his career aspirations, Karr said he plans to begin a master’s program in nursing leadership or family nurse practitioner in the near future.

He has been married to his wife, Jessica, for 12 years. The couple has three children — Mary Eliza (3), Owen (6) and Griffin (8).

When he’s not working, he enjoys fishing, grilling, church and cutting grass. 

-Story by Daniel Evans, photo by Jenna Oden