Johnny Isakson: “simultaneous with my remarks tonight at Kennesaw University Convocation Center in Cobb County, GA, there is a memorial…”

“simultaneous with my remarks tonight at Kennesaw University Convocation Center in Cobb County, GA, there is a memorial service where thousands of my fellow citizens are paying tribute to the life, the times, and the contributions of Dr. Robert Lipson. On Saturday night, Dr. Lipson, leaving Kennestone Hospital, was killed in a tragic automobile accident with a motorcycle just two or three blocks from the health care facility to which he had dedicated the majority of his life. Dr. Lipson was just not any ordinary doctor; he was an extraordinary human being. Dr. Lipson was president and CEO of WellStar Health Systems, the owner and operator of five hospitals in metropolitan Atlanta, in Cobb, Douglas, and Paulding Counties, the employer of hundreds of doctors and thousands of caregivers, and one of the true leaders in modern health care today in our State. Dr. Lipson, in his time at Kennestone Hospital, did a $68 million capital improvement with an 84-bed residential tower. He brought an open-heart surgical unit to Kennestone Hospital, and at the time of his tragic loss, Dr. Lipson's emergency room at Kennestone Hospital was the second largest emergency room in the State of Georgia and one of the largest in the United States, serving victims of tragic trauma throughout the metropolitan area. But it wasn't only his leadership as the head of WellStar Health Systems. For 25 years prior to his appointment, he had a practice in internal medicine in our community.”