Moving to a new city can be daunting, and finding healthcare providers is usually at the bottom of the to-do list—until you need them, that is. Fortunately, excellent healthcare is available from a number of top-ranked hospitals for the approximately 5.6 million people living in the metro Atlanta area. What’s more, in addition to offering comprehensive care, many of the area’s hospital systems are home to specialized care that has placed them in the spotlight and allowed them to gain recognition for providing services that are truly unique to them. Here, we look at just a few of Atlanta’s healthcare systems and their distinctive offerings.

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta: Caring for Our Young

The first family members who may need the services of a medical specialist are children. Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) is the only freestanding pediatric healthcare system in Georgia and the trusted leader in caring for kids. The not-for-profit organization’s mission is to make kids better today and healthier tomorrow with more than 60 pediatric specialties and programs, top healthcare professionals and leading research and technology.

CHOA is one of the largest pediatric clinical care providers in the country, managing more than one million patient visits annually at three hospitals, the Marcus Autism Center, the Center for Advanced Pediatrics and 27 neighborhood locations. It is consistently ranked among the top children’s hospitals by U.S. News & World Report and strives to go well beyond traditional medicine to create healing environments specially designed for kids. CHOA offers services including child life specialists, chaplains, therapy dogs, music therapy, family libraries, play areas and hospital-based classrooms.

Northside Hospital System: A Focus on Women

The Northside Hospital system is an extensive network of facilities that includes three not-for-profit hospitals in Atlanta, Forsyth and Cherokee counties, as well as more than 240 Northside Hospital-affiliated outpatient centers and medical office buildings throughout the state. The full-service hospitals in the system offer acute-care with expertise in maternity services, women’s health, cancer care, surgery and radiology.

Northside’s state-of-the-art Women’s Center on the Atlanta campus was the first, most comprehensive center focusing on women’s health and wellness in the southeast. The Center is designed to care for a woman throughout her life—from preconception and childbirth to midlife and beyond.

For more than a generation, Northside’s Atlanta campus has been the undisputed leader in maternity and newborn services, delivering more babies than any other single hospital in the United States. Last year, 15,814 babies were born at the Atlanta location. The hospital, in association with Texas Children’s Fetal Center, also has launched a new Fetal Therapy Program to treat some of Georgia’s sickest unborn babies through a variety of interventional and invasive fetal therapies.

“Women who experience difficult or high-risk pregnancies often come to Northside Hospital because we are so well-equipped to support them,” says Melissa Sisson, director of Women’s Services. Additionally, the hospital, in partnership with the Georgia Aquarium, continues to support moms out in the community by offering three Mamava lactation suites to employees and guests to nurse in private, clean and comfortable spaces.

WellStar Health System: Unparalleled Cancer Care

WellStar Health System, nationally recognized for its state-of-the-art facilities, includes 11 hospitals, an array of outpatient facilities and services, more than 250 medical office locations, nine urgent care centers, 19 imaging centers and a number of health parks. WellStar also participates in the Mayo Clinic Care Network, where physicians and patients have access to Mayo Clinic experts on complex diagnoses and treatment plans at no added cost.

One hallmark for WellStar is its exceptional cancer care, offered through its STAT Cancer Clinics, which provide some of Atlanta’s best cancer care by streamlining the patient experience through coordinated treatment plans. The Clinics’ goal is for patients to start treatment quickly—in days rather than weeks or months; they also offer the only true multidisciplinary service of its kind in metro Atlanta. The STAT team includes specialists in thoracic surgery, pulmonary, medical oncology and radiation oncology, providing expertise in each cancer discipline, as well as a nurse navigator to guide patients through the treatment process. Medical intervention with attention to the patient’s physical and emotional needs is a driver in the success of the STAT Clinics.

Emory University Hospital System: Superior Stroke Care

For the seventh year in a row, U.S. News & World Report has ranked Emory University Hospital the No. 1 hospital in Georgia and metro Atlanta in its 2018-2019 Best Hospitals Guide. Emory Healthcare is the largest healthcare system in the state of Georgia, with seven hospitals, the Emory Clinic and more than 200 provider locations.

The Emory Brain Health Center is transforming patient-centered care for brain and spinal cord conditions by combining neurology, psychiatry and behavioral sciences, neurosurgery, rehabilitation medicine and sleep medicine to offer coordinated care. A national leader in advanced stroke care, Emory provides rapid response to maximize chances for optimal stroke recovery. Georgia is one of 11 states in the Stroke Belt, a region of the U.S. that has a 34 percent higher risk for stroke than the general population in other areas of the country. To serve patients, Emory is home to Comprehensive and Primary Stroke Centers, which are certified by The Joint Commission for their state-of-the-art infrastructure, expert staff and skilled training to receive and treat patients with the most complex strokes. Learn more at emoryhealthcare.org/stroke.

Grady Memorial Hospital: An Incomparable Trauma Center

One of the largest public hospitals in the Southeast, Grady is an internationally recognized teaching hospital with a commitment to serving the health needs of the most vulnerable and the underserved. Grady is home to a top-rated Burn Center and the Marcus Stroke and Neuroscience Center. Staff physicians are among the faculty members of Emory and Morehouse medical schools and provide Grady patients with care in specialties like cancer, urology, cardiology, neurology and chronic illness at the hospital and through six facilities inside and outside the Perimeter.

In 2017, Grady Memorial Hospital’s Marcus Trauma Center earned the highest national trauma center recognition: Level I Trauma Center, verified by the American College of Surgeons (ACS). Designated a Level I trauma center at the state level since 1987, Grady is now the first hospital verified as a Level I trauma center at the national level in metro Atlanta and North Georgia.