<p>Dr. Robert A. Lipson, CEO and president of WellStar Health System, was killed Friday in a motorcycle wreck.</p><p>The 60-year-old, who led WellStar for nearly five years, came to the company in 1993 after practicing medicine as an internist for more than 25 years at Kennestone Hospital. Under his management, WellStar received the country's first certification for the management of multiple chronic diseases from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the nation's predominantly standards-setting and accrediting body in health care.</p><p>He also brought an open-heart surgery program and a $68 million, 84-bed patient care tower to WellStar Kennestone Hospital.</p><p>Marietta police said Lipson was riding his 2007 Harley Davidson motorcycle around 6:28 p.m. Friday when he collided with a 1993 Chevrolet Cavalier. Lipson was taken to WellStar Kennestone, where he was pronounced dead. He bought the motorcycle earlier this year at a fundraising gala for the World Children's Center.</p><p>Hospital officials said he was an experienced rider who rode his motorcycle to work on weather-friendly days.</p><p>Lipson received his medical training at Tulane University and later earned an executive master's in business administration from Kennesaw State University after joining WellStar. The five hospitals, which make up one of the largest health care systems in the southeast, include Kennestone, Cobb, Windy Hill, Douglas and Paulding.</p><p>Funeral arrangements were not announced Friday night. The crash is still under investigation.</p><p>Lipson is survived by his wife, Livvy; daughter, Dr. Rachel Lipson, a neonatologist in Boston; son, Aaron, an attorney who specializes in health care law, and his wife, Leslie; and his newborn granddaughter.</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x1cda29c)</p>
