Good Samaritan wouldn't be the place it is without the influence, support and dedication of our Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Ken Austin. Dr. Austin was born in Rome, Ga. and raised mostly in Cobb and Bartow counties. HIs son used to tell his friends when he was in college that his dad was born in Rome and attended school in Athens. They were always impressed until he told them Rome and Athens, Ga! Raised by a single mom from the age of 8, Dr. Austin started working at the young age of 9 doing yard work and at age 14 got a job at the Acworth Pharmacy. He worked in the stock room and behind the soda fountain making .45 cents an hour! After graduating high school he worked for Dunaway Drugs across from Kennestone Hospital, while attending Kennesaw Junior College studying pre-pharmacy. His sophomore year he transferred to UGA where he changed his major to Chemistry, earning a BSChm degree cum laude. He eventually decided to apply to medical school while working for the USDA as a chemist. "Understand, no one in my family had attended college, so med school was quite a leap." After medical school he moved on to West Virginia University for Internal Medicine and decided to do a Fellowship in Cardiology. His first employment was in Charlotte in 1982 at Sanger Clinic doing invasive/interventional cardiology. In 1999 he moved his family to Cartersville, Ga and opened a regional office that eventually became Piedmont Heart. They moved to Jasper in 2004, when Piedmont bought the hospital which became Piedmont Mountainside. Dr. Austin retired in 2014 from Piedmont Heart and began working at Good Samaritan as a volunteer. Initially, he was the interim CMO and in June 2018 became the permanent CMO. In his own words, "My heart and soul is in this place!"
Dr. Austin and his wife, Margo (Perrow), were married 49 years ago at Jasper First Baptist where they are still very active members. They are both very active, long time members of the Jasper Lions Club, as well. They have two grown sons, Jeff who is a missionary and Ryan who lives in a special needs group home in Waleska. Jeff and his wife, Jennifer, have two biological daughters, Mercy and Haven and two adopted sons from Africa, Isaac and Benja. Although, he doesn't have very much "free" time, his hobbies are flying, baking and photography. He has been a private pilot for 51 years, accumulating almost 4,000 hours of flight.
Although, Dr. Austin will still be onboard as one of our providers. He is stepping down from his CMO responsibilities effective July 1, 2023. He looks forward to more free time to fly and enjoy the wonderful life he has created with Margo! We at Good Samaritan will forever be grateful for ALL that Dr. Austin has done to make Good Sam what it is today. Job well done good and faithful servant!
