President cites MCG’s ever-growing role in statewide landscape
by
Christine Hurley Deriso
Amid extensive social, demographic and economic changes in the state and nation, the Medical College of Georgia is forging an ever-broader role in its mission of improving health and reducing the burden of illness in society.
“We continue to shape a new MCG—a stronger institution, a more viable institution, an institution better suited to meet the changing needs of a changing state,” said President Daniel W. Rahn during his 2006 State of the University Address delivered Sept. 7 in the Auditoria Center.
President Rahn’s recent dual appointment as senior vice chancellor of health and medical programs for the University System of Georgia reinforces the university’s role as a change agent, he said. “What a validating move for MCG this is, clear acknowledgement of the importance of health professions education to the University System.”
He will use this role to address issues including a health professions workforce shortage and access to health care. But as MCG assumes a larger statewide role, the university will never lose sight of its top priority. “We have put education squarely in the middle of all that we do because, first and foremost, we are a university,” President Rahn said. “The majority of our new initiatives this past year were focused on our students.”
Those initiatives included new doctoral programs in nursing practice, physical therapy and neuroscience; a new graduate program in biostatistics; more simulation training for students; the opening of the Georgia Southwest Clinical Campus in Albany, Ga., as the School of Medicine’s first regional clinical campus; increased enrollment, particularly in the Schools of Dentistry and Medicine; occupation of the new Health Sciences Building; and implementation of the student information system, Pulse.
President
Rahn also noted achievements in research, including a 44.3 percent increase
in diabetes research funding; the opening of the Cancer Research Center; and
clinical excellence as evidenced by MCGHI’s inclusion in the University
Health System Consortium’s top quartile for quality.
All these accomplishments have unfolded despite an often-tenuous national landscape, President Rahn said. “From where I sit, our greatest challenges emanate from issues associated with continuing instability in the nation’s health care system. That’s why we must continue to work collaboratively with our colleagues in the health system to preserve our margin-sharing agreement while not sacrificing the quality of care provided to the patients who come to us when in need.”
Indeed, an overall commitment to business intelligence is one of President Rahn’s highest priorities. “The need for business intelligence—easily accessible high-level management information that is both current and relevant—has never been more important in the life of this university.”
Sound
business principles hold the key to directing and optimizing MCG’s
resources, he said, noting that recently appointed Chancellor Erroll Davis
has a business background as former president and chief executive officer of
Alliant Energy Corp.
Future goals for MCG include enhancing efforts related to research capacity, class size, the health professions workforce and collaboration with the clinical system.
“We will continue to look for opportunities to maximize our operational effectiveness so we can direct a larger percentage of our resource base to mission-central activities,” President Rahn said. “The course is set. Our job is to maintain our focus.”
For the complete text of Dr. Rahn’s State of the University address, visit http://www.mcg.edu/news/2006NewsRel/SOU090706.html.