PHYSICIAN EDUCATION EXPANSION PROJECT
MAY 2008 UPDATE

 

Printable Version

The overarching intent of the Medical College of Georgia’s Physician Education Expansion Project is to contribute to a healthier Georgia by assuring that Georgians have access to high quality health care—the right care provided by the right provider in the right location at the right time. Activities of note over the latest reporting period include the following:

ADMINISTRATION

1. On May 1, Dean Doug Miller and Dr. Arnett Mace presented an overview of the medical education
expansion efforts to the St. Mary’s Health Care System in Athens.

 

2. MCG hosted Dr. Darrell Kirch, President/CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges, for a
three‐day visit that culminated on May 10 with Dr. Kirch delivering the keynote address at MCG’s 179th
commencement ceremony.

 

3. On May 12, President Rahn and Dean Miller met with Paul Umbach to discuss the remaining deliverables
of the Tripp Umbach consultative engagement.

 

3. On May 22, President Rahn delivered a talk entitled T4e Economic Burden of Ill Health at the spring
meeting of the Georgia Economic Developers’ Association. President Rahn discussed the connection
between an appropriately trained health professions workforce and a community’s economic well‐being,
using the physician education expansion project as an example.

 

5. On May 28 and 29, airport interviews of nine candidates for the campus dean position were held in
Atlanta. Four candidates will be interviewed at a later date.

 

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

1. The Curriculum Oversight Committee endorsed changing to ‘fundamentals of basic science’ followed by
‘interdisciplinary organ‐system’ curriculum in Phase 1 that mirrors the model of Phase 2. A similar model
will be developed at the Athens campus. The objectives and competencies will be the same on both
campuses, but the construct of the curriculum, teaching strategies, and assessment methods may vary.
The module directors and an ad hoc committee on School of Medicine competency‐based objectives will
report again at the July meeting.

 

2. On May 21, academic representatives from MCG and UGA held a meeting with approximately 60
community physicians in Athens to provide an overview of the medical education expansion project and
progress to date. The dialogue also involved discussion of the curriculum and teaching opportunities for
the community physicians.

 

ADMISSIONS

1. The School of Medicine admissions office continues to move forward with the implementation of process
and procedural changes that reflect current expansion efforts. Staff members continue to work with the
vendor and MCG departments to implement the electronic admissions process.

 

FACILITIES

1. On May 22, MCG and UGA representatives met to review the final design on the Mill Facility in Athens,
the structure that will house the first medical students being educated on the UGA campus. Design
development for the facility was approved.

 

2. Following the approval of the FY09 budget by the Governor, a scope of work has been developed for
programmatic validation and schematic design for a new medical education facility in Augusta. Staff are
working to schedule a meeting with Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission to present the
scope of work and determine the best way to proceed with vendor selection.

 

REGIONAL CAMPUS DEVELOPMENT

1. An Assistant Dean for the Southeast Georgia campus of MCG based in Savannah was selected and will
start July 1, 2008. A formal announcement of this appointment will be made in approximately two weeks,
after the successful candidate returns from an international trip.

 

FINANCIAL

1. On May 14, Governor Perdue signed the FY09 budget for the State of Georgia, which includes $70 million
in bonds for the new School of Dentistry, $7.2 million in new funding to support the physician education
expansion project, and $3 million in initial planning and design funding for a new facility for the School of
Medicine and an educational commons.

 

2. On May 30, the chief financial officers of MCG and UGA met to finalize specifics on the FY09 planning
budget and to develop the FY10 budget request.

 

LEGISLATIVE/COMMUNITY RELATIONS

1. On May 6, the Augusta‐Richmond County Commission voted to have the city administrator move forward
in finalizing a plan that will allow the city to provide MCG with the resources necessary to secure the
Gilbert Manor property to expand the MCG campus.

 

2. On May 20, President Rahn held a town hall for MCG and the Augusta community to provide an overview
of the MCG master facility plan, a framework for future growth and development that features largely
the facilities noted in item #1 of the preceding section.

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

As noted in the first update, ongoing expansion efforts are guided by a comprehensive operational plan that
outlines short- and long-term critical tasks and target dates.

 

Key Near-term Events

1. Legal staff have begun development of an MCG/UGA memorandum of understanding to provide the
framework for inter‐institutional interactions. The goal is to have the MOU ready for presentation at the
August meeting of the Board of Regents.

 

2. Also at the August BOR meeting, MCG will present the Gilbert Manor property land acquisition proposal
for the Board’s approval.

 

3. The renovation project for the mill facility in Athens is on target for going out to bid by the end of June.

 

4. The leadership of the MCG School of Medicine and the Phoebe Putney Medical Center in Albany will
meet June 23 to discuss clinical campus development, with a specific focus on budgets and facilities.

 

Submitted by …
Daniel W. Rahn, MD
President, Medical College of Georgia
and Senior Vice Chancellor for Health and Medical Programs, University System of Georgia