University of Georgia president Jere W. Morehead officially announced the coming establishment of a UGA medical school in a statement on Tuesday. The announcement came after the University System of Georgia Board of Regents approved the school.
The medical school, which will be funded in part as part of a $2 billion plan by Gov. Brian Kemp, is hoped to address the physician shortage in the state. Surging population growth, combined with one-third of Georgia physicians being near retirement age, has created strain on healthcare infrastructure in the state, which is exacerbated in rural areas, according to the statement.
Georgia currently ranks No. 40 among U.S. states for the number of active patient care physicians per capita, No. 41 for the number of primary care physicians and No. 44 for the number of general surgeons per capita, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. However, UGA is the No. 9 producer of medical school applicants in the country.
“I am deeply grateful to the Governor, the Chancellor, the Board of Regents and so many other leaders from across the state for their vision and support of this transformative initiative, which will usher in a new era for our state and the University of Georgia,” Morehead said in the statement.
Besides creating more in-state physicians and reducing healthcare strain, UGA also hopes the medical school will create economic benefits for the state, as well as draw in scientists and researchers.
The school will build upon the Augusta University and UGA Medical Partnership, which has included an Athens campus since 2010. Currently, UGA receives the largest amount of funding from the National Institutes of Health out of all of Georgia’s public research universities and is the largest recipient of NIH funding among public universities without a medical school.
“I am thrilled by the Board of Regents’ decision to authorize UGA to seek an independent school of medicine,” Dr. Shelley Nuss, campus dean of the AU and UGA Medical Partnership, said in a UGA Media Relations press release. “By expanding the pipeline of students in medical education, the UGA School of Medicine will help Georgia produce more highly trained physicians, alleviating physician shortages and improving the state’s ability to provide quality health care for its citizens.”
Morehead has formed a School of Medicine Implementation Team to create a plan for the school’s development while UGA seeks accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education.
