SAVANNAH, Ga. (ABP) — A Baptist university in Georgia and a Savannah hospital plan to expand an existing joint clinical program into a four-year medical program.
Mercer University, based in Macon, already operates Mercer School of Medicine and two teaching hospitals. The partnership between the School of Medicine and Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah will create a second four-year campus for the mdical school.
The move is notable because federal reports indicate that the state is facing a serious physician shortage. In a 2005 report by the United Health Foundation, Georgia ranked 37th among the 50 states in the number of physicians per capita, 41st in total mortality and 43rd in overall health status nationwide. More than 25 percent of the current Georgia physician workforce is age 55 or older.
The expansion, which will eventually double the number of medical doctors graduating from Mercer, was made possible by funds allocated in the 2007-2008 state budget, signed into law in May by Gov. Sonny Perdue (R).
“The expansion of Mercer's medical program into a four-year medical school in Savannah is good news for Georgia,” Perdue said, in a statement. “It will help meet the increased demand for doctors, especially in underserved areas of our growing state. The Savannah campus will ensure that more Georgians have access to the quality medical care they need.”
The Mercer School of Medicine at Memorial Health will admit 30 students per year and grow to 60 students per year as facilities become available. Mercer plans to hire faculty to begin work in January 2008 and to admit the initial students in fall of 2008. A new academic building for the medical school will be built on the Memorial Health campus through major fundraising initiatives.
In the state's new fiscal year budget, Mercer will receive an additional $5.5 million for support of the new medical school campus.
“When the Mercer University School of Medicine opened 25 years ago in partnership with the state of Georgia, the university made a commitment to establish an outstanding program of medical education that would prepare physicians to meet the health care needs of rural and underserved areas of Georgia,” Mercer President Bill Underwood said, in a press release. “Mercer has kept that commitment, and we are pleased to have this opportunity to join with Memorial Health in expanding our ability to address the health care needs of Georgia.”
Founded in 1833, Mercer University has 7,300 students and campuses in Macon, Ga., and Atlanta. Mercer's medical involvement in Savannah began in 1996 when the university established a clinical relationship with Memorial Health, which provided instruction for third- and fourth-year medical students at the Mercer School of Medicine.
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