Community Celebrates GA-PCOM’s $8 Million Investment

February 22, 2017

President Jay Feldstein and other College and community officials helped ceremoniously break ground and cut the ribbon for two separate additions to the GA-PCOM campus.

---

Community members joined with Georgia Campus – Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (GA-PCOM) to ceremoniously break the ground and cut the ribbon on two separate additions equaling an investment of more than $8M on Wednesday, February 22.

A physical therapy education center and additional research space are being constructed in a 20,000 square foot addition to the main campus, while a newly expanded and equipped Simulation Center was dedicated today.

Chief Campus Officer Bryan Ginn said, “PCOM continues to invest and grow its health science programs in Gwinnett in response to a demonstrated educational need in our region and our state.” He added, “These capital investments of more than $8 million will pay dividends toward our students' educational outcomes in both existing and new academic programs, and enhance GA-PCOM's role in educating future healthcare providers.”

Jay Feldstein, DO, President of the college, said, “As you visit the Simulation Center today, you will note the extensive use of high-fidelity mannequins and technology that are available for student education and training. We simulate the miracle of birth and we expose students to cardiac emergencies and other conditions that cause patients to present to an Emergency Department in a hospital setting. Our students conduct simulated surgeries in the Operating Room, both by traditional means of scalpel and by robotics. And, yes, students take great delight when their mannequins make it through the intense illness or procedure.

The February 22 groundbreaking and ribbon cutting at GA-PCOM included remarks by College and community leaders.

---

Dr. Feldstein spoke about the developing physical therapy program. “We are committed to making a physical therapy education program in Georgia successful,” he said, adding that the 20,000 square feet currently under construction will house the “skills and teaching labs, specialized therapy labs and faculty and student support spaces necessary to deliver a robust curriculum.”

GA-PCOM is seeking accreditation for this program from the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE). If candidacy status is granted, the college will admit the inaugural class of students in June 2018.

Dan Kaufman, President and CEO of the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce recalled that he had been present for the ribbon cutting ceremony 11 years ago when GA-PCOM first opened. “The promise of that day has not only been realized, I would argue it has been vastly exceeded,” he said. He noted that the college has contributed three critical contributions to sustain Gwinnett as a world class community.

According to Kaufman, the medical college provides educational opportunities for Gwinnett students so that they can attend kindergarten through medical school and never leave the county. In addition, he said the college attracts world class talent in the students that matriculate at GA-PCOM and that the college “enhances the quality of life for us all.” Feldstein said, “Together we are building a stronger, healthier community.”

You May Also Like:

• 'Guiding Patients' Train GA-PCOM Medical Students
• PCOM Celebrates Founders' Day 2017
• Shelnutt Named Mason Pressly Award Recipient