PCOM South Georgia, the first four-year medical school in Southwest Georgia, will
hold its ribbon-cutting ceremony on August 6, 2019 at 2 p.m.
With a greatly anticipated step in the accreditation process completed, PCOM South
Georgia’s leadership team is planning a ribbon-cutting ceremony which will take place on August 6, 2019 at
2 p.m. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has confirmed that he will address attendees as
the first four-year medical school in Southwest Georgia opens its doors.
PCOM South Georgia consists of a 75,000 square foot facility on a 31-acre campus led by 30 faculty and
staff members. The campus, located in Moultrie, Georgia, will welcome 55 Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) students to orientation on August 5 with classes starting on August 12.
More than three years in the planning and construction stages, PCOM South Georgia
is the culmination of a mission to bring more physicians to the area.
Jay Feldstein, DO, president and CEO of Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) said, “We are very happy to be partnering in the region to bring our 120 years
of experience in educating physicians and health sciences professionals to Southwest
Georgia.”
He added, “PCOM South Georgia is a beautiful, state-of-the-art facility designed by
faculty, staff and students. It’s a showpiece and we are all proud of what we’ve accomplished
together with our partners. We are very pleased that Governor Kemp will help us dedicate
South Georgia’s new medical school, a school designed to help meet physician workforce
needs in rural Georgia.”
PCOM South Georgia is an additional location of PCOM and joins PCOM Georgia, located in Suwanee just north of Atlanta, as part of the healthcare workforce solution
for the state.
Michael J. Sampson, DO, FAOASM, PCOM South Georgia’s chief academic officer, said,
“We’ve designed PCOM South Georgia to be the region’s hometown medical school and
we look forward to working with all of our partners to build Southwest Georgia’s physician
workforce.”
He added, “We invite the South Georgia community to come to our ribbon-cutting ceremony,
tour our facility and meet our medical students. We are ready to educate the next
generation of physicians for Southwest Georgia.”
The ribbon-cutting ceremony will begin at 2 p.m. on the campus located at 2050 Tallokas
Road in Moultrie. Refreshments and tours will follow the ceremony. A community open
house will take place until 6 p.m.
Official actions to bring a campus to the Southwest Georgia region began in October
of 2016 when a Memorandum of Agreement was signed which laid out a plan to begin the
extensive accreditation process with the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) Commission
on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA), the college’s accrediting agency.
"The impact this medical school will have on the South Georgia region is going to
be monumental. Our ability to reduce the physician shortage in rural areas and thereby
meet the increasing healthcare needs of this population is going to improve," said
Colquitt Regional President and CEO Jim Matney. "I am just overwhelmingly proud of
all of the stakeholders who have come together to make this possible and we are appreciative
of PCOM for their willingness to step outside of the norm and place this campus in
Southwest Georgia.”
Matney also serves as the chair of the South Georgia Medical Education and Research
Consortium, a partnership of five independent healthcare systems in South Georgia.
The consortium was established in an effort to address healthcare access and physician
planning through the development of a medical education pipeline and graduate medical
education programs.
Hospital members of the consortium include Archbold Medical Center, Thomasville; Colquitt
Regional Medical Center, Moultrie; Phoebe Putney Health System, Albany; Tift Regional
Health System, Tifton; and South Georgia Medical Center, Valdosta.
On Tuesday, June 25, 2019, evaluators from the AOA’s COCA visited the PCOM South Georgia
campus. On July 12, 2019, the college was notified that all accreditation requirements
have been met to open the campus to students.
In 2019, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM), a premier osteopathic
medical school with a storied 125-year history, extended its commitment to the Southeast
by establishing PCOM South Georgia. An additional teaching location in Moultrie, Georgia, PCOM South Georgia offers both
a full, four-year medical program leading to the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO)
degree and a Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences. PCOM is a private, not-for-profit
institution that trains professionals in the health and behavioral sciences fields.
Joining PCOM Georgia in Suwanee in helping to meet the healthcare needs of the state, PCOM South Georgia
focuses on educating physicians for the region. For more information, visit pcom.edu or call 229-668-3110.
Contact Us
Cindy B. Montgomery Public Relations and Social Media Manager Email: cindymo@pcom.edu Office: 229-668-3198 | Cell: 229-873-2003