PCOM South Georgia Counts Down to August 2019 Opening
February 22, 2019
Administrators, faculty and staff are preparing for the new location's opening as
construction continues on schedule.
The PCOM South Georgia offices temporarily located at Hospital Park in Moultrie, Georgia, are abuzz with activity. Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) leased this space to house a number of full-time employees prior to the summer opening
of the new Tallokas Road location.
PCOM South Georgia is a private, not-for-profit, four-year additional location of PCOM, a multi-program
institution of educational excellence founded in 1899. The new location, which will
have a 75,000 square foot facility on 31 acres, is being developed to help meet the
healthcare needs of the region.
The PCOM South Georgia admissions team is in full swing traversing the South Georgia region visiting high schools and colleges to tell the
PCOM story. Admissions Assistant Director Dana Brooks and Admissions Assistant Victoria
Heath are in the midst of planning an April welcome luncheon for students who have
been accepted to the Class of 2023 and will matriculate in the late summer of 2019.
The event will be held at Southern Regional Technical College in Moultrie.
In addition, Chief Academic Officer Michael J. Sampson, DO, FAOASM, and Campus Officer
Joanne M. Jones, MBA, spend a majority of their time interviewing prospective faculty members, speaking
to community groups and ensuring that PCOM South Georgia meets accreditation standards.
The school has received initial accreditation from the American Osteopathic Association’s
Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation. With a planned opening date of August
2019, PCOM South Georgia will offer the doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO) degree to 55 initial medical students.
With the assistance of Marla D. Golden, DO, FACEP, the chair of clinical education for PCOM South Georgia, Dr. Sampson is working to build relationships with existing
and prospective preceptors. Preceptors are experienced physicians in various specialties who provide third and
fourth year medical students with supervision during clinical practice.
He said, “I am excited to be living in the community and watching PCOM change the
landscape, both literally and figuratively in South Georgia. As I am out telling the
PCOM South Georgia story to Rotary and Kiwanis clubs and meeting with medical staff
at our regional hospitals, I am amazed by the positive reception that PCOM South Georgia
is receiving.“
The PCOM Office of Human Resources continues to recruit qualified applicants to fill both faculty and staff positions. To date, a number of faculty members are
under contract and will assume their responsibilities at various times during the
winter, spring and summer months.
Sebastian Egberts, MS, a PCOM employee and anatomy faculty member in his fourth year with PCOM in Philadelphia,
decided to make the move to Moultrie. He explained, “The idea of establishing a brand
new location and building it from the ground up is something very exciting. Since
I already am part of the PCOM family on the Philadelphia campus, I have been following
the planning stages ever since the South Georgia location was announced.”
He added, “What intrigued me about the new location on a personal level was that prior
to working at PCOM in Philadelphia, I worked for an osteopathic college in rural Ohio,
of which I have many fond memories. I find that often in smaller places people grow
closer together and relationships between faculty, staff and students are tightly
knit.”
Tamara Scaccia, a PCOM Georgia employee for more than 10 years who now works as the
administrative assistant to Dr. Sampson, also made the decision to take a position
in Moultrie. She said, “The community here is amazing. You mention PCOM South Georgia
and they are fully on board.” She has enjoyed the “laid back vibe,” the North Florida-like
weather and her four minute commute to work! But, she said she does miss her friends.
On the construction front, JCI Senior Project Manager Brett Diamon reports that brickwork
has begun on exterior walls and will continue for around eight weeks. Roofing is ongoing
and windows will soon be installed. Diamon notes that mechanical, electrical and plumbing
rough-ins are complete inside the walls, while the above ceiling rough-ins will continue
for the next several weeks. In addition, drywall installation has begun and will continue
as more and more areas become available.
Diamon reports that a number of subcontractors from Georgia, Florida and Alabama are
working on the PCOM South Georgia project. They include: Acousti Engineering, Tallahassee,
Florida; All State Electrical, Macon, Georgia; American Glass, Valdosta, Georgia;
Chambless Construction Specialties, Atlanta, Georgia; Dalton Carpet One, Atlanta,
Georgia; and Georgia Automatic Sprinkler, Valdosta, Georgia.
Also, Griffin-Folsom Construction, Cordele, Georgia; InEx Systems, Kennesaw, Georgia;
Jim Boyd Construction, Albany, Georgia; Keith Lawson Company, Tallahassee, Florida;
One Path, Kennesaw, Georgia; Plexi-Chemie, Jacksonville, Florida; Overhead Doors of
Southwest Georgia, Albany, Georgia; and Richter Contracting, Albany, Georgia.
Other subcontractors on the project are: Robles Masonry, Dothan, Alabama; Ruis Fence
Company, Moultrie, Georgia; Rutland Voltage Systems, Inc., Valdosta, Georgia; S&L
Integrated Systems, Thomasville, Georgia; Thyssenkrump Elevators, Atlanta, Georgia;
Trinity Fabricators, Green Cove Springs, Florida; Valdosta Commercial Doors, Valdosta,
Georgia; Ware Paint & Drywall, Waycross, Georgia; and Woodlane, Tallahassee, Florida.
Egberts, who is currently relocating, summed it up. “For me the decision to make the
big move to Moultrie was made easier because I was already in a privileged position
knowing that PCOM is a great institution. I have faith the new location will be a
success story as well.”
Scaccia said, “I have really loved watching this beautiful campus come to life and
I am so very excited to be a part of this amazing team that is helping build this
new location from the dirt up! I see the vision and it is coming together.”
Dr. Sampson added, “What was once a dream is now coming to a reality, especially when
we all work together for the common good to enhance health care in South Georgia.”
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