Georgia’s 2022 budget is more than $27 billion with almost $16 million heading to Augusta University to fund education, research and increase the number of physicians for rural and underserved areas of the state.
The funds will be spread across undergraduate and graduate education and begin STEM education programs for students K-12 in rural Georgia.
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Rural Georgia is also the beneficiary of a program at AU called the MCG 3+ Primary Care Pathway. Beginning in 2024, some medical school students will graduate in three years rather than four and go into a primary care residency program. If they commit to working in an underserved area of Georgia, those students will receive a scholarship to pay for their education.
The program is a partnership with the Peach State Health Plan that gave AU $5.2 million. Gov. Brian Kemp said the new budget includes $5.2 million to match the PSHP grant.
“This is an incredible program that will serve our state well for decades in the future,” Kemp added.
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The budget also includes $7.8 million to support expanding class sizes at the Medical College of Georgia, another step in addressing the state’s physician shortage.
MCG Dean Dr. David Hess said, “As the state’s public medical school, it is our mission and our responsibility to address the state’s growing physician shortage.”
The budget gives $1.2 million for the Rural Coding Project at the Georgia Cyber Center. It targets STEM education opportunities to students in Georgia’s rural areas.
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There’s also money for the Christenberry Fieldhouse. The facility will get $5 million to renovate the building, including replacing the synthetic stucco on the building’s exterior.
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a Staff Reporter with The Augusta Press. You can reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com.
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