Expansion was a recurring theme in this year’s State of the College Address at the Medical College of Georgia.
Dr. David Hess, dean of MCG, spoke to an audience of mostly faculty and fellow physicians, Friday afternoon, in the Lee Auditorium on the Augusta University Health Sciences campus. The tone of the presentation was optimistic, with emphases on the benefits of Augusta University Health becoming Wellstar MCG.
Hess noted last year’s merger between Marietta, Ga.-based Wellstar Health System and AU Health, in which Wellstar will invest more than $1 billion over 10 years. Approximately $800 million of this is to go toward capital projects, such as construction of the Columbia County hospital and improvements to the Augusta campus. Another roughly $300 million will go to assuming AU Health’s debts.
The merger also entails some $13 million in annual mission support for the college, and up to $16 million each year for variable mission support to MCG.
“So unlike a for-profit hospital, where every dime they make it goes to their shareholders, every dime they make, fortunately, is coming back to MCG to support the academic and educational mission,” said Hess.
By 2025, the health system aims to finally establish a long-desired foothold in Atlanta because of the agreement with Wellstar, with a new two-year clinical regional campus via Wellstar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta.
Some 16 third-year students are already rotating at Kennestone, explained internist Dr. Louis Lovett, who runs MCG’s medical student program.
“We are very excited about the students that we have,” said Lovett, speaking to attendees virtually. “Eventually I think we would like to also expand the opportunity of students at some of our other teaching facilities.”
Wellstar’s emphasis on telemedicine and digital health has led to the launching of the MCG Center for Telehealth, which offers telehealth services to rural patients, and the upcoming Hospital @ Home option, in which paramedics and nurses come to patients’ homes to aid and monitor treatment.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
