NEWS - Education & Colleges

By Lou Phelps

Nov 14, 2011 –Dr. Peter Buckley, the dean of Georgia Health Sciences University (GHSU) in Augusta, will be in Savannah this week as part of his accreditation review process, set for next month.

GHSU currently has five undergraduate and graduate colleges on the main campus, rolled into one umbrella brand name. They include: The Medical College of Georgia (MCG) College of Dental Medicine, College of Nursing, College of Allied Health Sciences and College of Graduate Studies.

Starting in July, MCG expanded to the Savannah area, launching a program at St. Joseph’s/Candler that now has 7 third-year and fourth-year medical students living in Savannah now and doing rotations throughout the Southeast.

The accreditation visit month would give St. Joseph’s/Candler the green light to bump that number to 20 students. MCG announced last year that the medical college would increase its annual enrollment of medical students as part of a federal government effort to produce more doctors to address anticipated shortfalls with an aging U.S. population.

The expansion of MCG and other GHSU programs is projected to add $350 million annually to the Georgia economy, according to Jennifer Hilliard Scott, Media Relations Coordinator for Georgia Health Sciences University.

“Research also shows that students will likely return to practice where they train. If that's Savannah, each new doctor would bring $1.3 million to your city's economy each year,” she adds.

Dr. Kathryn Martin is the dean of GHSU’s new Savannah campus.
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