On December 5, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, received initial approval from its accrediting agency to establish an additional location in Moultrie, Georgia. With this approval, the college will move forward with the development of PCOM South Georgia, a four-year campus with an opening class of 55 Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine students. Plans call for the new 75,000-square-foot institution to begin classes in August of 2019.

Since 1899, PCOM, a nonprofit institution of higher education, has trained highly competent, caring physicians, health practitioners and behavioral scientists who practice a “whole person” approach to health care—treating people, not just symptoms.

PCOM President and CEO Jay S. Feldstein, DO ’81, said, “This accomplishment is a credit to the commitment of the Southwest Georgia Medical Education and Research Consortium and all partners who have joined forces to bring this idea to fruition. We’re confident PCOM South Georgia will have a positive impact on health care in the South Georgia region.”

The consortium is a partnership of independent hospitals in Southwest Georgia. It 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.

PCOM received initial approval from the American Osteopathic Association’s Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation for the Moultrie location and met the criteria as outlined by the accrediting agency, including an assessment of support for the college from the South Georgia region.

Dean and Chief Academic Officer H. William Craver III, DO, said, “We’re excited as we move forward in making significant investments in South Georgia in capital infrastructure, pipeline programming and the educational scope of the region. It is a pleasure to be working with physicians, healthcare facilities and educational partners in South Georgia. I am truly appreciative of the assistance of the consortium and its leadership, along with our founding anchor hospitals as this initiative progresses.”

GA-PCOM, PCOM’s branch campus in Suwanee, Georgia, focuses on recruiting, educating, graduating and retaining health professions students from Georgia and the surrounding states. The Moultrie location will join with GA-PCOM in this focus. In addition, recognizing the state’s critical need for physicians in the South Georgia region, PCOM South Georgia will seek to recruit qualified students who wish to pursue a career in rural medicine. To help accomplish this mission, PCOM is working to establish partnerships with colleges in the South Georgia region.