The largest and most comprehensive health system in southwest Georgia and a historically Black medical school have agreed to a partnership to expand the pipeline of physicians, promote wellness and transform health care in the region. On Monday, leaders from Phoebe Putney Health System (PPHS) and Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM), one of the nation’s leading educators of primary care physicians, signed a Memorandum of Understanding outlining an ambitious collaboration to improve access to care and advance health equity for the people of southwest Georgia through multiple education, research and community benefit initiatives.

“Morehouse School of Medicine is committed to increasing and diversifying the healthcare workforce, especially in historically underserved rural and urban communities throughout Georgia, the nation and the world," said Morehouse School of Medicine President and CEO Valerie Montgomery Rice, MD, FACOG. "That includes creating opportunities for young physicians to receive exceptional training in communities where they can have the mostmeaningful impact. This unique partnership with Phoebe is an innovative way for MSM to embed our learners and invest our resources in ways that will further our shared goals to benefit the people of southwest Georgia for generations.”

The agreement aims to establish a regional Morehouse School of Medicine campus and new residency programs in multiple specialties at Phoebe, as well as provide clinical training for MSM students and residents at hospitals and clinics throughout the Phoebe Health system.

“There is a nationwide shortage of physicians that is particularly acute in small urban and rural areas like southwest Georgia. We must be better at growing our own by providing more opportunities for physicians with a connection to Georgia to train in our part of the state,” said Scott Steiner, Phoebe Putney Health System President & CEO.  “Morehouse School of Medicine is a great partner for us because they have a longstanding track record of developing physicians with a passion for serving diverse communities, with a large percentage of MSM graduates staying in Georgia.”

Phoebe and MSM will develop plans to enhance student and workforce pathways as well as recruitment and retention strategies to incentivize students, residents and healthcare workers to practice medicine in the region once their training is completed. The institutions will also develop a Research Hub to increase funding and expand clinical trials that will primarily focus on projects to address critical needs outlined in Phoebe’s Community Health Needs Assessments.

“MSM experts are involved in many groundbreaking clinical research projects that have improved health outcomes for real people,” said Erica Sutton, MD, MSM Senior Associate Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education. "We don’t conduct these studies simply to gather data but rather because of our mission and vision, which is leading the creation and advancement of health equity to achieve health justice. We look forward to collaborating with Phoebe to enhance our educational and research infrastructure in southwest Georgia."

Phoebe and MSM already have a deep relationship. For years, MSM students have had the opportunity to complete elective rotations at Phoebe. Currently, all third year MSM students focusing on pediatric medicine complete core rotations at Phoebe, training in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit. In November, a resident in MSM’s obstetrics & gynecology program began training at Phoebe for a year. Another will arrive later this year for a year-long stay, while other MSM obstetrics and gynecology residents will rotate through for shorter training stays. 

The two institutions have also worked together on programs such as Project Elevation and the Nurse Family Partnership. Project Elevation educates men – primarily Black men – about the importance of prostate cancer screenings and has provided nearly 1,000 free screenings at churches throughout the region, while the Nurse Family Partnership pairs a Phoebe nurse with a first-time mother before and after delivery to ensure the family has access to the health care and resources they need for a healthy birth and long-term health and development of the child. So far, around 100 mothers in the program have given birth, and Phoebe is working on a plan to double the number of women who can be in the program at any given time from 75 to 150.

“We are focused on making every life we touch better and overcoming social drivers of health that often keep southwest Georgians from reaching their optimum level of health.  Morehouse School of Medicine shares those goals and has a proven history of working with us here in our part of the state to get results. By expanding our partnership, we will significantly enhance that impact and improve the lives of people in our region,” said Dianna Grant, MD, Phoebe Putney Health System Chief Medical Officer.

Phoebe and MSM will establish an Executive Committee to oversee the partnership efforts.  Steiner and Dr. Montgomery Rice will co-chair the committee which will also include additional representatives from their respective organizations as well as local community members.

Dr. Grant and Dr. Sutton will chair a Steering Committee which will meet monthly to track and enhance progress toward shared goals of the partnership. Some of the overall objectives include:

• Addressing critical healthcare needs and improving wellness, health outcomes and access to healthcare

• Increasing the diversity of health professionals and scientific workforce

• Advancing treatment options and care plans

• Advancing research and innovation