Progress is continuing on the development of PCOM South Georgia, an additional location of Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) in Moultrie, Georgia. From construction, to faculty and staff hiring, to student interviews, to accreditation proceedings, the new medical campus is rapidly moving forward to an August 2019 start date.

Construction of the 75,000 square foot PCOM South Georgia facility has been underway since May with JCI Contractors of Moultrie serving as the general contractor. According to Frank Windle, PCOM chief facilities officer, more than 90 percent of the sub-contractors working on the project are local to the region.

The construction company recently released the latest sub-contractor list under contract. Georgia firms located in Albany, Atlanta, Cordele, Macon, Moultrie, Valdosta and Waycross have been hired for the project. In addition, a Dothan, Alabama, company, and Green Cove Springs and Tallahassee, Florida, sub-contractors have been signed.

According to Lyndy Jones, president of JCI Contractors, “Construction of PCOM South Georgia is well underway. Despite the unusually wet summer, most earthwork and foundations have been completed.“ He added, “We are excited to have made the first of four slab pours and look forward to beginning steel erection by mid-October. I know everyone will be interested to see the building start coming out of the ground. JCI is proud to be constructing this state-of-the-art campus in our hometown.”

In the meantime, Michael J. Sampson, DO, FAOASM, has been named the chief academic officer and associate dean, while Joanne Jones, a 33-year veteran of PCOM, is serving as the campus officer. Marla Golden, DO, FAOCP, has been named the full-time director of clinical education, covering both the South Georgia region and the Jacksonville, Florida, areas. An assistant director of admissions will start work November 1, while an admissions assistant will soon be hired.

Teaching faculty are interviewing for positions. Subject matter experts in biochemistry, cellular, genetics, immunology, microbiology, osteopathic manipulative medicine, pathology, pharmacology and physiology will soon be employed.

Admissions representatives are making visits across the region with presentations at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, Georgia Southern University in Statesboro and Savannah, and Valdosta State University and Wiregrass Technical College, both in Valdosta. The admissions office has received almost 4,000 applications for the inaugural 55-member student body. Interviews have begun and are taking place at Georgia Campus – Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (GA-PCOM) in Suwanee. Temporary office space has been secured and is located at 9 Hospital Park Drive in Moultrie.

Accreditation for the additional location, under the purview of the American Osteopathic Association’s (AOA) Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA), is progressing for the Moultrie location with a site visit planned for February 13-15, 2019.

All in all, the project is moving full speed ahead so that the class of 2023 will be off to a smooth start on August 12, 2019.