Shot in the arm: $2.2 million gift to help Augusta University create more rural doctors

Joe Hotchkiss, Augusta Chronicle
·2 min read
A nurse at AU Health System delivers a COVID-19 vaccine shot to a patient in this photo from 2021. AU recently received a $2.2 million gift to help fund its program that accelerates medical students' graduations so they can practice in rural areas.
A nurse at AU Health System delivers a COVID-19 vaccine shot to a patient in this photo from 2021. AU recently received a $2.2 million gift to help fund its program that accelerates medical students' graduations so they can practice in rural areas.

Georgia’s Medicaid provider has increased its multimillion-dollar investment to help Augusta University's medical and dental colleges educate more physicians and dentists.

The Peach State Health Plan announced the $2.2 million fundraising gift Wednesday in conjunction with the Centene Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Centene Corp., the managed-care company that includes Peach State Health as a subsidiary.

The gift will help fund AU’s Medical College of Georgia 3+ Primary Care Pathway Program. Under the program, medical students who commit to primary care practice in rural or underserved Georgia are tracked to graduate in three years and immediately enter a residency.

The gift also will support the launch of a new loan forgiveness program for AU's Dental College of Georgia students who also commit to entering rural and underserved dental practices.

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In a 2022 report, the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce cited dangerous gaps in rural Georgia’s quality health care. The report found 22 Georgia counties with no practicing dentists. The Georgia Department of Community Health reported 127 counties experiencing at least partial shortages in dental care.

Peach State Health and Centene played a key role in launching the MCG 3+ Program with an initial $5.2 million investment in 2021.

"Augusta University, our MCG, and now our DCG, are proud to partner with Peach State Health plan to expand and create programs that are working to place physicians and dentists in areas of Georgia where they are needed most," said AU President Dr. Brooks A. Keel. "Our MCG 3+ Primary Care Pathway Program has been a tremendous success, and with this additional investment, we are closer to establishing a fund that will work in perpetuity. We look forward to seeing the same success with a similar program at our DCG."

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Multimillion-dollar gift to Augusta University to fund more rural docs