In January, the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) Center for Telehealth announced that Emanuel Medical Center (EMC) will serve as a new teaching site for the college’s Peach State Scholars. This group of medical students commit to completing medical school in three years, then entering directly into a primary care residency program to server as primary care physicians for rural and underserved Georgia.
MCG emergency medicine residents and fellows will also train at EMC as part of this new collaboration.
This expands the relationship for telehealth services between Augusta University and Emanuel Medical Center, as the MCG Center for Telehealth will now provide physicians and other care providers at EMC with 24/7 remote access to MCG physicians’ expertise.
For local residents it means better care, right here at home.
“The patient doesn’t have to be far from home,” said Damien Scott, Emanuel Medical Center CEO. “They don’t have another bill from an ambulance or helicopter, they were able to stay here locally.”
“We’re able to reach out with telemedicine and provide support, to fill in those gaps,” added Dr. Matt Lyon, the Virtual Care Service Chief at AU Health and the Associate Dean for Experiential Learning with the Medical College of Georgia.
For the students in the program, it represents a robust opportunity for expanded opportunities and service in their field.
“I think this opportunity to have this longitudinal program to help train in a county like this helps us get used to the resources, or lack of resources, they may encounter once in practice,” said Luis Rodriguez, a third-year student and Peach State Scholar.
In exchange for their commitment to serve in a rural or underserved area of the state, these students will receive a scholarship for tuition, which was made possible by a $5.2 million donation from Peach State Health Plan in 2021.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp matched Peach State Health Plan’s initial donation to kickstart the program, adding another $5.2 million in funding. In 2022, Kemp and the Georgia General Assembly added $8.7 million more to the program.
EMC will be one of many new partners the program hopes to bring on to help educate these students, according to MCG.
