iPhone Apps for Students

The Medical College of Georgia is encouraging students to use their cell phones during class. The state's only public medical college has developed a suite of iPhone applications - called apps - designed to help students and faculty with everything from medical abbreviations to diagnosis codes. Others include a gestational calendar and a cholesterol management algorithm. In addition, students can use the apps to find buildings on campus, scroll through a course catalog and find out about events at the Augusta college. Administrators hope the apps can be used in the classroom, in the lab and bedside with patients.

(Associated Press)

MCG Athens-Campus OK'd By Accreditation Agency

It is full-steam ahead for the Medical College of Georgia’s track to open a campus in Athens following the nod from a national accreditation agency. MCG officials received permission from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education to admit 40 students to its new campus in northeast Georgia. An MCG officials says student applications will be taken starting later this month. The campus is scheduled to open in August of 2010.

UGA Readies for Medical Team

A team of scientists is ready to descend on the University of Georgia to comb over the preparations for the new medical campus scheduled to open next year. A good review by the Liaison Committee for Medical Evaluation could give the partnership between the Medical College of Georgia and UGA the go-ahead to begin recruiting students. UGA Provost Arnett Mace calls it a "very important visit." The committee is set to decide in June whether the college can expand its entering class by 40 students for the Athens campus in August 2010.

(Associated Press)

Legislators Look at Cuts to Medical Research While Proposed Medical School Expansion is Safe

Georgia lawmakers are beginning their review of state budgets passed by both chambers of the legislature, trying in a conference committee to resolve differences between the two.

One issue is a proposed cut in medical research funding to the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta.

The state senate, in its budget passed today, included a $10 million cut in funding, with about half of that coming from a cancer research center at MCG. Officials say that could devastate the center.

Senator Ed Tarver (D-Augusta) wants the money restored. He says instead, the legislature should shelve the proposed expansion of the college, especially a proposed satellite campus in Athens.

But proponents of expansion say it's badly needed to stave off a doctor shortage.

The issue, therefore, raises a question...Which investment is better? Especially in a money crunch? It's one of the many hard decisions lawmakers will be hashing out this week over a budget that's full of cuts to state agencies, education and public services.

Tarver and some other Augusta-area lawmakers have been opposed to expansion. They do not want Augusta to lose resources to other cities, particularly Athens. Proponents, including Republican Governor Sonny Perdue, say it's the best way to bring medical students to the state, and then retain them when they become doctors.

The other $5 million would be cut from other medical research. The House, meanwhile, also proposed that cut but did not consider funding reductions to the cancer center.

University System of GA Tries To Prevent Doctor Shortage

A partnership between the University of Georgia and the Medical College of Georgia has been formalized. The goal is to expand medical education in the state. The Georgia Board of Regents approved Tuesday a memorandum of understanding between the two campuses. The agreement seals the deal on a joint MCG-UGA campus in Athens, where UGA is based. The University System of Georgia is trying to produce more doctors to fill an expected statewide shortage of 2,500 physicians by 2020.

(Associated Press)

Medical College of Georgia responds to Augusta legislator's efforts to stop expansion in Athens

Toni Baker, a spokeswoman for the Medical College of Georgia, has released this statement in response to efforts by Senator Ed Tarver to stop MCG's planned expansion to Athens.

We appreciate Sen. Tarver's comments and his work to ensure the economic future of the state. MCG wants and needs to grow its School of Medicine to provide more physicians for our state. At the direction of the University System of Georgia and at the recommendation of expansion experts, Georgia's health sciences university is growing in all quadrants of the state: with focal points in Augusta, Athens, Savannah and Albany. We do not intend to lose positions in Augusta rather to expand significantly here - growing our medical student numbers from 190 per class to 240 along with concomitant increases in faculty numbers and research. This growth will require a new medical school building in Augusta and likely another research building as well. We look forward to continued work with Sen. Tarver and other members of the legislature on this important initiative for the health of our state, which currently ranks 41st in the nation in overall health indicators, according to the United Health Foundation.

Senator takes steps to delay Medical College of Georgia's expansion to Athens

Sen. Ed Tarver (D-Augusta) says he plans to introduce a measure in the upcoming legislative session to delay expansion of the Medical College of Georgia to Athens. Tarver says the expansion is costly in these tough economic times, especially as state universities are looking at budget cuts that could reach 10 percent. He also does not want to see job losses at MCG's main campus in Augusta, and says residency programs there are vital. Tarver, who used to represent MCG as a special state attorney general before he became a senator and whose wife is employed at the school, opposed the expansion efforts, a project strongly supported by Governor Sonny Perdue.

10th congressional district candidates spar over military service

As Election Day nears, the race for the tenth congressional district has taken a bitter turn with the Democratic challenger, Bobby Saxon, questioning the military service of the Republican incumbent, Rep. Paul Broun.

Saxon says Broun is misleading the public by saying he served in the Marine reserves in the "pre-Vietnam War era."

He says 20,000 American troops died in Vietnam during Broun's time in the Marines.

The two argued about Broun's service in an Atlanta Press Club debate at GPB's studios on Sunday.

"Will you look into the camera and tell the people of the tenth district why you misled them about your military record?" says Saxon.

"Bobby, you're so full of it," Broun replied. "You've not only impugned me, but every single person who served in the military who did not go to war."

Broun says he served in the active duty marine reserves from 1964-1967. Broun was serving when thousands of the casualties noted by Saxon happened. About 8000 of those deaths happened during his first three years. Broun was never deployed to Vietnam, although he says his unit eventually was.

In interviews with GPB, Broun has characterized his military service as beginning before things in Vietnam "got hot."

The war escalated with 11,000 American troop deaths in 1967, the year Broun started school at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. He says he changed his military commission to the Navy reserves because of school.

Broun strongly disputes any implications that he avoided the war or that his lack of combat experience renders him unqualified to be a congressman.

Broun says his decision to leave the marines was MCG's call, since a deployment would have interrupted his education.

"The medical school made me get out of active Marine reserves so I had a commission in the Navy as a general medical officer," Broun said in the debate.

But Dr. Lois Ellison, MCG's historian, says the school has never required students to avoid active duty.

"I can assure you that that has never been the case," says Ellison. She says the school allowed deferments to students if they were called up, and that the military badly needed medical personnel during the war.

But Ellison also adds that she cannot speak to what an individual, such as an advisor, might have personally said to Broun.

Ellison was unsure how many MCG students served in Vietnam.

Bobby Saxon is also a veteran, serving in the army and the national guard. He spent a year in Iraq as a combat battle major with the 3rd Infantry Division.

Saxon, meanwhile, released a video advertisement via YouTube today questioning Broun's service.

Magazine says Medical College of Georgia's bio-business incubator in Augusta ranks among top in country

The Medical College of Georgia's business incubator in Augusta has been named as one of the top five organizations in the U.S. helping biotechnology businesses.

Expansion Solutions magazine ranked the incubator on its recruiting, retaining and assisting of these businesses.

The incubator provides space, equipment and mentoring services for its tenants.

MCG's incubator currently houses four entrepreneurial businesses, including one working on a new anthrax vaccine and another specializing in cord blood banking and the cryopreservation of reproductive tissue.

Medical College of Georgia appoints new dean

(Image courtesy http://www.mcg.edu/)

The new Athens campus of the Medical College of Georgia has a new chief.

Dr. Barbara L. Schuster comes from Wright State University's Boonshoft School of Medicine in Ohio.

The expansion of Augusta-based MCG is part of the school's plan to increase its class size 60 percent to 1,200 by 2020 to help address a doctor shortage in Georgia.

MCG is Georgia's only public medical school.

(Associated Press)

MCG considers extending health insurance benefits to domestic partners in Augusta

The Medical College of Georgia, the state's only public medical university, may ask the state for health insurance benefits for the domestic partners of its faculty members.

The faculty is voting this week on whether MCG should extend the benefits.

Bill Andrews, vice chairman of MCG's academic council, says domestic partnerships are increasing, and that the issue will increasingly factor in to the recruitment and retention of faculty.

"We want to make sure that we have a good strong faculty here at MCG that represents a cross section of the country at this point," he said.

MCG will take the matter before the state's board of regents if the faculty approves the idea.

Two other state universities, the University of Georgia and Georgia State University, have requested similar benefits from the regents in years past, with no luck. A spokesman for the board of regents says the issue is still "under advisement."

Board of Regents approves Medical College of Georgia expansion plans

The Georgia Board of Regents has approved a resolution accepting a controversial plan for the Medical College of Georgia to expand in multiple cities throughout the state.

The vote serves as a formal endorsement of the plan, which calls for MCG to increase its student body by 60 percent by 2020.

The plan would expand MCG to other cities simultaneously.

That includes a new satellite campus in Athens, in partnership with the University of Georgia.

The proposed Athens campus has caused controversy, with lawmakers in eastern Georgia calling for expansion to happen at the main campus in Augusta first.

While MCG can now move ahead, the plan must ultimately pass muster with the state legislature, which would approve any funding for expansion.

The state is facing a shortage of doctors. Officials hope the proposed expansion will keep more of them in Georgia.

Board of Regents accepts Medical College of Georgia expansion plan

The Georgia Board of Regents has voted to accept a plan for expansion of the Medical College of Georgia.

It’s an effort to increase the number of doctors in Georgia…avoiding a critical shortage of them in the state, but it’s controversial.

The vote is not an approval of the plan. The Regents have simply chosen to review it. But it’s a clear signal that the Regents are supporting it.

Consultants developed their recommendations on expansion after a three month study.

The report calls for a significant expansion at the main campus in Augusta. It calls for a satellite campus in Athens. The number of clinical rotations in Albany and Savannah would also increase.

Lawmakers in Augusta want the expansion to happen at the main campus first. But Dr. Dan Rahn, MCG’s president, says he supports the plan.

"The physician workforce issues are statewide issues. The best opportunity to recruit physicians as future members of a medical community is to educate them within that medical community so we think we have a better chance of providing physicians around the state if we can educate them around the state," said Rahn.

Whatever the Regents decide, the fate of MCG’s expansion is ultimately in the hands of lawmakers, who must approve funding for any expansion.

Medical College of Georgia study recommends expansion in multiple cities

A state-funded report released today says Medical College of Georgia must undertake a major expansion immediately, or else put the health of Georgians at risk.

It warns of a critical doctor shortage, and says medical education, research, and clinical missions must happen in multiple cities in Georgia at the same time to avoid that.

The report was presented to the state's Board of Regents in Atlanta on Tuesday.

Some key recommendations:

*Expand medical education at the college's main campus in Augusta by increasing class size of first year students. Consultants say the increase would give the main campus the largest number of medical students per capita nationwide.

*Open a new medical education and research campus in Athens.

*Provide expanded clinical rotations at campuses in Albany and Savannah.

*Increase the number of medical residencies statewide.

"Our medical needs are increasing. Our population growth is outpacing presently our physician resources and certainly our physician growth and this puts the economy of this state at risk" said Errol Davis, chancellor of the Board of Regents. "We have a plan that, if implemented, will ensure that Georgia is a state and remains a state that is healthy both for its citizens and for its businesses within the state."

The proposed satellite campus in Athens is one of the most controversial recommendations. Consultants urge MCG to open one soon.

They say the campus should be located on the property of a U.S. Navy Supply Corps school that is closing and transferring operations to Rhode Island.

Officials in Athens today welcomed the proposal, but some legislators in the Augusta area decried it.

"We're going to need the physicians, but if we try to do both at one time, we may not do both right, and I'd rather us expand here, grow Augusta, get to the capacity we can get at, educate doctors properly and do a quality job, and then if we have to expand, then take it to Athens for that satellite facility if that's what we decide we should do," said Rep. Ben Harbin (R-Evans).

Harbin's opinion is key. That's because he chairs the powerful House appropriations committee. And whether the Board of Regents approves the recommendations or not, the legislature in effect, has the final say, since they must approve funding for any expansion.

"We are going to fund expansion in Augusta, because it has to happen," said Harbin. "But Athens, we're going to look at it. There's going to have to be a case made right now. I'm not favorable to it...but I may can be persuaded."

Officials moving 260 families from public housing complex in Augusta

About 260 families will search for new housing as officials plan to sell the public housing complex where they live.

Officials in Augusta plan to sell Gilbert Manor to Medical College of Georgia for an expansion of its campus.

They have begun meeting with residents to explain how the transition will work.

Some residents are questioning how elderly people will get to the doctor, and how the move will potentially affect close to 100 children who may have to find new schools. Gilbert Manor is located next to MCG, making it convenient for residents who make frequent visits to the doctor.

About 200 people packed a community room at Gilbert Manor on Thursday, greeting housing officials with both cheers and jeers. It was their first meeting since the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development okayed a proposed sale to MCG.

Residents have had mixed reactions about the sale, with some seeing it as an opportunity to find better housing while others don't want to leave. Some residents on Thursday accused housing authority officials of rushing the move. The residents have about 90 days to find new housing.

"I feel like they're not giving people the proper information to make the proper decisions. They're sugar-coating everything," said Michael Butler, who has lived at Gilbert Manor for four years.

But housing officials say public transportation is available, and that they're beginning to address the school issue.

The housing authority will also pay for moving expenses and connection fees for utilities, telephone and cable television.

They plan to move the families to other public housing complexes, or give them Section 8 vouchers to use toward private housing.

Public housing residents may lose home to medical school expansion

Residents of a public housing facility in eastern Georgia may lose their home soon.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on Friday okayed a proposed sale of the apartments to the Medical College of Georgia for a planned expansion.

The deal means the city of Augusta will have to move about 260 families out of Gilbert Manor Apartments by April. The move has to happen before the property is sold.

MCG plans to build a new dental school there and buildings that will house some of the school's core programs. Officials also say the property may eventually house additional buildings for research, technology transfer and economic development.

Residents have mixed feelings about the move.

Keisha Tanksley has lived in the public housing complex for five years and wants to see it go.

"This place is old and worn out. It’s a better opportunity for people who want to move...get out of the hood, the project," she said.

Gilbert Manor has no central heat or air conditioning. It was built in 1941.

Officials say renovating it would cost too much.

The deal is expected to cost M-C-G about $6.9 million.

Officials will use the money to build communities that will house people of varying incomes.

For now, they’ll move the residents into other public housing. Other tenants will receive vouchers to help pay for homes that are not in public housing complexes.

But some residents don’t want to leave.

They’re considering litigation to try and stop the sale.

The deal, meanwhile, has no bearing on whether MCG will open a branch campus in Athens.

The school is currently reviewing its expansion options, which has caused some political controversy. Governor Sonny Perdue (R) wants the Athens campus, while politicians from the area want to see expansion in Augusta. They fear expansion elsewhere will mean a cut in revenue and economic development opportunities.

MCG's president, Dan Rahn, suggested Friday that there is room to grow both in Augusta and elsewhere.

"We need to maximize what we can do here on our home campus and also engage in partnerships around the state in order to provide the best education for the future doctors of the state," said Rahn.

MCG officials will make their recommendations on expansion to the state Board of Regents on January 15.

Navy supply corps school closer to relocating

The navy is apparently one step closer to relocating a supply corps school from Athens to Rhode Island.

It also comes closer to clearing the way for the Medical College of Georgia to possibly open a branch campus there.

The Athens Banner Herald is reporting that navy officials have signed a $24.5 million contract with a construction firm in Rhode Island. It includes plans to construct a new building and renovate an existing one in Newport.

The Athens school provides administrative, logistical and media training to sailors and Marines. Officials expect it to close it within three years.

Governor Sonny Perdue and officials in Athens want the property to be used as a branch campus of the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta.

The proposal is controversial, though. Some community leaders in Augusta want any expansion of the medical school to happen at the main campus there.

State Supreme Court overturns two malpractice suits

In a pair of decisions, Georgia’s Supreme Court overturned two medical malpractice lawsuits.

The Court ruled a Glynn County man cannot sue doctors who mistakenly infected him with HIV.

The patient was two moths old when doctors when doctors at the Medical College of Georgia Hospital performed open-heart surgery, using contaminated blood.

The patient suffered a decade of health problems attributed to his heart condition. He then sued in 2001 after discovering he was HIV-positive.

Attorneys for the defense argued the time to file a lawsuit had passed.

In its ruling, the Court said the open-heart surgery did not cause the patient to develop AIDS, but that a lack of treatment led to the illness.

In another ruling today, the Court says a judge cannot award money in a wrongful death case if the jury chooses to award nothing.

The family of a baby, who died at 15 months, says doctors at Columbus Healthcare System failed to diagnose a rare blood condition.

However, at trail, expert testimony showed the baby died due to massive head injuries.

A jury awarded $100,000 for the child’s pain and suffering, but no damages for the infant’s wrongful death.

Later, the judge added $1 million, saying it was not right to acknowledge malpractice, but award nothing for a wrongful death.

The Supreme Court overturned the judge’s $1 million award and has sent the case back for re-trial.

Chancellor: Medical schools won't compete

What could be Georgia’s newest medical school won’t compete with plans to expand the Medical College of Georgia. That’s according to University System Chancellor Errol Davis. Lawmakers have expressed concerns about plans by Brenau University in Gainesville north of Atlanta to build Georgia’s 5th medical school. They have said it might compete with the Augusta-based Medical College of Georgia’s new campus in Athens. Chancellor Davis says Georgia needs as many medical schools as it can get because the state lags in training physicians.

UGA & Medical College will take over Navy base

The University of Georgia and the Medical College of Georgia are poised to take over a Navy Supply Corps facility in Athens. This week the two schools reached an agreement with the local redevelopment authority.

The schools will take control of the base when it closes in 2011 and turn it into a medical campus. As part of the deal, UGA will pay $8 million dollars for another facility that will be used to help the homeless.

The local redevelopment authority is expected to vote on the agreement on Monday. A public hearing to unveil a site plan for the campus is scheduled July 17. For the deal to succeed, the state Legislature must fund it within the next three years.