Augusta Tomorrow

Program management firm to help develop, construct medical school facility

2/12/2010

A program management firm has been selected to help develop and construct a five-story, 186,100-square foot facility that will serve as an expanded home base for the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine.

Gleeds Worldwide, Atlanta-based international management and construction consultants, will work with MCG officials as well as architects of a medical education commons building that will enable the medical school to increase its class size in Augusta as part of a statewide initiative to produce more physicians for Georgia, said Dr. Doug Miller, School of Medicine dean and MCG senior vice president for health affairs.

The University System of Georgia approved the Gleeds selection this week.

The new facility will include shared educational space with the MCG School of Dentistry, which is currently constructing a new building at the site of the former Gilbert Manor public housing project on 15 acres of land bordered by RA Dent Boulevard, Goss Lane and Spellman Street. The medical education commons will connect to the new dental school building via a third-floor corridor. The project also includes expansion/renovation of the medical school's gross anatomy space in the Carl T. Sanders Research and Education Building to accommodate a growing class size.

Earlier this week, MCG leadership approved schematic plans for the facility designed by HOK Group Inc., an international design firm appointed by the regents in May. Features include a prominent glass rotunda facing 15th Street and space for a class size of 300 students. Detailed blueprints will be developed over the next year.

While construction dollars have not yet been approved for the project, the regent's 2012 and 2013 budgets include $150 million in capital expenditures related to medical school expansion, including $105 million for the medical education commons.

"Selection of a program management firm and inclusion of dollars for such a facility in the regent's budget over the next few years are strong indicators of the commitment to the medical education expansion initiative," Dr. Miller said. "We greatly appreciate the support of the Regents, the chancellor, the legislators, the governor and the physicians and hospitals of our state who have all played a critical role in getting us to this point and maintaining momentum even in these perilous economic times. We believe it will be a solid investment in the physical and economic health of our state for many decades to come."

The MCG School of Medicine is increasing it's class size from 190 to 300 students by 2020 to help meet the need for physicians in a state that ranks in the top 10 both in population and population growth, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, but 40th in the number of physicians per capita.

The statewide plan includes growing the class size in Augusta from 190 to 240 and opening or expanding three other School of Medicine sites:

• The MCG/UGA Medical Partnership, a four-year Athens campus in cooperation with the University of Georgia, that will enroll its first students this fall


• The Southwest Georgia Clinical Campus, based at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany, which was recently approved as a residential campus for third- and fourth-year students


• The Southeast Georgia Clinical Campus based at St. Joseph's/Candler Health System in Savannah, which is slated for residential campus designation in coming years.