Colquitt Regional Medical Center recently opened its new medical education center. Members of the Colquitt County Hospital Authority, Colquitt Regional hospital administration, Colquitt Regional Medical Foundation board, and representatives of Ameris Bank gathered on Thursday, Nov. 30, to cut the ribbon for the new building.
This new 39,000 sq. ft. facility, named the Ameris Bank Medical Education Center, is located on the hospital campus directly beside Vereen Rehabilitation Center and adjacent to the main entrance of the hospital. The first floor houses the Colquitt Regional Educational Services department. The second floor is home to Georgia South Family Medicine Residency Program and clinic, Georgia South Psychiatry Residency Program and future clinic, and offices for affiliated physicians, faculty, and staff.
Included on the first floor are four simulation rooms, a computer lab, classroom space, the Matney Conference Center, and a skills lab for students and staff to practice clinical procedures in a learning environment.
“When we first started envisioning this education center, we wanted to build a facility not only for our own employees, but for the community and region at large,” said Colquitt Regional President and CEO Jim Matney. “It will play an integral role in training, recruiting, and retaining our healthcare workforce. Because of the generosity of Ameris Bank, along with numerous other donors throughout our community, we turned a vision into a reality.”
Each simulation room is devoted to one of the following disciplines: labor and delivery, medical/surgical, intensive care, and trauma. The rooms were designed to mimic hospital rooms to allow for training that is as close to a real-life scenario as possible. High-fidelity manikins have been placed in each simulation room that can be programmed to respond to the learning environment to train providers in best practices and events.
The education center will be utilized by a number of healthcare professionals including residents, physicians, nurses, paramedics, and nurse assistants. Not only will it be accessible to Colquitt Regional employees, but medical learners at partnering educational institutions will be able to utilize the facility as well.
“We have strong partnerships with local schools such as Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Southern Regional Technical College, the Colquitt County School System and more,” said Matney. “One of our goals is to be a resource for the community and in turn, create a pipeline of healthcare workers that will have exposure to and experience within the industry from a young age.”
Construction began on the new center in September 2022 after funds from a 2018 pledge from Ameris Bank were earmarked for the project. This $2 million pledge was made through the Georgia HEART rural tax credit program. The building was named in honor of the generous contributions from Ameris Bank.
The Georgia HEART rural tax credit program allows Georgia residents to reallocate their state tax dollars to qualified rural hospital organizations. With funds through the program, Colquitt Regional has been able to make facility infrastructure upgrades and service line additions, such as the renovation and expansion of the Edwards Cancer Center and radiation oncology unit.
Along with the pledge from Ameris Bank, signature donations were received from Colquitt Regional employees, who gave $250,000, hospital volunteers, who contributed $150,000, Trupti and Shamb Purohit, who donated $200,000, and the Jill and Jim Matney family have pledged $500,000 towards the medical education center. In total, over 300 donors have contributed to this building through Georgia HEART.
“The continued support for our health system is greatly acknowledged and appreciated,” said Hospital Authority Chairman Richard E. Turner, Jr. “This facility will have an enormous impact on those pursuing careers in the medical field not just in Moultrie but throughout South Georgia. Because of this elevated level of training, we will continue to expand access of high quality healthcare to the patients of Colquitt Regional.”
For more information on the new Ameris Bank Medical Education Center, please contact the marketing department at 229-890-3552.
