During the planning phases of PCOM South Georgia, Matney served as the chair of the South Georgia Medical Education and Research Consortium, a partnership of five independent healthcare systems in South Georgia, including CRMC, that agreed to develop a feasibility plan to bring PCOM to the region.
And since PCOM South Georgia began its first academic year in 2019, Matney has encouraged local community organizations and government agencies to support the mission of PCOM South Georgia.
Now in the fourth academic year in South Georgia, many medical students are completing their clinical clerkships at CRMC. The hospital is also home to Georgia South Family Medicine and Psychiatry Residency Programs, which train PCOM Georgia graduates during their residency years.
“It’s an exciting time, Matney said. “To see the energy around PCOM is amazing. Seeing so many students from South Georgia and the state of Georgia who are going to medical school that wouldn’t normally be able to go has just been amazing.”
Feldstein echoed that sentiment, saying that over 100 students at PCOM South Georgia come from the state.
“We have a large percentage of students from Georgia because that’s part of our recruitment commitment: recruiting people from southwest Georgia and rural Georgia,” he said.
Thanks to partnerships like PCOM South Georgia and CRMC, Moultrie can be a one-stop shop for medical students. During medical school, students have the opportunity to complete clerkships at CRMC and other local health systems. After graduating from PCOM South Georgia, students can complete residency training at Georgia South or other residency programs located in the region. Then, the career possibilities are boundless in south Georgia.
“Colquitt Regional has been an amazing source of clinical rotations, experiential learning, and residency development,” Feldstein said. “Our students need experiential training. They need to be in hospitals and doctors’ offices. They need that to be successful not only in medical school but also in practice. It’s a very symbiotic relationship because it allows us to grow together. This is the most win-win opportunity there is in healthcare.”
While the college has brought students, faculty and staff to the region, it’s also brought additional benefits like an increase in sales tax. According to Matney, there was a $2.7 million increase in sales tax collected between 2019 and 2021, which is at least partially attributable to the establishment of PCOM South Georgia. Other impacts include an increase in the number of restaurants and housing.
When it comes to future endeavors and expansions for PCOM South Georgia, Feldstein has set his sights on a few things.
“We know we definitely want to grow the DO class size in Moultrie,” he said, referring to the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine program, which currently seats 59 students each academic year.
In addition to the DO program and the Biomedical Sciences graduate program, Feldstein is eager to determine what additional program offerings are in the campus’ future. He said that the college will work to discover what programs the area needs and what programs will benefit the region.
“Without the support of our local communities and regional partners, our expansion into South Georgia would’ve been difficult, maybe even impossible,” Feldstein said. “But because of our shared vision for the Southwest Georgia region, we’re able to truly address the need for healthcare professionals in rural areas.”
Matney, who has spent most of his career in rural hospitals, said he looks forward to a continued partnership with PCOM South Georgia.
“Being able to say these students trained at PCOM, either South Georgia or Georgia, came into our residency programs, and have now been in the region for 10 years is going to be a very good measurement of the success of this venture,” he said.
Published on February 20th, 2023 by The Moultrie Observer.
MOULTRIE, Ga. — Jay Feldstein, DO ’81, PCOM president and CEO, and Jim Matney, CEO of Colquitt Regional Medical Center, were at the forefront of PCOM’s expansion into Moultrie.
