Mercer University announced today that it is partnering with The Medical Center and St. Francis Hospital to establish a Columbus campus for its School of Medicine. Columbus joins Macon, where the school was established in 1982 to prepare physicians for rural and medically underserved areas of Georgia, and Savannah in hosting campuses for the medical school, which currently enrolls 400 M.D. students.

Under terms of the partnership, the Mercer School of Medicine will place up to 80 third- and fourth-year medical students at the Columbus Campus. Students will begin their clinical rotations in Columbus this summer.

“The expansion of Mercer School of Medicine to Columbus has been made possible by the hard work of many people, including the leadership of The Medical Center and St. Francis, Pete Robinson, State Rep. Richard Smith, Mercer Medical School Dean Bill Bina, Mercer trustees Jimmy Elder and Tom Black, and a number of other local business and community leaders,” said Mercer President William D. Underwood. “We are pleased to be taking the unique mission of our School of Medicine to Columbus and West Georgia. It will further enhance health care for the citizens of this region and help prepare much-needed physicians for our state.”

Local recruitment of faculty and staff for the Columbus campus of the School of Medicine will get under way immediately, beginning with about a dozen and expanding as the program grows.

“This partnership integrates the strengths of all three institutions to improve undergraduate medical education, enhance graduate medical education experiences and further develop local Columbus faculty physicians,” said William F. Bina, M.D., M.P.H., dean of the Mercer School of Medicine. “Because the Mercer School of Medicine only accepts students who are Georgia residents, this campus expansion will expose a large number of future Georgia doctors to Columbus and the surrounding western region of Georgia, increasing the likelihood that many of them will practice in the area once they complete their medical education.”

Georgia is facing a critical shortage of physicians within the next decade and beyond. The state currently ranks 37th in the nation in the number of physicians per capita. More than 25 percent of the current Georgia physician workforce is age 55 or older. Most of these physicians will retire from practice or significantly curtail their patient care activities in the next 15 years. The number of Georgia citizens over the age of 65 will double in the next 20 years. Persons ages 65 or older seek care from a physician at two to three times the rate of persons younger than 65.

“It is imperative that Georgia medical schools prepare more physicians to address this shortage and the increased demand,” President Underwood said. “Mercer School of Medicine is central to the solution, and this partnership with The Medical Center and St. Francis will greatly enhance our ability to meet this need.”

Over the School of Medicine’s 30-year history, a higher percentage of its M.D. graduates – 65.7 percent – have remained in Georgia or returned after completing residencies than any other medical school in the state.

Establishment of a Columbus campus for the medical school will not only enhance medical education, it will also promote increased medical research at the institutions.

“The School of Medicine will be working with the two hospitals to develop clinical and basic science research, as well as research in health care delivery in the Columbus region,” Dr. Bina said.

“The future benefits of this affiliation to our community and our region are without question,” said Lance Duke, FACHE, president and CEO of The Medical Center. “We know many of the students will grow to love this community as we do, and will choose to stay here to practice medicine. I appreciate the efforts of all involved, and I especially want to commend Dr. John Bucholtz for his leadership on behalf of our organization.”

Robert Granger, president and CEO of St. Francis Hospital, said, “Through partnering with the Mercer School of Medicine, this represents a unique opportunity for St. Francis and The Medical Center to work together for the improvement of health care in our community.”