Originally published in the JAGWire (https://jagwire.augusta.edu/mcg-foundation-provides-8-7-million-to-match-new-state-funds-for-3-primary-care-pathway/)

The Medical College of Georgia Foundation is providing $8.7 million to match a new state appropriation for a program aimed at increasing the number of primary care physicians for rural and underserved Georgia.

“We are committed to serving the underserved,” says Ian Mercier, president and CEO of the MCG Foundation. “The foundation wants to make an impact both locally and statewide and we believe that investing in the 3+ Primary Care Pathway Program is one way to make that impact. I am thankful to our state leaders, MCG Dean Dr. David Hess and other MCG leaders for their vision and leadership and enabling a program that will truly make a difference in the lives of so many.”

In the 2022 Georgia legislative session, the General Assembly, with the support of Governor Brian Kemp, allocated $8.7 million in state funding for the MCG 3+ Primary Care Pathway Program, which allows students who commit to primary care practice in rural or underserved Georgia to graduate in three years and immediately enter a residency in Georgia in either family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry, emergency medicine, obstetrics and gynecology or general surgery. In exchange for service, those students will receive a scholarship to cover their tuition, enabled by funds from philanthropy and the state.

(Read more at https://jagwire.augusta.edu/mcg-foundation-provides-8-7-million-to-match-new-state-funds-for-3-primary-care-pathway/)