PCOM South Georgia set for April 26 groundbreaking

MOULTRIE — The Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, or PCOM, campus in Moultrie will break ground in April, officials with the institution said.

A groundbreaking ceremony to mark the beginning of construction for PCOM South Georgia, an additional location of PCOM, is planned for April 26 in Moultrie. The campus will offer a four-year osteopathic medical program to college graduates training to become physicians and a new 75,000-square-foot facility with 55 medical students beginning classes in August of 2019.

As part of the celebration, an essay contest in conjunction with the Southwest Georgia Area Health Education Center is underway. High school and college students are invited to respond to the question “How can your generation work together to help shape the future of health in South Georgia?” Scholarships in the amount of $500 each will be given to one high school and one college student.

The contest was established to bring awareness to PCOM South Georgia. The winning essay may be published either online or in print, and the winner will be announced at the groundbreaking ceremony. The essays, up to 500 words, are due to SOWEGA-AHEC by March 19.

Essays must be in a Word-compatible document and double-spaced with the entrant’s contact information including name, address, school, year, email address and phone number clearly indicated. One college student will be notified of his/her winning entry by April 9, PCOM officials said.

The college student must be an undergraduate student who considers his/her hometown to be in one of the following counties: Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brooks, Calhoun, Clay, Clinch, Coffee, Colquitt, Cook, Crisp, Decatur, Dooly, Dougherty, Early, Echols, Grady, Irwin, Lanier, Lee, Lowndes, Miller, Mitchell, Pulaski, Quitman, Randolph, Seminole, Stewart, Sumter, Terrell, Thomas, Tift, Turner, Webster, Wilcox or Worth.

SOWEGA-AHEC, together with PCOM officials, will determine the winning essay. Officials said essays will be judged for adherence to the topic, organization, interest and originality.

A spokeswoman for PCOM said on Thursday that further details concerning the groundbreaking were expected “very soon.” The PCOM’s admissions department is expected to begin offering information sessions in the region to inform prospective students and college pre-health advisors about PCOM South Georgia.

On Dec. 5, PCOM received initial approval from the American Osteopathic Association Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation to establish an osteopathic medical program in south Georgia. The aim of the program is to educate students from the region who are committed to serving the health needs of their communities by undergoing training as future physicians.

PCOM South Georgia is a private, not-for-profit four-year additional location of PCOM, a multiprogram educational institution. For more information, including information on session dates for prospective students as they are planned, visit www.pcom.edu or call (678) 225-7500. Essay entries can be emailed to [email protected].

Jennifer Parks