MOULTRIE, Ga. – Colquitt County hospital officials on Monday announced the siting of a satellite campus for a Pennsylvania medical school.

Colquitt Regional Medical Center and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine have signed a memorandum of agreement to develop a feasibility plan for presentation to the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation. The two plan to locate a campus that will serve the region.

Valdosta State University, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and Thomas University have offered support for the school’s facility.

“The positive impact this endeavor to establish a location in South Georgia will have on physician recruitment and workforce development will be substantial,” Colquitt Regional President & CEO Jim Matney, said in a news release. “Building a premier site for rural medical education has been a long-term goal for Colquitt Regional, and we are glad to partner with PCOM in bringing a campus to this region.

According to Perry Mustian, President/CEO of Archbold Medical Center in Thomasville, Georgia, a new campus in the region would have a tremendous economic, academic and clinical impact, in addition to allowing the collaborative efforts of regional hospitals and physician networks to enhance the medical education pipeline and ensure access to quality care.

“We look forward to bringing our college’s 117 years of experience in educating physicians and health sciences professionals to the South Georgia area,” said Jay Feldstein, DO, president of PCOM, was quoted in the news release. “This Memorandum of Agreement, signifying our mutual respect and trust, begins the extensive process with our accrediting agency to make this possibility come true within the region. While much has been done to get us to the point of signing this agreement, we all recognize that much remains to be done. We enthusiastically look forward to a successful outcome for all.”

The new endeavor would help the college further fulfill its stated focus “to  recruit and educate students from Georgia and the surrounding states, to retain graduate osteopathic physicians, pharmacists, biomedical scientists and other healthcare professionals, and to serve the health needs of the region,” said H. William Craver III, DO, Dean and Chief Academic Officer of Georgia Campus.

PCOM is a private, not-for-profit, multi-program institution, focused on health sciences education.