Augusta University celebrates ribbon-cutting for new MCG Atlanta campus

Since 2015, students from the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University have been conducting a portion of their clinical rotations at Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center in Marietta, Georgia. Now, the hospital will be home to nearly 50 third- and fourth-year students for the final two years of their clerkship training at what will be known as MCG Atlanta at Wellstar Health System.

On Tuesday, Aug. 26, leaders from Augusta University and MCG, Wellstar Health System, the University System of Georgia and government leaders gathered at Wellstar Kennestone for a special ribbon-cutting celebrating the growth of the partnership between AU and Wellstar that has expanded opportunities for medical students at Georgia’s flagship medical school in recent years. Following the ceremony, guests toured the new campus suite.

“This campus expansion marks a milestone in our long-standing commitment as the state’s flagship medical school to produce the best-trained doctors for Georgia,” said Augusta University President Russell T. Keen. “Our collaboration with Wellstar Health System has opened doors to more training sites for both students and residents, including the development of the first hospital in Columbia County in Augusta – a project that will also expand access to care across several underserved counties. This is a moment of pride but also a moment of possibility. Pride in the years of dedication, collaboration and vision that have brought the Atlanta Campus to life and in our students, faculty and partners who believed in this mission before it was fully realized. I extend my deepest gratitude to all those who have championed this vision, including Gov. Brian Kemp, the Georgia Legislature, Speaker of the House Jon Burns, Chancellor Sonny Perdue and the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.”

Continued growth across the state

In 2023, MCG sent the first dedicated group of 17 students to Kennestone to complete all required core clinical clerkships. In January of this year, MCG received official recognition from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, solidifying the Atlanta campus as an accredited and permanent part of MCG’s statewide medical education landscape.

The new campus is the first in the Atlanta area for MCG and is the sixth two-year regional campus. MCG, the fourth-largest medical school in the country with 304 students per class, now has nine campuses across Georgia, including four-year campuses in Augusta, Athens and Savannah and regional campuses in Albany, Savannah, Brunswick, Rome and Dalton, as well as more than 350 clinical teaching sites across the state.

Expanding partnerships with physicians and hospitals throughout Georgia ensures that students experience the full spectrum of medicine, from urban tertiary care hospitals to small-town primary care practices.

“This new campus marks an important milestone in the nearly 200-year tradition of MCG producing great doctors and great medicine,” said David C. Hess, MD, dean of the Medical College of Georgia. “MCG has the fourth largest class size in the nation, and that would not be possible without regional clinical campuses like this one where students will gain more clinical experience in a very well-run hospital system. By increasing our capacity to educate more medical students, we’re directly addressing the physician shortage that affects communities across the state. More students mean more graduates, and more graduates mean more doctors ready to serve Georgia.”

Identifying a proven leader for the campus

During the event, Hess introduced Louis Lovett, MD, as the inaugural associate dean of MCG Atlanta. Lovett, who has served as an adjunct clinical professor at MCG for 15 years and has been a cornerstone of graduate medical education at Wellstar for more than a decade, has been a part of Wellstar since 2013. He has served in numerous roles, including most recently serving as associate designated institutional official of Graduate Medical Education at Wellstar Kennestone since October 2022. He has been in the Atlanta area working in health care since August 1997.

“Dr. Lovett’s leadership roles have included chairing the hospital’s GME committee, directing the internal medicine residency program and serving as designated institutional official,” Hess said. “His dedication to teaching has earned him recognition across every institution he’s touched – from Atlanta Medical Center to Wellstar to MCG. In 2024, he was named our Campus Community Faculty of the Year by students and colleagues at Wellstar, and in 2019, he received the J. Willis Hurst Outstanding Bedside Teaching Award from the Georgia Chapter of the American College of Physicians. There’s no doubt he will be an exceptional mentor and role model for our students in Atlanta.”

A meaningful connection

Alongside the leaders from the different entities, those in attendance had the chance to meet five medical students currently rotating at Wellstar Kennestone. Stephanie Hayes, Mary Kate Flaig, George Jiang, Lukas Veltmaat and Ahmed Shetewi – who was born at Kennestone – led tours and spoke about how the new campus would benefit future medical students.

Shetewi, who is the first of his family to go to college and medical school, sees it as a great honor to give back to the hospital where he and all four of his siblings were born.

“It’s both an honor and a privilege, not only for me but for my family,” he said, “It’s just something that is unparalleled, and I look forward to coming in every day.”

Meeting Georgia’s greatest need

Georgia is one of the top 10 largest states in the country in terms of number of people but still ranks 39th in total physicians per capita and 41st per capita in those who provide direct patient care. Having access to one of the state’s most densely populated areas ensures students will have access to a wide range of patients − and the conditions they have and the procedures they need to get and remain healthy.

Perdue praised the collaboration as a model for the state’s future, recognizing the partnership is more than a health care investment; it’s a commitment to Georgia’s workforce and economic future. The American Medical Association estimates that each physician in Georgia contributes an average of $2.3 million in economic output to their communities.

“It’s a great day to celebrate,” said Perdue. “We look forward to the leadership here at Wellstar Kennestone and know that great things will happen here.”

“When we joined forces with Augusta University, we promised to expand access to care, increase educational capacity and build a stronger health care workforce for Georgia. This campus is a powerful example of how we’re keeping that promise,” said Candice L. Saunders, the former president and CEO of Wellstar Health System who helped lay the groundwork for the new campus alongside Hess. “We’re honored to help train future generations of caregivers for every corner of Georgia.”