Governor touts Augusta University’s leadership to fight COVID-19 during State of the State

Gov. Brian Kemp recognized Augusta University’s leadership in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic during his annual State of the State address Jan. 14.

Speaking to the Georgia General Assembly, Kemp touted Augusta University’s role in expanding coronavirus testing statewide.

“Like every other state across the country, the pandemic introduced the dire need for rapid, accurate, and widely available testing — an infrastructure the Department of Public Health literally created from scratch,” Kemp said. “But we persevered through significant supply chain challenges. We brought in the Georgia National Guard and contracted with Augusta University to boost testing, set up mega sites and drive-thru testing operations, and engage hard-to-reach communities to help identify cases and slow the spread of the virus.”

Kemp also named Augusta University among the state’s top research institutions. The university was granted $159 million in sponsored awards for FY2020.

“Georgia is home to some of health care’s strongest pillars with the CDC, several major health care systems, and premier medical research institutions like Augusta University and Emory,” Kemp said.

It’s all part of fulfilling Augusta University’s mission to serve the entire state, said President Brooks A. Keel, PhD.

“As the state’s only public academic medical center and home to the Medical College of Georgia, it seems only appropriate that our clinical expertise helped to ensure appropriate evaluation and testing of citizens,” Keel said.

Read the full text of Kemp’s State of the State address.