The march to build a new building for Medical College of Georgia School of Dentistry took a significant step forward with the aid of the state's largest foundation, officials said.
The Robert W. Woodruff Foundation will give $3 million to the school for the new building, the largest single gift the school has received, Dean Connie L. Drisko said.
"I think it sends a very strong message to other folks," she said. "And we're hoping that other foundations will follow their lead."
The new building will be constructed on the site of the former Gilbert Manor public housing complex next door to MCG. The city of Augusta provided $10 million to buy and clear the property for MCG, which Dr. Drisko said was very much appreciated.
"That was a huge step in the right direction," she said.
The work on clearing the site will probably begin in the spring, and MCG hopes to break ground on the building next summer, with a goal of moving in by fall 2010, Dr. Drisko said. The school has raised $3 million in gifts (not including the Woodruff grant) toward a $5 million goal, which MCG will match. The state is providing $75 million toward the estimated $112 million price tag and officials are working on a financing plan to fill in the gaps, she said.
As construction goes along, the school will begin increasing its class size, possibly as early as next year, from 62 to 80 by the time the new building is ready. Labs in the current building cannot hold more than 70 students, which limits class size. Eventually, the class size will increase to 100, possibly by 2016, Dr. Drisko said. The residency programs will nearly double from 44 to 72 residents.
About 20 of the senior dental students at any one time will be distributed in different clinical sites around the state to help increase access to care, she said.
"It develops their cultural competencies so that they really are seeing patients from all walks of life, all over the state, particularly in more rural areas of the state," Dr. Drisko said. About 40 percent of the freshman dental students are from areas of the state that have a shortage of health professionals.
"Our goal is that a lot of those students will go back to their small hometowns to practice," she said.
As officials plan for the new facility, they are getting advice from patients about how it should be built. A group tried out dental chairs one night and told officials how they want the new building to feel, said Dr. Carol A. Lefebvre, the associate dean for strategic initiatives and faculty development.
"Some of it was pretty strong, what they didn't like, what they liked," she said. "They want it non-institutional. Bright and cheery, a very comfortable environment."
Dr. Drisko said she hopes other foundations and givers will see a gift to the school -- the state's only dental school -- as a way of ensuring someone is there to care for those patients in the future.
"They're investing in the oral health of the citizens by investing in our school," she said.
Reach Tom Corwin at (706) 823-3213 or tom.corwin@augustachronicle.com.
What's Next:
Officials will sign off on plans Monday so that construction planning can begin. The construction documents are expected to take about six months to finish, and a groundbreaking will follow next summer after the final funding plan is approved. Construction is expected to take 22 months.
The Augusta Chronicle ©2012. All Rights Reserved.
