Dear Medical College of Georgia Friends,
Dr. Kelli Braun selected as 2025-26 ELAM Fellow
I call her MCG’s very own “Kirby Smart,” because, like the UGA football coach’s keen ability to recruit some of the best football players to Athens, Dr. Kelli Braun, our senior associate dean for admissions and her team, are experts in recruiting the most exceptional and talented medical students here. A native of Liberty County, who is an OB/Gyn, and a 2004 MCG graduate, Dr. Braun and our Admissions Committee make it their personal mission to ensure that each year we matriculate the best class of students from all over the state of Georgia – from urban, suburban and rural areas. She has led those efforts since 2016 – overseeing some of the largest enrollment increases in our nearly 200-year history.
ELAM is dedicated to preparing women for senior leadership roles in health care
Needless to say, Dr. Braun is the definition of a leader. I imagine that’s just one of the many reasons she was recently selected for the 31st class of fellows for the Executive Leadership in Health Care track of the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) program at Drexel University College of Medicine. ELAM is the only longitudinal program in North America dedicated to preparing women for senior leadership roles in schools of medicine, dentistry, public health and pharmacy. The program helps develop professional and personal skills required to lead in a complex health care environment, with special attention to the unique challenges facing women in leadership positions. There are over 1,600 alumnae of the program, who serve in leadership at 300 academic health centers across the world. A little history – ELAM started at the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania, the nation’s first degree-granting women’s medical school and a predecessor of Drexel. Congratulations Dr. Braun on your well-deserved selection.
Federal grant will help enhance TeleOB program for rural hospitals
I think of MCG as the Medical College “for” Georgia. It’s our mission and duty to ensure that every Georgian has access to the very best possible health care. We took another great step toward fulfilling that mission when we learned recently that our Center for Digital Health, led by Dr. Matt Lyon, will receive a $332,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help provide the equipment and expertise necessary to connect more rural Georgians to much needed maternal health services via tele-obstetrics, starting with 15 rural hospitals already served by our telemedicine network. The 15 rural hospitals included in the program are located in what the March of Dimes calls a “Maternal Care Desert.” The equipment includes a non-stress test (toco) machine, that is monitored via a telecommunications link to Wellstar MCG Health in Augusta, which will allow the rural hospitals to connect to experts for emergency care as well as clinical follow ups. The machine monitors fetal heart rate, as well as the mother’s heart rate and contractions for a noninvasive measure of the baby’s health. We know that many of the hospitals in our digital care network do not deliver babies – only two do – and that the need is for obstetric preparedness, such as protocols, equipment and a connection to an OB doctor 24/7 to provide high quality care.
Georgia women travel, on average, 13 miles to get to a hospital that provides obstetric
According to the March of Dimes, 34% of the counties in Georgia are considered maternity care deserts, with no obstetric providers, and no hospital or birth center offering obstetric care. On average, a woman in Georgia travels 13 miles to get to a hospital that provides obstetric care. The hospitals that will be included in this grant include Appling Healthcare System, Baxley; Bacon County Hospital, Alma; Memorial & Manor Hospital, Bainbridge; Warm Springs Rehabilitation Hospital, Warm Springs; Dodge County Hospital, Eastman; Burke Health, Waynesboro; Candler County Hospital, Metter; Effingham Health System, Springfield; Emanuel Medical Center, Swainsboro; Evans Memorial Hospital, Claxton; Jefferson Hospital, Louisville; Jenkins County Medical Center, Millen; Optim Medical Center – Screven, Sylvania; Washington County Regional Medical Center, Sandersville; and Wills Memorial Hospital, Washington.
I must acknowledge the tireless work of Dr. Lyon and Dr. Chad Ray to expand this vital program; as well as the advocacy efforts of Monty Philpot Brock – our director of federal relations – who helped garner support from many federal legislators. Monty tells me that seven of them signed letters of support for the grant, including Congressmen Rick Allen, Buddy Carter, Austin Scott, Sanford Bishop and Mike Collins, as well as Senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff.
Student-led effort to reduce food waste has continued to grow
Drs. Lyon and Ray, as well as Dr. Marlo Vernon, who created an app to track new moms’ blood pressure and worked with Dr. Ray to also develop a program that prescribes fruits and vegetables to new and expectant moms, certainly have made it their mission to help improve Georgia’s maternal mortality rates, which are some of the worst in the nation. They are good examples of how – I believe – our faculty, staff and students have an innate desire to make a difference in this world. It’s part of what makes our medical school so wonderful. Here’s another example of how: We told you a while ago about MCG students Grace Koh and Michelle Lin, who started a chapter of the Food Recovery Network here to help eliminate food waste on campus and feed the hungry. According to the USDA, food waste is estimated at between 30-40% of the food supply – billions of pounds of food that’s just thrown away each year.
The group, which grew to include students from across AU, is still going strong. A group of volunteers meets every day of the school week at either Atrium Dining or Einstein’s Bagels to collect leftover food, weigh and package it, and then distribute that to community partners. They’ve worked with groups like the Ronald McDonald House, Garden City Rescue Mission and Grace House Augusta, to name a few. Since they started doing this in 2022, the group’s current presidents, first-year MCG students Rachel White and Binta Patel and third-year dental student Sommie Kellum, tell us they’ve been able to save 7,344 pounds of food, equating to an estimated 6,120 number of meals. What an impact those meals have surely made on the hungry in our community. They also tell me that they’re always looking for more volunteers and community partners; or if you’d like to help their efforts in other ways, you can contribute here to help defray the cost of supplies.
Newest endowed chair honors MCG legends and surgery greats
This week brought us the chance to gather to celebrate two more MCG difference makers – and legends, frankly – Dr. Robert “Bob” R. Nesbit, Jr. and the late Dr. Charles H. Wray, whose generous gift established the medical school’s newest named endowed chair in our Department of Surgery, focused on residency education. I’m sure many of you remember Dr. Charles Wray, who was a 1959 graduate that trained here in surgery and then served on the faculty for over 30 years. He and his wife, Dr. Betty Wray, a 1960 graduate and allergist/immunologist who also served on our faculty for over three decades, are “MCG personified,” – the type of people who always stepped up and stepped in when their alma mater needed them most.
Dr. Nesbit may be an emeritus faculty now but that certainly hasn’t slowed him any. He continues to teach a weekly class on the history of medicine and serves as MCG’s Historian-in-Residence. His love of history is lifelong- he was a “History of Science” major at Harvard. A general and vascular surgeon, he first came to us over 50 years ago, in 1974, after serving as chief surgery resident and fellow at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York. Thankfully, he’s never left.
Dr. Alicia Arnold, breast surgeon and director of the surgery residency program, is the inaugural recipient
Dr. Alicia Arnold’s journey has been an extraordinary one. From her own battle with breast cancer during medical school to becoming a highly respected breast surgeon and leading the MCG surgery residency program, she is an example of resilience and dedication. Her personal experience has undoubtedly shaped the compassionate and empathetic care she provides for her patients.
Being named the inaugural recipient of the Robert “Bob” R. Nesbit, Jr., MD, and Charles H. Wray, MD Chair is a fitting testament to her leadership. And you know I love personal touches – her love story with her husband Andrew began at a football game between the Eagles (he and I were immediate kindred spirits) and the Panthers. We Eagles fans are not good at losing (see “Silver Linings Playbook”). Who would’ve thought that an Eagles fan heckling could lead to lifelong love? Congratulations, Dr. Arnold, on this well-deserved honor!
It was great to be joined that evening by Dr. Betty Wray; Dr. Nesbit’s family – including his wife Mary Gail and their children, including their son, Dr. Doug Nesbit, a 1996 MCG grad who practices pediatrics in Augusta. After the official ceremony we continued the celebration at dinner with the Nesbits and Wrays and their families and several classmates, colleagues and friends who traveled from near and far to join us – Dr. Alan Atwood (’80) and Dr. Nancy Stead Atwood (former MCG faculty), and Dr. John Darden (’71), all of Gainesville; Dr. Bryant Wilson (’83) of Atlanta; as well as Augusta greats Dr. Joe Bowden (’66) and his wife Cissy and Dr. Charlie Howell (’73) and his wife Debbie. Any time I can be in a room and hear stories about our medical school from these MCG legends is a privilege. This time was no different.
Research Day is today; please join us in celebrating our students’ accomplishments
Keeping with the “difference makers” sort of theme we have going, here’s another way you can make an impact on our students. I say “another way” because all of you are already inspiring the next generation through your education and mentorship. Today is Research Day, our bi-annual celebration of student scholarship. Students across all class years (2025–28) and all regional campuses will present, and this event will showcase 112 total presentations. That includes six oral presentations, 78 in-person posters, and 36 virtual presentations. Faculty mentors from every discipline supported these students and helped bring these projects to life. Things kick off at 3:30 p.m. in room 1110 in the Harrison Commons, with a panel discussion with representatives from eight MCG Departments – “Research Insights for Residency Match from Department Chairs and Residency Directors.” Poster presentations begin in room 1120 at 4:30, followed by oral presentations in room 1110 at 5 p.m.
I can think of no better way to show our support for our students and their mentors than to show up and show our appreciation of their work. I hope I’ll see you there.
Make plans to join us for Alumni Weekend, April 25-27
I also wanted to take a moment today to invite you to join us next weekend for our annual Alumni Weekend festivities. We start Friday, April 25 with an alumni reception and the presentation of our 2025 awards for Distinguished and Young Alums at the Augusta Mariott. Saturday is the President’s Brunch in the Health Sciences Quad, and then reunion dinners that night for the MCG Classes of 1955, 1960, 1965, 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015, all at the Marriott. We’re back there again on Sunday morning to cap things off with our Emeritus Club Breakfast and our annual MCG Alumni Memorial Service.
My best to you always,
David C. Hess, MD
Dean, Medical College of Georgia
Upcoming Events
April 25-27 – Alumni Weekend, https://www.augusta.edu/alumniweekend/
May 8 – MCG Hooding Ceremony, 2pm, James Brown Arena
May 29-31 – MCG Faculty Development Conference, Jekyll Island
