Major Healthcare Investment to Benefit CSRA

A new facility planned by Augusta University got a boost from Atlanta and is expected to benefit the school and the region.

Ga. Gov. Brian Kemp’s (R) amended FY 2025 budget includes nearly $100 million to fund the construction of a new research building for Augusta University’s Health Sciences campus.

Dr. Russell Keen, President of Augusta University, told ABD this is an exciting time for the university as it expands its reputation for research.

“This building is the beginning of an aggressive strategy to grow not only our researchers and the facilities here, but grow the impact of the Medical College of Georgia and Augusta University throughout the state,” he said.

Russell Lahodny, President and CEO of the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce, said Kemp’s financial backing is huge for the area. He says it will raise Metro Augusta’s profile and attract people from across the country to the area.

“Attracting the right people and attracting the right growth to our area,” he said. “Augusta University is a well-respected institution, and now you’re adding to that value by including this research facility. I do think this is paving the way for our future, in the area. Columbia County will certainly benefit from that. Obviously, the more people that come and live in our community is definitely a win for the area.”

Keen said the new research building will not be a “one and done.” It is just the first phase of a multiphase expansion for the university. Once built, researchers currently in the aging Sanders Research and Education Building will be relocated. That building will be renovated, creating state-of-the-art facilities to attract more researchers to join the university.

“So, this is going to be an ongoing, relentless pursuit to advance research. In doing that, we’re going to continue to look for philanthropy for both buildings and infrastructure, but also for eminent chairs and research to attract the best,” he said. “What I’m interested in, and what everyone has heard me say internally, is that I’m interested in being the best, and we can start with being the best in the state, and then the best in the country, and then we want world-class programs.”

Mark Newton is the representative for Ga. House District 127. He is also a doctor and CEO of the MedNow Urgent Care Centers. He sees the benefits of the project as both an elected official and a local business leader.

“I can tell you, there’s a lot of people in the private area, some of the philanthropists in particular, who really are excited about the multiplier effect, hoping to get to where it’s the desire, the opportunity, and the plan and the groundwork that’s being done to synthesize those together with insurance and health research, medical research, and then the expertise that we’re developing and getting it out to the public.”

Local philanthropists have already made a commitment to the research building. The total cost is expected to be just over $146 million. Philanthropists have pledged $30 million to the project. The remaining $16 and a half million will come from AU’s budget.

Newton also believes this is a further indication of the centuries-long commitment Augusta has made to the medical field while also enjoying economic support from the federal government and manufacturing communities.

“Healthcare has been central to the greater Augusta area for coming up on 200 years with a medical campus basically owned by all the citizens of the state,” he said. “Even though we’re regional, we’re also a statewide resource, maybe even Southeast wide resource, when it comes to medical training of nurses, doctors, physical therapists. Combine it with the cyber investment that’s gone on over the last few years and businesses and corporations that are able to get the advances that are discovered out into the healthcare world. It’s one more of a multi-leg stool. It’s one more leg of that economic stability and strength that comes, you know, from having a diversified economy.”

Keen said they have begun the search for an Executive Vice President for Research and Innovation. One goal is to improve the Medical College of Georgia’s (MCG) position in the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, which ranks medical schools based on funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It had been in the mid-seventy range for several years, but a 17% increase in NIH funding pushed it to 68 in 2023. Keen’s goal is to put MCG in the top 50.

“The problem is space,” he explained. “Our wet labs are maxed out with researchers. If we had researchers that we were recruiting right now, and they require wet lab space, it would be extraordinarily difficult, next to impossible, to bring them here in a way that we legitimately and confidently say they’d be able to grow their research. So, this building will help with that.”

The exact location for the new, 150,000-square-foot research lab hasn’t been finalized, but a school spokesperson said it may replace the Pavillion 2 building on Laney Walker Boulevard.

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