IMMEDIATE NOVEMBER 10, 2003

HOSPITAL FOUNDATION TO FURNISH $60,000 IN LAB EQUIPMENT

FOR LOCAL NURSING PROGRAMS

MOULTRIE--The Colquitt Regional Medical Foundation has approved the purchase of $60,000 worth of laboratory equipment for use by nursing students enrolled at Abraham Baldwin College’s Moultrie campus and Moultrie Technical College.

Students attending nursing classes at ABAC on the Square in Moultrie presently have to travel to Tifton for lab classes. The equipment will be installed in an existing classroom lab on the Moultrie Tech campus and be utilized by students from both institutions.

Moultrie Tech offers a practical nursing program. A registered nursing program is offered at ABAC. Other Moultrie students who are required to take lab courses will also be able to utilize the equipment, including those enrolled in medical assisting and radiologic technology programs.

The target date for opening the new lab facility is early January, 2004 to coincide with the beginning of the spring semester on Jan. 12 at ABAC.

“This is such a generous show of support from the Colquitt Regional Medical Foundation,” ABAC President Mike Vollmer said. “It’s going to make a tremendous difference for our nursing students who are taking classes at ABAC on the Square. Nursing is now our single largest major, and we need to help these students any way we can.”

ABAC on the Square Director Kay Powell echoed Vollmer’s sentiments. “We have almost 400 students attending ABAC classes in Moultrie now, and our numbers are growing every semester,” Powell said. “This gift allows us to expand our classes for nurses and all biology students.”

(more)

Nursing Equipment Page 2 of 2

Moultrie Tech President Tina Anderson said the partnership with ABAC and Colquitt Regional will enable the two institutions to better serve area students.

“I want to express how much I appreciate Colquitt Regional and their support of Moultrie Tech,” she said. “Our partnership with ABAC is valuable to us. Through this gift, opportunities for our students are greatly expanded. We appreciate Colquitt Regional for a being a leader in our community.”

In voting to approve the lab equipment purchase, Foundation board members expressed their desire to make it easier for local nursing students to complete their educational requirements. The Colquitt County Hospital Authority has long supported students pursuing a healthcare career as a way to provide a personnel source for the hospital and a job source for local residents.

In 1958, the predecessor to Colquitt Regional Medical Center—Vereen Memorial Hospital—partnered with Norman College to create the Norman-Vereen College of Nursing in Norman Park. When Norman College closed in 1965, the program was moved to ABAC where it exists today. The Hospital Authority and the Foundation also fund scholarship programs to provide financial assistance for local medical and nursing students.

The Foundation was established in 1988 as a non-profit corporation to raise funds for the benefit and support of Colquitt Regional Medical Center and its affiliated clinics.

“The donation of equipment to help educate students requiring laboratory experience supports the Foundation’s mission to aid Colquitt Regional Medical Center in developing its long-range program of medical care to the people of the Colquitt County area and to fund programs for the benefit of the hospital in accomplishing its goals,” said Dr. D.W. Adcock, chairman of the Foundation Board of Directors.

“This certainly opens a new dimension for our local residents and provides a great deal of help to our future nurses,” Dr. Adcock said. “I am delighted that our community is blessed with both of these institutions.”

# # #