Peach State Health Plan and Medical College of Georgia Honor 2025 Peach State Scholars, Advancing Primary Care in Underserved Communities
Peach State Health Plan, a leading care management organization serving Georgia and a wholly owned subsidiary of Centene Corporation, joined hands with the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) at Augusta University to celebrate the newest class of Peach State Scholars in 2025. The recognition came through a symbolic pinning ceremony, honoring twelve medical students who have pledged to dedicate their careers to serving Georgia’s underserved and rural communities.
The initiative reflects a growing urgency to strengthen the state’s healthcare workforce, especially in primary care specialties, where shortages remain a pressing concern.
Addressing Georgia’s Physician Shortage
Georgia faces one of the most significant physician shortages in the United States, particularly in its rural regions. Out of the state’s 159 counties, 143 are designated Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs), according to data from the Cicero Institute. This designation highlights critical gaps in healthcare delivery, especially in primary care, where the absence of adequate providers has a direct impact on community health outcomes.
This shortage does not only affect routine healthcare access—it influences broader measures such as maternal mortality rates, management of chronic conditions, preventive screenings, and timely emergency care. For residents in rural counties, access to a primary care physician often requires traveling long distances, creating barriers that can delay or even prevent necessary medical attention.
Recognizing this challenge, the Peach State Scholars Program was designed to align student opportunity with community need. By offering scholarships to aspiring physicians who commit to primary care and to practicing in underserved areas after graduation, the program directly addresses Georgia’s long-standing physician access gap.
A Partnership Built on Community Commitment
The program is a collaboration between Peach State Health Plan and the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, the state’s only public medical school. Through this partnership, students selected as Peach State Scholars receive a full scholarship that covers the costs of their medical education. In return, they commit to entering a primary care specialty, completing their residency in Georgia, and ultimately practicing in underserved regions of the state.
David Hess, MD, dean of the Medical College of Georgia, emphasized the significance of this program during the ceremony:
These are students who have been selected from rigorous competition to be our next cohort of 12 into a primary care specialty, do their residency in Georgia, and then practice in an underserved area, which is most of Georgia. In return for their service, Peach State Scholars receive a medical school scholarship, which removes the financial barrier of student loan debt and makes primary care a more viable and appealing path. It’s a win-win, for the students and for the communities who gain access to the care they deserve.
The win-win approach noted by Dr. Hess resonates with broader healthcare reform goals: ensuring equitable access to care while making primary care careers financially sustainable for new physicians.
Removing Financial Barriers to Primary Care
The cost of medical education is a major factor influencing career decisions among medical students. On average, medical students in the U.S. graduate with debt exceeding $200,000, pushing many toward higher-paying specialties rather than primary care.
By providing scholarships, the Peach State Scholars Program directly tackles this barrier. The initiative allows students to pursue primary care without the burden of heavy loan repayments, making the path more attractive both personally and professionally.
This approach not only invests in the students but also invests in the health of Georgia’s communities. When financial considerations no longer dictate career choices, more physicians can pursue the specialties that communities most urgently need.
Clyde A. White, President and CEO of Peach State Health Plan, reinforced this perspective:
We are honored to support these students as they dedicate themselves not only to medicine but to serving where they are needed most. This program is about more than producing doctors – it’s about building healthier communities and expanding access to care for all Georgians.
Celebrating the 2025 Cohort of Scholars
The pinning ceremony marked an important milestone for the twelve new Peach State Scholars. Each pin symbolizes more than just participation in a program—it represents a commitment to service, access, and community health.
The 2025 cohort includes students from diverse backgrounds and hometowns across Georgia, reflecting the geographic and cultural variety of the state itself. Their chosen specialties also reflect the critical needs of Georgia’s healthcare system:
- Sadie Abernathy (Gainesville, GA) – Emergency Medicine
- Tofunmi Adewumi (Kennesaw, GA) – Pediatrics or Family Medicine
- Cole Anderson (Augusta, GA) – Family Medicine
- Maddox Benedict (Buford, GA) – Psychiatry
- Austin Buntin (Ellijay, GA) – Internal Medicine
- Oscar Meza (Brunswick, GA) – Psychiatry
- Madison Crawford (Monroe, GA) – Emergency Medicine
- Andrew Ji (Effingham, GA) – Family Medicine
- Elizabeth Bowman Ketchem (Marietta, GA) – Emergency Medicine
- Leja Lizunaite (Johns Creek, GA) – Obstetrics and Gynecology
- William Ngo (Norcross, GA) – Internal Medicine
- Nikul Parikh (Moultrie, GA) – Internal Medicine
Each of these future physicians has committed to serving communities where their skills are desperately needed. Specialties such as family medicine, pediatrics, internal medicine, and psychiatry are especially critical in rural regions, where providers often function as the backbone of community health systems.
A Symbol of Hope for Underserved Georgians
The pin each scholar received is more than ceremonial—it embodies a promise of service. For many Georgians living in underserved areas, these future physicians represent hope and opportunity.
The symbolic act underscores the broader vision of the Peach State Scholars Program: building healthier, stronger, and more resilient communities across Georgia. Each scholar’s journey is tied not just to personal achievement but to the collective well-being of the state’s most vulnerable populations.
