Addressing Health Disparities in South Georgia 
Faculty Focus on Winston Price, MD

April 14, 2021

Winston Price, MD, came to South Georgia with two distinct goals: address healthcare disparities and to increase the diversity of physicians, especially the number of Black physicians.

To accomplish those goals, Dr. Price spends his time and talents with educational non-profits, medical associations and healthcare committees, in addition to serving as an associate professor at PCOM South Georgia. 

Nearly 10 years ago, Dr. Price moved from the Atlanta area to Bainbridge to help increase pediatric capabilities in the area. As a local practicing physician and an involved community member, he also had the opportunity to serve as the Chief of Staff at Memorial Hospital and Manor in Bainbridge from 2018-2020. Since becoming an integral part of the medical industry and several community-based organizations in Southwest Georgia, Dr. Price has seen the need for more health awareness resources, health providers and in particular, more physicians.

“One of the key issues that always comes up is the lack of resources for the patient population,” he said. “There is not an adequate number or diversity of the medical workforce for the level of health status in SW Georgia and certainly not a lot of medical specialties. Rural communities suffer disproportionately from the impact of the social determinants of poor health outcomes. Providing a strong voice on behalf of the people with the backing of a committed and mission focused medical school is a game changer. I know the resources that intuitively result from having a medical school in the area. The advantage to having  a PCOM South Georgia within an hour of Bainbridge and other rural communities is a major step forward toward improving the healthcare disparities in our area.”

Dr. Price’s second goal of increasing the number of Black physicians starts with creating a diverse student body and faculty in medical schools. He said that pathway programs such as the Summer Math and Science Academy as well as coordinating efforts with the regional Southwest Georgia AHEC are imperative to introducing local K-12 students to medical career opportunities.

“We need to access students who have the skill set, but we must also create and maintain a pipeline of diverse students who are interested in medicine, whether that’s pharmacy, osteopathic medicine, veterinarian medicine, dentistry or the biomedical sciences,” Dr. Price said.

H. William Craver III, DO ‘87, FACOS, PCOM South Georgia Dean and Chief Academic Officer, said Dr. Price’s goals are in line with the mission of the College.

“We’re fortunate to have someone with such drive and passion for creating more opportunities in rural medicine,” Dr. Craver said. “PCOM South Georgia’s mission of addressing the need for more physicians in rural Georgia is greatly supported by Dr. Price and his work.”

Dr. Price is involved in a number of professional organizations:

• National Medical Association - Past President  
• National African American Drug policy Coalition - President and Board Chair
• Georgia State Medical Association - Board of Directors
• W. Montague Cobb/NMA Health Institute - Chief Information & Technology Officer; Co-Chair Cobb Scholars Program
• South Georgia Area Health Education Center (SOWEGA-AHEC) - Board Chair
• Decatur County Health Department - Board Member
• Collaborative Impact Decatur County (CIDC) - Steering Committee Board Member and IT Consultant
• Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health - Board Steering Committee
• American Academy of Pediatrics

Community based organizations:

• Bainbridge Tennis Association - President
• Decatur County Headstart - Medical Advisor
• Charity Mobi - Emergency Housing and Health Relief Services Project (Tanzania, Ruwanda, Haiti, Ghana, Grenada, Georgia, USA)
• Darkness to Light (Sexual Abuse Education and Community Resource) - Speaker

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