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About Us
The Georgia Higher Education Healthcare Initiative (GHEHI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit co-founded by Jim Hull and Laurie Ott focused on strengthening Georgia’s healthcare workforce. GHEHI collects and analyzes workforce data from across the state and nation to assess Georgia’s standing, identify critical gaps, and highlight proven strategies. In partnership with higher education institutions, health systems, state agencies, and communities, GHEHI translates data into clear, actionable insights that support informed decision-making. GHEHI's work aims to ensure Georgia has a sufficient, well-distributed healthcare workforce so all Georgians can access timely, high-quality care.
GHEHI's Mission
GHEHI’s mission is to improve Georgians' health outcomes by strengthening the state’s healthcare workforce through data-driven research, transparent reporting, and actionable insights that inform decision-making and drive change.
The Georgia Higher Education Healthcare Initiative’s recommended strategies to significantly grow Georgia's Physician Workforce is to:
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Better leverage Medicaid as a funding source to expand graduate medical education (GME) programs (Georgia lags behind almost every other state in this area).
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Organize and facilitate information sharing and learn from other states and facilitate collaboration among stakeholders to study best practices and identify where and how residency programs can grow, ensuring a balanced mix of specialties for both rural and urban needs.
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Facilitate medical education culture in Georgia by enhancing clinical training experiences and creating incentives for physicians to stay in Georgia for their GME.
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Adopt admission and contractual strategies as other states have done to retain medical graduates.
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Promote in-state residency opportunities to Georgia-trained Doctors of Medicine (MDs) and Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (DOs).
GHEHI's Story
The Georgia Higher Education Healthcare Initiative was created in December 2023 to address healthcare workforce shortages.
The healthcare workforce shortage was a long time in the making. Despite decades of effort, Georgia continues to face a significant shortage of registered nurses (RNs) and medical doctors (MDs). Georgia ranks in the bottom 20% of states for healthcare professionals per capita. While medical and nursing schools have expanded enrollment, the scale of growth hasn’t matched the demand.
GHEHI has found that current efforts have not been adequate. Despite expanded class sizes in nursing and medical schools, Georgia’s efforts haven’t been sufficient to meet healthcare workforce demands. Growing Undergraduate Medical Education (UME) alone isn’t enough. GME must also be addressed. Currently, over 68% of Georgia medical graduates leave the state for residency, contributing to the physician shortage (according to the 2024 Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce 2024 Composite Match Report).
GHEHI aims to generate collaborative solutions to improve the number of RNs and MDs practicing in Georgia. By bringing together healthcare, academic institutions, policymakers, and communities, GHEHI strives develop actionable steps to expand education and retention efforts. The time is now to expand the state’s healthcare workforce education and retention capabilities.
GHEHI's focus is on two specific areas of action:
(1) strengthening the entry pipelines into medical and nursing schools
(2) improving retention in healthcare professions in Georgia
Our goal is to achieve measurable progress toward improving Georgia’s ranking in active RNs and MDs per capita within the next 18 months to provide a foundation for further improvement.
Meet The Team
Laurie Ott
Executive Director
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Jacob Thielemier
Data Scientist
Maude Patton
Researcher, Graduate Medical Education
Manna Thomas
Intern, MPH in Health Informatics
Mary Enloe
Principal Data Analyst
Julianna McGahee
Communications and Policy Analyst
Andrew Chishom
Intern, MPH in Health Informatics
Internship Opportunities
Interested in making a difference in Georgia’s healthcare?
Intern with GHEHI and help shape the future of our state’s health workforce and research ecosystem.
Areas of Focus:
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Expand and strengthen Georgia’s physician workforce and nursing education capacity
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Improve retention of Georgia-trained healthcare professionals
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Advance Georgia’s research ecosystem to increase teaching capacity, expand clinical trial access, and improve health outcomes statewide
Candidates should email us at data@gahehi.org