(L-R) Dr. T.W. Rentz Sr. and Dean Doug Miller of the Medical College of Georgia were among those on hand to congratulate Dr. T.W. Rentz Jr. on his new appointment. Dr. T. Wayne Rentz Jr., a native of Colquitt and the son of a local retired physician, has been named the inaugural assistant dean of curriculum for the Southeast Georgia Clinical Campus of the Medical College of Georgia. A general surgeon who has also served as director of the Surgical Intensive Care Unit at the Brunswick Hospital, Dr. Rentz is changing directions after a 20 year career in the area. He will now lead a program to bring third and fourth year medical students to the Southeast Georgia Health System’s Brunswick and Camden County hospitals for train- ing. Rentz’s new role was announced during a reception at the hospital.

“The idea is to train physicians in the communities where they hopefully will decide to live,” Dr. Rentz explained. He said the students, patients and two hospitals will benefit from the program based at the medical college’s Southeast Georgia Clinical Campus at St. Joseph’s/Candler Health System in Savannah.

“Having a regional campus in our area will enable us to get new physicians interested in practicing medicine locally and will go a long way to ensure that the Southeast Georgia Health System can continue to expand programs and services for the health of our community,” Rentz added.

A 1972 Medical College of Georgia graduate, Dr. Rentz will work to develop, implement and assess the training program’s objectives for his alma mater. He will also work to cultivate and support clinical faculty in Southeast Georgia and coordinate the medical students’ experiences in the region.

The first group of medical students should arrive July 1. “There will be a handful at first, but we hope to expand it up to 75,” said Linda Boyd, a physician and the medical college’s associate dean for regional campus coordination. Although the health system and medical college have a history of working together, this is the first agreement of its kind to bring medical students to the Brunswick area, according to Gary Colberg, health system president and chief executive officer. He said that Rentz will be crucial to training and attracting “top-notch” physicians. “This in turn will allow the health system to continue to offer the latest advances in health care right here in our backyard,” Colberg said. The students will learn from practicing physicians in the area with specialties including family medicine, pediatrics and surgery.

Dr. Rentz and his wife, Mary, are residents of St. Simons Island and have two sons, Trey and Jeff. Dr. Rentz is a Miller County High School graduate and is the son of Dr. T.W. Rentz Sr. of Colquitt, also an alumnus of the Medical College of Georgia, and the late Freddie Rentz.