South Georgia Medical Center announced Dr. Joseph Hayes as its Designated Institutional Official (DIO). In this role, Dr. Hayes will oversee and lead medical education programs throughout the health system.
SGMC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brian Dawson shared, “Dr. Hayes is a Valdosta native with a proven track record of success in both his clinical practice and his leadership skills, and I couldn’t be more proud to have him serving in this role.”
Dr. Hayes played a vital role in developing SGMC’s internal medicine residency program in partnership with Mercer University School of Medicine. The program launched in 2021, making SGMC an official teaching facility. The health system welcomed its first class of internal medicine residents in 2022 and Dr. Hayes, who previously served as a hospitalist, became the Medical Director for SGMC Internal Medicine at Park Avenue. This practice serves as a continuity clinic for physicians completing their internal medicine residency. He oversees patient care and clinical skills development for the resident physicians in a primary care setting.
According to Dr. Hayes, “SGMC has been trusted with the honor and has earned the privilege of training the next generation of physicians. We have a clinical and administrative staff full of remarkable people – all teaching our medical students and resident physicians to deliver compassionate, evidence-based, and high-value medical care. I’m proud to be part of our health system’s mission to provide leadership to improve and develop the healthcare delivery systems of the future.”
Dr. Hayes graduated from Valdosta State University with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. He received his medical degree from Mercer University School of Medicine. He completed his residency at Memorial Hospital University Medical Center in Savannah, Georgia, where he served as chief resident and then a faculty member in the Internal Medicine department. He joined SGMC’s medical staff in 2021 as a hospitalist.
He also serves as an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Mercer University School of Medicine and is a member of the American College of Physicians and Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society.
To learn more, visit sgmc.org.