About Us
Mercer Medicine is the clinical faculty practice associated with Mercer University School of Medicine and which supports the School’s mission of meeting the primary care and health care needs of medically underserved rural areas of Georgia.
Mercer Medicine began in 2005 at the Mercer University campus in Macon and has since expanded across Georgia. In 2014, Mercer Medicine moved into its current Macon headquarters at 250 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, the site of the former Georgia Music Hall of Fame.
In August 2018, the first of Mercer Medicine’s rural clinics opened in Plains, Georgia, with the support of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter. President Carter, who is a Life Trustee at Mercer, and Mrs. Carter prompted discussion of plans to bring a medical clinic back to Plains upon the closing of the Plains Medical Center in March 2018. Just a few months later, Mercer Medicine Plains opened its doors and has been the model for the Mercer Medicine clinics that have opened since.
In order to continue delivering on its commitment to meet the healthcare needs of rural Georgians, Mercer Medicine opened rural health clinics in Peach County in October 2019 (moved to Taylor County), Clay County in November 2020, Putnam County in March 2021, Harris County in April 2022, Glynn County in September 2023, and Taylor County in October 2023 with additional clinic locations in development.
Community Impact
Georgia ranks 44 nationally in the number of active primary care physicians and suffers from a severe maldistribution of physicians:
- 9 counties have no doctor at all
- 12 counties have no family medicine doctor
- 37 counties have no internist
- 79 counties have no OB/GYN
Mercer Medicine’s goal is to improve those numbers by opening high-quality medical offices across rural Georgia. Bringing primary care to a rural community improves not only the quality of health outcomes, but the overall quality of life as well. A physician in a rural community brings in 2.3 million in economic development.
Partnerships
Mercer Medicine works closely with community partners to increase the collective impact of our work. Thanks to immense support from the Georgia State Legislature and leaders across our rural communities, Mercer Medicine is extending its reach throughout Georgia.