FORT VALLEY, Ga. — Dr. Jean Sumner is the dean at the Mercer School of Medicine. She grew up in a rural area.
"Rural Georgia is great, and it's a great place to live, great place to work as a physician," she says.
Sumner says a Peach County doctor reached out to them about placing a rural health care clinic there.
"We agreed to go in and look at his practice, he had very high quality medicine, he'd been very successful as a practitioner, and we agreed to take that over as a Mercer Medicine clinic," says Sumner.
The clinic will act as your regular primary care doctor's office accepting health insurance, with a full-time physician, nurse practitioners, and some Mercer students to help.
Sumner says, "It's a wonderful opportunity for our students to see quality medicine in a rural community and the difference a community responsive physician can make."
One of those medical students is Justin Armstrong, a second-year student who grew up right here in Central Georgia.
He says he got into the field because of his close relationship with his childhood doctor.
"He was kind of an extension of our family, an extended family member. When we'd go see him, it wouldn't just be a 15 minutes quick visit, write your prescription and get out, it would be a 30-45 minute chat," says Armstrong.
This clinic will also offer same-day appointments for patients who need them.
The Mercer Medicine Peach County clinic is located at 201 Avera Drive in Fort Valley and is currently accepting patients.
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