Season 3: Episode 7
Hope and Will: A Parenting Podcast from Children's Healthcare of Atlanta
Pediatric Healthcare Deserts in Rural Georgia
Rural towns across Georgia are home to special, tight-knit communities that fill vital roles in our state economy. Unfortunately, lack of access to high-quality medical care can make it challenging to raise a healthy family in those communities. Together, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Mercer University School of Medicine are on a mission to change that.
Access to quality healthcare in rural areas affects everyone, whether it’s where a family calls home, where their loved ones reside or where they happen to be when an emergency unfolds.
Of the 159 counties in Georgia, 120 are considered rural and more than half of those rural counties do not have a pediatrician practicing within county lines. When a family needs to travel for healthcare needs, it can disrupt everything from the parents’ work to the child’s education. Important checkups and screenings can be missed, and quick access to quality care in the event of an emergency is another story.
That’s why Children’s and Mercer University School of Medicine announced an initiative to improve access to pediatric medical care closer to home for families in rural Georgia. Two years later, programs are underway to increase the pipeline of pediatricians practicing in rural communities, improve the quality of care in rural hospitals, and expand local access to behavioral and mental health support.
In this episode of Hope and Will: A Parenting Podcast from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, we’re joined by three special guests—Dean Jean Sumner of Mercer University School of Medicine; Marc Welsh, Vice President of Child Advocacy at Children’s; and Lauren Brooker, a medical school scholarship recipient who plans to start practicing in 2028. Together, they share unique insight into what’s being done to change the trajectory of kids’ health in rural Georgia—and, more importantly, why such efforts are so important.
Jean Sumner, M.D., Dean, Mercer University School of Medicine
Jean Sumner, M.D., is a third-generation Georgia physician, a graduate of Mercer University School of Medicine’s first class in 1986 and the Dean of Mercer University School of Medicine.
She has spoken about the importance of rural health to legislators and was instrumental in the creation of a center for rural health which Mercer University has now embedded into the School of Medicine. Her creation of and leadership in the Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center has started a renaissance of innovation for rural health.
Marc Welsh, Vice President, Child Advocacy, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
In his role as Vice President of Child Advocacy, Marc leads Children’s state-wide community efforts focused on obesity prevention, behavioral and mental health, injury and illness prevention, and child protection. Marc’s multi-disciplinary team implements evidence-based programs focused on helping families raise healthy, safe, resilient kids. Marc is also responsible for Children’s employee and physician wellness programs.
Lauren Brooker, pediatric resident and scholarship recipient
Lauren was named among the first class of medical students to receive a Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Rural Health Scholarship, which she received before the start of her third year at Mercer University School of Medicine. Growing up, pediatricians rarely stayed in her hometown of Sandersville, and she rotated through 6 different pediatricians as a child. Today, Lauren is the proud aunt of a 2-year-old niece with epilepsy and a newborn nephew. Her niece and nephew live in the rural town of Hartwell, Ga., where the closest pediatrician is an hour away. Lauren graduated from Mercer University School of Medicine in May 2024 and will begin her pediatric residency at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in Fall 2025. She plans to return to Georgia to practice in Washington County, where she grew up, or Hart County, where her niece and nephew live, upon graduation in 2028.
