Mercer, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta partner to bring more pediatricians to rural Georgia

Children's Healthcare of Atlanta is allocating more than $200 million towards this effort.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — Mercer University School of Medicine is partnering with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta to improve pediatric care in rural areas of Georgia.

The hospital says this will help bring scholarships for students in the field of pediatrics and provide educational information to support rural hospitals.

CEO of Children’s, Donna Hyland, explains how this partnership will help children in rural areas throughout Middle Georgia.

“We’re very excited first of all with the pediatrician scholarships, because to be able to know that we’re helping put a pediatrician in every single community to care for kids is incredibly important, and we hope that over the next several years we’ll be able to really be a big part of the solution with Mercer getting pediatricians in every county in Georgia,” she said.

According to Mercer University School of Medicine Dean Jean Sumner, Children’s is allocating more than $200 million toward this effort.

William Underwood, President of Mercer University, is optimistic for the future of medicine in rural Georgia.

“I think this initiative is gonna be a powerful step towards achieving that goal for children in the state of Georgia,” he said.