FEATURE
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Rural Community Outreach Exposes Students to Health Care Professions
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Rural Pediatrician Spotlight:
Grace Davis, MD, MPH
Dr. Grace Davis was selected as one of six pediatricians to participate in the Community-Based Pediatric Pilot Project as part of the Rural Pediatric Health Alliance. She is the only pediatrician practicing in Worth County.
Medical School: Washington University in St. Louis
Medical Residency: University of South Florida Morsani
Fun Fact: Dr. Davis is a native of Jamaica.
Dr. Davis was exposed to the health care issues facing rural communities when she practiced for a Federally Qualified Health Center in Albany, Georgia. During her time there, she explored the surrounding areas and the medical needs of Terrell and Worth counties. She quickly realized the lack of health care available for the general population, much less the children living in those communities. She has served as a pediatrician in Worth County since 2000. “I tell people this type of work is not going to make you a billionaire, but it is the type of work that is going to fulfill you. You will know you are doing good and helping sustain a community.” Dr. Davis is thrilled to be part of the Rural Pediatric Health Alliance as a pediatrician. “I’m looking forward to the children having access to specialty care by the telemedicine collaboration. The families just don’t have the resources to get their child to see a specialist. If we can get the specialists to see them while they are in my office, that is going to be a game changer.”
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Stay Hydrated this Summer with Homemade Watermelon Lemonade
Ingredients
3 cups diced watermelon, in half-inch pieces.
½ cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice, from 3-4 lemons
¼ cup of sugar
¼ cup of water
1 cup of ice cubes
Directions
Place watermelon in a blender and puree until smooth. Let puree settle for about 5 minutes until the pulp rises to the top and the clearer juice remains at the bottom. Pour through a fine-mesh strainer, and rub with a spoon to extract juice from the pulp, leaving about 2 teaspoons of pulp behind.
Place ¼ cup sugar and ¼ cup water in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. When sugar is completely dissolved, turn off the heat. Add sugar syrup, lemon juice, and 1 cup ice to strained watermelon puree, and stir to melt ice. Taste and check for the balance of lemon juice to sugar, and adjust if necessary.
For minty watermelon lemonade, rub 2 sprigs of mint in between your palms until bruised and very fragrant. Add to lemonade.
Serve over ice with lemon slices and watermelon triangles.
Check out more recipes and locally grown products from Georgia Grown
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Honeycutt Named Telehealth Director
Ed Honeycutt joined the Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center in May of 2023. He serves as senior telehealth project manager for the Rural Pediatric Health Alliance. Bringing his experience as a manager from Global Partnership for Telehealth, Honeycutt has managed many rural telehealth projects in Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama since 2014. A former teacher, he still enjoys teaching English as a second language to Chinese students in his spare time. He and his wife, Ruth, enjoy traveling, mountain biking, and spending time with children and grandchildren at their cabin in the Smokies.
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Community-Based Pediatrician Support Expands with Sixth Site
The Community-Based Pediatric Pilot Project has grown with the addition of a sixth clinical office site. At the time of conducting the telehealth assessment for Drs. Brittany Lord and Johnny Peeples of the Eastman Pediatric Clinic, these pediatricians expressed the significant need for telehealth services at their McRae satellite office, New Life Pediatrics. Upon receipt of this request, program administration and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta executives gave the recommendation for New Life Pediatrics to become the sixth clinical office site. With this new addition, more rural children will gain access to pediatric specialty care, and Telfair County will now be among the pilot group of counties positively impacted by the Rural Pediatric Health Alliance.
Pictured: Community-Based Pediatrician Support Team Lead Kedrick Williams, DHA, MPH, with Brittany Lord, MD
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Network Connects Rural Pediatric Health Care Providers
The Rural Pediatric Network was established as part of a joint initiative with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (Children’s), Mercer University School of Medicine (MUSM), and the Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center (GRHIC). The network serves as a means of support and training for all of Georgia’s rural pediatricians and rural family practitioners. Physicians and advanced practice practitioners have opportunities to learn from their peers and complete trainings facilitated by experts.
Rural Pediatric News is published bimonthly and highlights training and continuing medical education options, recommended reading, physician spotlights, seasonal health and wellness information to share with patients, and more.
The Pediatric Advanced Speakers Series is a free monthly training series for providers to earn CME credits, offered by Mercer University School of Medicine, through one-hour virtual training sessions, with subject matter experts in a variety of topics. PASS includes peer-led rural pediatric patient case studies and an in-person CME fall conference.
If you are a rural pediatric provider, please click for more information.
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Grow Your Telehealth Knowledge through Workgroups
The Southeastern Telehealth Resource Center (SETRC) is hosting online telehealth workgroups for Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. SETRC is one of 14 Telehealth Resource Centers funded by the federal Office for the Advancement of Telehealth. SETRC's mission is to serve as the focal point for advancing telehealth in rural and underserved communities in the southeastern U.S.
The meetings are open to anyone interested in telehealth in their state. The state workgroups bring together a grassroots network, and attendees have the opportunity to network, get the latest updates, learn tools and tips, and connect with potential partners.
Workgroups:
- Georgia: July 26, 10 a.m. – Noon ET
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Alabama: July 27, 10 a.m. – Noon CT
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Florida: July 28, 10 a.m. – Noon ET
Click for Details
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2023 Ongoing Center Initiatives | |
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Maternal Health Improvement
All Rural Counties
Dr. Kedrick Williams
Maternal Health Observership
All Rural Counties
Dr. Kedrick Williams
Maternal Health Symposium
All Rural Counties
Joan Anderson
Community Health Reporter
All Rural Counties
Dr. Kedrick Williams
Clinical Ethics ECHO
All Rural Counties
Chris Scoggins
Opioid Misuse Prevention Project
Rural Hospitals
Joan Anderson, Chris Scoggins
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ASIST Suicide Training
All Rural Counties
Travis Crafter
Rural Trauma Training
All Rural Counties
Glenda Grant
Community Resiliency
Model (CRM)
All Rural Counties
Joan Anderson, Travis Crafter
Mental Health First Aid
All Rural Counties
Dr. Kedrick Williams,
Glenda Grant
Pediatric Mental Health Initiative
Ben Hill, Jefferson, Washington
Joan Anderson
Barber/Beauty Shop Project
Rural Counties TBD
Dr. Kimberly Carr
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QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) Gatekeeper Training for Suicide Prevention
All Rural Counties
Joan Anderson
Hancock County COVID-19/Flu Vaccine Hesitancy Needs Assessment
Hancock
Dr. Kimberly Carr
Faith in Rural Health
Berrien, Putnam, Toombs/Montgomery
Chris Scoggins
Health Fairs
Rural Partners
Amanda Livingston
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Mercer University School of Medicine is hosting
Virtual Med Camp for rural Georgia middle and high school students.
This week-long virtual camp will cover relevant health topics taught by Mercer University School of Medicine doctors, scientists, and medical students. Each day will have a teaching component and a hands-on activity. All activity supplies are provided free of charge: games, interactive experiments, camp t-shirt. Supplies will be mailed.
July 10 | Bodysurfing: The Human Body
July 11 | Diving in: Health Care Professions
July 12 | Mental Health Lifesavers: CRM Training
July 13 | Take a Deep Breath: Mental Health Awareness
July 14 | Beach Patrol: P.A. for a Day
REGISTER
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The Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center works with rural partners to enhance health education through health fairs.
We encourage these community members to join us:
Harris County | July 29
Co-hosts: Mercer Medicine, Harris County School District
Randolph County | September 9
Co-host: Randolph County Family Connection
Upson County | September 23
Host: Dissipating Disparities
Washington County | October 7
Are you a vendor wanting to participate in a health fair?
Submit the application below.
BECOME A VENDOR
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ABOUT THE CENTER
In 2018, Georgia lawmakers dedicated special funds to establish a new Rural Health Innovation Center tasked with confronting the complex health care challenges and wellness disparities facing rural communities. Mercer University School of Medicine (MUSM) was awarded the grant funds in 2019 and formally established the Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center on its Macon campus. MUSM boasts a longstanding commitment to serving rural Georgia’s health needs, with a mission to educate physicians dedicated to tackling the health challenges in rural Georgia. The Rural Health Innovation Center serves as a critical resource to rural communities to improve access and effectiveness of health care by offering research, collaboration, and training opportunities.
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