JULY 2026 ISSUE

FEATURE

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Autism in Rural Georgia Conference Highlights Early Detection, Care and Education

By Harvey Lee Moody, Community Resource and Assessment Specialist

The Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center hosted its second annual Autism in Rural Georgia Conference on July 9-10, bringing together caregivers, educators and healthcare professionals to learn strategies for better supporting autistic youth in rural communities.

Expert-led presentations covered topics including Earlipoint detection technology and the integrative care model at the Mercer Center for IDD Care, while role-specific breakout sessions focused on practical skills, case studies, care planning and pharmacology.

The conference is presented through Kids Alliance for Better Care (KidsABC), a collaboration between Mercer University School of Medicine, its Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.

"Georgia Rising" Documentary Explores Rural Healthcare Challenges, Premieres Aug. 19

GRHIC, GAWA Partner with FVSU Extension to Deliver Mental Health Training

By John McElveen, Ed.D., Director of the Georgia Agricultural Wellness Alliance at the Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center

John McElveen, Ed.D., director of the Georgia Agricultural Wellness Alliance at the Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center, leads a mental health training session. Photo by Rebecca Evans, Fort Valley State University

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Mercer University School of Medicine’s Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center and Georgia Agricultural Wellness Alliance partnered with Fort Valley State University Extension to provide mental health and well-being training for more than 50 extension agents, educators, farmers and agricultural professionals on June 29, 2026.

Participants completed COMET (Changing Our Mental and Emotional Trajectory) training to strengthen skills for recognizing stress, having supportive conversations and connecting individuals with resources. They also received Community Resiliency Model training and viewed demonstrations of adaptive farm equipment through AgrAbility, helping build resilience and support for Georgia’s rural and agricultural communities.

Rural Hospital Emergency Department Collaborative

The KidsABC Rural Hospital Emergency Department Project hosted a Staff Education Day at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, with 13 participants from five rural hospitals across Georgia. Attendees included emergency department nurses and respiratory therapists who participated in a full day of pediatric-focused education. Training topics included the principles of pediatric practice, pediatric growth and development, pediatric assessment, and recognizing nonaccidental trauma. The day concluded with a hands-on simulation led by the Children's simulation team that focused on caring for a deteriorating pediatric patient with sepsis. These educational opportunities strengthen the knowledge, capability and confidence of rural healthcare professionals.

Rural Pediatric Support Collaborative

Just in time for the start of the new school year, the KidsABC July Pediatric Alliance Webinar Series (PAWS) session featured Sallie Lin, MD, a pediatric infectious disease fellow, who discussed back-to-school common infections. At the KidsABC pediatric and family medicine offices, there has been a steady increase in telehealth visits. The KidsABC team held a rural pediatric telehealth roundtable on July 22. The small focus group discussed strategies and solutions for refining efficiencies in telehealth visits, including reduction in no-show patient percentages, solutions for the uninsured and strategies to increase participation for all clinics.

Rural Pediatric Mental Health Collaborative

The KidsABC Mental Health & Wellness Team is wrapping up its summer tour, having visited Hancock, Harris, Glascock, Monroe, Washington and Wilkinson counties throughout the month of July. The team introduced free mental health services and resources, including universal wellness screenings, Community Resiliency Model training, and suicide awareness and prevention education. In preparation for the upcoming school year, the team also met with leaders from Sources of Strength and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta to explore training and certification opportunities that allow KidsABC to bring the peer-led, evidence-based program to rural Georgia schools. Expanding these offerings would further support school districts in meeting the requirements in House Bill 268, while empowering students to become active participants in their school communities.

The team is also working to strengthen the Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center’s Pediatric Mental Health Initiative by exploring ways to support schools through teletherapy. In collaboration with Mercer University's Family Therapy Program and school partners, the team hopes to create a program that is meaningful for schools, students, families and future clinicians — alongside KidsABC initiatives.

The team will visit partner school districts as students return for the new school year, helping welcome families back to school while providing school supplies, mental health resources and continued support for students, families and communities. 

KidsABC Training Events

Georgia Healthy Farmer Mindset

Monthly Meeting | Virtual

Each month, the Georgia Agricultural Wellness Alliance hosts the Georgia Healthy Farmer Mindset Zoom meeting, which focuses on topics related to stress and mental health in the agricultural community. 

Georgia Mobile Integrated Health and Community Paramedicine ECHO

August–October | Virtual

The Georgia Mobile Integrated Health and Community Paramedicine Conversations & Voices ECHO provides continued learning opportunities to mobile integrated health and community paramedicine professionals around the state. This ECHO is tailored to increase mobile integrated health professionals' and community paramedics’ understanding of specifics they may encounter in the field such as motivational interviewing, resilience training, and patient-centered communication. Mobile integrated health professionals and community paramedics are encouraged to attend to increase their networks of support with peers and subject matter experts.

Premature Ovarian Insufficiency in Underserved and Rural Areas

Mercer University School of Medicine researchers received IRB approval for their project, “Premature Ovarian Insufficiency in Underserved and Rural Areas.”



The study will establish focus groups of women who have lost ovarian function due to prophylactic surgery related to a family history of breast or ovarian cancer, as well as those whose ovarian function was affected by cancer treatments. Insights from these groups will inform the development of medical education programs for rural physicians and patients, helping address existing gaps in care.



Ultimately, the team aims to establish an interdisciplinary clinic dedicated to the medical, mental health, wellness, and peer-support needs of cancer survivors and women who have undergone bilateral oophorectomy.

Researchers: Chefetz Menaker, PhD, associate professor of pharmacology; Kristina Hawkins, MD, associate professor of OB-GYN; Candi Nobles-James, MD, senior associate dean of the Mercer School of Medicine Macon Campus; Betsy Smith, DrPH, MPH, associate professor of internal medicine; Anna Krampl, associate professor of library and information science; and Sorita Carter, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral science.

ABOUT THE CENTER

Mercer University School of Medicine’s Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center was established to address the complex healthcare challenges and disparities faced by rural communities throughout the state. The School of Medicine 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 healthcare by offering research, collaboration and training opportunities.

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