JANUARY 2026 ISSUE

2026 Education and Training Opportunities

The Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center at Mercer University School of Medicine provides education and training opportunities designed to strengthen health care in rural communities across the state. GRHIC serves a wide range of audiences, including community leaders, medical students, physicians, health care professionals, and middle and high school students interested in health careers.

Some opportunities provide continuing education credit, while others emphasize early exposure and hands-on learning through workshops, simulations and community-based activities.

Check out our 2026 training offerings, mark your calendars and watch for updates on our website and in upcoming newsletters.

Rural Autism ECHO

February 25-May 27 | Virtual

The Rural Autism ECHO: Strategies for Improving Health Care for Autistic Patients in Rural Georgia was launched in collaboration with the Autism ToolKit of Georgia. The series was created because rural families and communities often have limited access to information about autism, making it difficult to recognize early signs and respond to a child’s unusual behavior. By offering a virtual, peer-driven learning environment, the Rural Autism ECHO empowers rural physicians and other health care professionals to diagnose and treat autism more effectively without requiring families to travel long distances.

Georgia Mobile Integrated Health and Community Paramedicine ECHO

February 16-October 19 | 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.

Farmers' Mental Well-Being

Georgia Farm Stress Summit

March 12 | Fort Valley State University

The 2026 Georgia Farm Stress Summit will bring together farmers, farm families, health care providers, government leaders, agricultural advocates, agribusinesses, nonprofits and others committed to addressing farm stress in their rural communities. The summit will focus on connecting communities with resources and building strong cross-sector partnerships.

Registration will open in February.

Georgia Farmer Health 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. 

Maternal Health

Opioid Misuse

KidsABC Training Events

Rural Hospital Emergency Department Collaborative

The KidsABC Rural Emergency Department project continues to work on advancing rural pediatric care across the state. In January, we continue meeting and onboarding hospitals for the fourth cohort, further extending the program’s reach across rural Georgia. Pediatric-specific training for rural ED staff remains ongoing, with additional classes being added and regional Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) recertification courses being planned. The Rural Pediatric Respiratory sessions have begun, with the first training Clinch Memorial Hospital. These sessions are designed to better equip respiratory and nursing staff on handling airway-specific pediatric emergencies. Additionally, the KidsABC Simulating Pediatric Assessment for Rural Kids (SPARK) program continues to meet the education and simulation needs in facilities and will begin giving additional resources for hospitals to use outside of simulation sessions. Planning is underway for the annual two-day rural ED collaborative meeting. Day one will be tailored to hospitals new to the program, followed by a second day for all KidsABC participants.

Rural Pediatric Support Collaborative

Physicians engaged in the January Pediatric Alliance Webinar Series (PAWS) session on pediatric seizures with Dr. Sourabh Lahoti. Telehealth carts are scheduled to arrive at Cohort 3 KidsABC rural pediatric and family medicine offices in the coming weeks, followed by an introduction and training. Telehealth appointments are being scheduled and completed in KidsABC offices across the state. Physicians can connect their patients with subspecialists in allergy/immunology, endocrinology, ENT, gastroenterology, gynecology, hematology, infectious disease, nephrology, neurology, pulmonary and rheumatology.

Rural Pediatric Mental Health Collaborative

During the spring semester, Ben Hill County Schools, Brentwood School, Putnam County Charter Schools, and Twiggs County Schools plan to screen their students. KidsABC is providing calm down kits to participating school systems for grades Pre-K though 2nd since they do not participate in the screenings. The kits have been delivered to Putnam County Charter Schools and Ben Hill County Schools and will be delivered to the others during spring semester.

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:

Washington County

March 7 | 11 a.m.–1 p.m.

Co-Host: Representative Mack Jackson

Harris County

July 25 | 9–11 a.m.

Co-Host: Harris County School District

ABOUT THE CENTER

Mercer University School of Medicine’s Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center was established to address the complex health care 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 health care by offering research, collaboration and training opportunities.

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