Mercer University will host a fall community health fair Nov. 2, 9 a.m.-noon, at the Plains Community Center located at 106 E. Main St. in downtown Plains.
 
The fair, co-sponsored by Mercer Medicine, Mercer University School of Medicine (MUSM) and Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center, will offer free health screenings and education for all ages, including information on heart health, breast self-exams, blood pressure and blood glucose monitoring and much more.
 
The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office will be on hand to provide a take back station for proper disposal of expired or unwanted medication.
 
Additionally, Horizons Community Solutions, Mercer’s Physician Assistant Program, Navicent Health, Peach State Health Plan and Phoebe Sumter Medical Center will be among around 15 vendors in attendance to provide screenings, education and support to the local community.
 
“Mercer University School of Medicine is honored to be part of the Plains community and is delighted to partner with our colleagues to offer services to the good citizens of this area and to rural Georgia,” said Jean Sumner, M.D., dean of the School of Medicine. “Our mission is to educate physicians for rural and underserved areas of Georgia. It is who we are.”
 
Mercer Medicine Plains opened at 107 Main St. in July 2018 after former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, a Life Trustee at Mercer, asked the University to explore options for providing local health care following the closing of the Plains Medical Center.
 
The clinic, refurbished by Mercer using local contractors, has a total of four exam rooms, on-site X-ray and additional services. Michael Raines, M.D., provides family care, along with nurse practitioner Betty Jo Songer, FNP, three clinical staff, a radiologist and a medical receptionist.
 
Mercer Medicine, the primary care practice and division of the faculty practice of MUSM, provides access to cardiologists, pulmonologists, endocrinologists and other specialists located in its downtown Macon offices through telemedicine technology supported by the Georgia Partnership for Telehealth.
 
In keeping with its mission to meet the primary care and healthcare needs of rural and medically underserved areas of Georgia, MUSM established the Plains clinic as a pilot for future rural primary care clinics.
 
The School recently opened a second clinic in Peach County and plans to open a third in Clay County in early 2020.