Mercer University School of Medicine (MUSM) has announced a partnership with Tanner Health to establish a regional clinical campus in Carrollton. The new site, set to open in July 2026, will be located at the main Tanner Medical Center/Carrollton campus and will host third- and fourth-year medical students for their final years of training.
The initiative is designed to give MUSM students experience in a tertiary care setting that serves largely rural communities, aligning with the school’s mission to improve access to health care in Georgia’s underserved regions. Students currently attending campuses in Columbus, Macon, and Savannah will be eligible to transfer for their clinical rotations.
“We are excited to partner with Tanner Health to expand clinical education in this vital region of the state. Tanner provides exceptional care and is deeply committed to the communities it serves,” said School of Medicine Dean Jean Sumner, M.D., F.A.C.P. “Our students come from across Georgia, many from rural areas. With the opportunity to train in Carrollton, we believe many will be inspired to remain and practice in this region.”
The Carrollton campus will offer all required Year 3 core clerkships and electives as well as sub-internships and other required rotations for Year 4 students enrolled in MUSM’s M.D. program.
Tanner Medical Center/Carrollton serves a multi-county area with a significant rural population. This makes it an important addition among Mercer’s existing training locations.
“Tanner has been deeply rooted in West Georgia for 75 years, and this partnership reflects our continued commitment to the region,” said Loy Howard, president and CEO of Tanner Health. “By welcoming Mercer University School of Medicine students to Carrollton, we are not only strengthening our health system but also helping to ensure that the next generation of physicians is prepared to serve rural communities with excellence and compassion.”
MUSM exclusively admits Georgia residents—primarily those from rural backgrounds who are likely to return home after graduation—and aims its programs at addressing physician shortages throughout the state. The expansion into Carrollton continues this focus by providing more opportunities for training within critical areas experiencing unmet health needs.
Several physicians from Tanner Health have been named as clerkship directors across key specialties: Daniel Feckoury, M.D. (family medicine), Jesse Singh, M.D. (internal medicine), Emily Shelton, M.D. (obstetrics and gynecology), Amanda Nguyen, M.D. (pediatrics), Kenneth Genova, M.D. (psychiatry), and Barry Harris, M.D. (surgery). Yolonda Brown will supervise clinical rotations on-site with additional staff expected over the coming year.
Tim Paul, M.D., senior vice president of medical affairs and chief quality officer at Tanner Health, has been appointed associate dean leading the Carrollton campus.
“This new campus represents an exciting opportunity to invest in both medical education and the future health of our region,” said Dr. Paul. “While training here at Tanner, our students will experience firsthand the challenges and rewards of practicing medicine in rural and underserved areas — and many, we hope, will choose to build their careers right here in West Georgia.”
To support hands-on learning experiences similar to those available at other MUSM campuses https://medicine.mercer.edu/, Tanner Health is building a simulation center within its new medical education unit at Carrollton https://www.tanner.org/. The center will include exam rooms for standardized patient encounters as well as labs where trainees can practice procedures such as IV catheter placement or managing emergency scenarios using high-fidelity simulators with advanced audiovisual systems for real-time scenario adjustments.
Mercer’s relationship with Tanner dates back over three decades; since 1992 MUSM has placed students there for population health rotations https://www.tanner.org/about-tanner/. In July 2024 this collaboration expanded further when MUSM began sending students for full-length clerkship experiences across several specialties as part of preparations for opening its dedicated clinical campus.
Founded in 1982 https://medicine.mercer.edu/about/history/, Mercer University School of Medicine operates additional four-year campuses in Savannah (opened 2008), Columbus (2021), Valdosta (2024), along with primary teaching hospitals throughout Georgia https://medicine.mercer.edu/admissions/md-program/campuses-and-clinical-sites/. Over 60 percent of graduates practice within Georgia; most serve rural or medically underserved communities.
Tanner Health is a nonprofit regional system serving west Georgia and east Alabama through multiple hospitals https://www.tanner.org/locations/hospitals-and-facilities/, practices https://www.tanner.org/locations/tanner-medical-group-practices/, behavioral health services https://www.tanner.org/services/behavioral-health-care/, wellness programs https://www.tanner.org/services/wellness-and-prevention/, rehabilitation services https://www.tanner.org/services/rehabilitation-services/, and one of the area’s largest physician groups.
