Residents in the small town of Fort Gaines, located on the Alabama state line in southwest Georgia, will have access to another local health care facility after three decades with access to only one.
A product of a public-private partnership with Mercer University School of Medicine, Mercer Medicine Clay County will open next month at the hospital site that closed in the 1980s. It is part of a larger investment the state has made to increase health care resources in rural areas.
“I am thankful to the Mercer University School of Medicine for recognizing the need for access to a wide range of health care services here in Clay County and for helping to bring this opportunity to fruition, especially since the outbreak of COVID-19,” said state Rep. Gerald Greene, R-Cuthbert, who represents the area. “Access to quality health care is the backbone to securing future prosperity for rural Georgia, and I am excited to see the positive impact that this facility will have on our citizens and our community.”
Medical facilities in rural areas often have struggled with being underresourced and face financial pressure amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau of Statistics, Fort Gaines is a 7.7-square-mile town in Clay County, where nearly 30% of its 2,834 residents live in poverty. The 4,885-square-foot clinic, scheduled for an opening ceremony Nov. 12, also would serve residents in Randolph County and other surrounding areas.
Representatives for Clay County were not available for comment Tuesday. Fort Gaines residents currently have to seek care at the Clay County Medical Center, and a hospital is located 20 miles outside of town.
Dr. Jean Sumner, dean of Mercer University School of Medicine, said access to the clinic’s services would change health outcomes in west Georgia.
“We will be able to bring specialty services and mental health services through telehealth and have installed reliable internet services in the facility,” Sumner said.
Rural health care remained a priority for the Georgia Legislature despite a call by Gov. Brian Kemp to reduce spending for the past two fiscal years.
The General Assembly provided $12 million in aid for rural hospitals in June for the 2021 fiscal year. The budget included $100,000 for Mercer Medicine Clay County, which was combined with a $750,000 development grant from the OneGeorgia Authority.
