MACON, Ga. — The Georgia Department of Community Health’s State Office of Rural Health (SORH) announces that William F. Bina, M.D., M.P.H., chair of the Department of Community Medicine at Mercer University School of Medicine, has been named to the Rural Health Advisory Board. Bina was selected because of his visible dedication and commitment to improving the quality of life for the citizens of rural and underserved areas of Georgia.
Members of the SORH Advisory Board advise the Department on policy and program initiatives to facilitate access to quality health care, as well as provide direct input into the development and administration of initiatives managed through the State Office of Rural Health. The SORH Advisory Board consists of 12 representatives from community health centers, rural and critical access hospitals, academic institutions, public health, migrant and health centers and other health-oriented organizations. Bina’s experience in the health care profession will bring valuable wisdom and knowledge to the SORH Advisory Board as they work together to improve the health status of rural and underserved citizens.
Bina joined the school of medicine in 1991 and has served in various departmental roles, including program director of the family practice residency program. He is now chair of the Department of Community Medicine and director of the nationally-accredited Master’s of Public Health degree program. He served in the School as executive associate dean prior to his appointment as chair. Before to coming to Mercer, Bina was director of the Occupational Health and Preventive Medicine Division, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Department of the Navy in Washington, D.C.
Bina has served in several leadership roles in the Georgia Academy of Family Physicians, including president in 1998 to1999. He serves as medical director of the Central Georgia Cancer Coalition, a state-certified regional program of excellence. Bina received his B.S. in nuclear science from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and his M.D. degree from the University of Nebraska in Omaha. He completed his family practice residency at Naval Regional Medical Center in Camp Pendleton, Calif. Bina also completed a general preventive medicine residency and an M.P.H. degree at Johns Hopkins University, School of Hygiene and Public Health in Baltimore, Md.
About Mercer University and the School of Medicine:
Mercer University’s School of Medicine was established in 1982 to educate physicians and health professionals to meet the primary care and health care needs of rural and medically underserved areas of Georgia. The School only accepts Georgia residents into its medical degree program. Students entering Mercer University School of Medicine will be graduated from a school that utilizes a problem-based medical education program that provides early patient care experiences. Such an academic environment fosters the early development of clinical problem-solving and instills in each student an awareness of the place of the basic medical sciences in medical practice. The School has two teaching hospitals: Medical Center of Central Georgia in Macon and Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah.
Founded in 1833, Mercer University has campuses in Macon and Atlanta as well as three regional academic centers. With 10 schools and colleges, the University offers programs in liberal arts, business, engineering, education, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, law and theology. For 16 consecutive years, U.S. News & World Report has named Mercer University as one of the leading universities in the South.
