Mercer University School of Medicine (MUSM) Dean Jean R. Sumner, M.D., MACP, was recently honored as the inaugural recipient of the Commitment to Rural Care Award, established by the Georgia Chapter of the American College of Physicians (ACP). The award was created to recognize physicians who have shown outstanding dedication to improving health care in rural Georgia through innovation, leadership and compassionate care.
The new award was unveiled during the Georgia ACP’s 2025 Annual Scientific Meeting, where Dr. Sumner was recognized for her transformative impact on rural health care. During the ceremony, the chapter announced that the award will be renamed in her honor to celebrate her lifelong dedication to improving access to quality care in rural Georgia.
“The Georgia Chapter felt it was essential to recognize physicians who dedicate their careers to caring for our rural communities,” said Clyde Watkins Jr., M.D., FACP, governor of the Georgia Chapter of the ACP. “Dr. Sumner’s unparalleled commitment to expanding access and elevating the quality of care in rural Georgia stands as a model for our profession. We can think of no one more deserving of this honor, and we are proud to rename this recognition the Jean Sumner, M.D., Commitment to Rural Care Award.”
A third-generation Georgia physician, Dr. Sumner cares deeply about rural health care in Georgia. She has served in rural Georgia for most of her career, practicing medicine in Washington and Johnson counties. While practicing, she held a succession of leadership positions and eventually was named the dean of the Mercer University School of Medicine in 2016.
During her tenure as dean, she has overseen the opening of primary care clinics in six rural counties, the expansion of the medical school to Columbus, Valdosta and Carrollton, and the development of multiple scholarship programs focused on supporting medical students from rural areas in returning to their hometowns as physicians.
“I am humbled and deeply honored. This award reflects the work of all the great physicians who serve so effectively in rural counties in our state,” said Dr. Sumner. “Mercer University School of Medicine has unwaveringly committed to increasing access to physician-led care in rural Georgia.”
Dr. Sumner has served as hospital chief of staff and nursing home medical director, as well as a board member, chair and president of numerous community and statewide professional organizations. At the state level, she served as a governor-appointed member, then president and medical director of the Georgia Composite Medical Board.
Dr. Sumner has received numerous honors recognizing her leadership and impact in medicine. In 2020, she became the first Georgian to receive the ACP’s Ralph O. Claypoole Sr. Memorial Award, presented for outstanding contributions to internal medicine. In 2024, she was honored with the Georgia Commission on Women Lighthouse Award, which celebrates Georgia women whose efforts illuminate solutions and improve the lives of families across the state. Most recently, in October 2025, Dr. Sumner was named a Master of the American College of Physicians (MACP) — one of the organization’s highest distinctions — acknowledging her integrity, influence, and lasting contributions to the art and science of medicine.
Dr. Sumner earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Master of Science in Nursing from the Medical College of Georgia. A member of MUSM’s first graduating class in 1986, she completed her internal medicine residency at Atrium Health Navicent The Medical Center in Macon in 1989.
Other Mercerians recognized at annual meeting were:
Lora Denton, M.D., MACP, clinical professor and 1989 graduate of MUSM, received the Mark Silverman Award. Established in 2010, this award recognizes the nurturing attitude of a physician who has not only demonstrated excellence in bedside skills and teaching but has served as an inspiration for younger physicians to advance their knowledge and training in medicine as well as their involvement with the ACP.
Joseph Hayes, M.D., MBA, FACP, associate dean at MUSM’s Valdosta campus, received the Early Career Physician Award. This award recognizes outstanding achievement by a physician member who is within 16 years of graduating medical school.
Rafael Ponce-Terashima, M.D., associate professor at MUSM and infectious disease physician at Mercer Medicine, received the J. Willis Hurst Outstanding Bedside Teacher Award. This award was established in 1991 to honor a Georgia member or Fellow in the College for his or her outstanding teaching activities, especially related to medical students and house staff.
In the student poster competition, fourth-year medical students Matthew Corn and Morgan Mathis earned first and third place, respectively, in the Clinical Vignette category. Third-year medical student Thomas Atha received third place in the Clinical Research category.
About the American College of Physicians
The American College of Physicians (ACP) is the largest medical specialty organization in the world, with 162,000 members in more than 172 countries across the globe. ACP is a diverse community of internal medicine specialists and subspecialists united by a commitment to excellence. Internal medicine physicians apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness. ACP and its physician members lead the profession in education, standard-setting, and the sharing of knowledge to advance the science and practice of internal medicine.
About Mercer University School of Medicine (Macon, Savannah, Columbus and Valdosta)
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. Today, more than 60% of graduates currently practice in the state of Georgia, and of those, more than 80% are practicing in rural or medically underserved areas of Georgia. Mercer medical students benefit from 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 opened additional four-year M.D. campuses in Savannah in 2008 and in Columbus in 2021, and a clinical campus in Valdosta in 2024. Following their second year, students participate in core clinical clerkships at the School’s primary teaching hospitals: Atrium Health Navicent The Medical Center and Piedmont Macon Medical Center in Macon; Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah; Piedmont Columbus Regional Hospital and St. Francis Hospital in Columbus; and SGMC Health in Valdosta. The School also offers master’s degrees in preclinical sciences and family therapy and Ph.D.s in biomedical sciences and rural health sciences.
