Dr. Jean Sumner cares deeply about rural health care in Georgia. She believes, and has seen firsthand, that physicians impact quality of life, even outside their practice.
“We need to improve access to quality health care, especially in underserved rural areas, because it changes lives. It changes futures,” said Dr. Sumner, dean of Mercer University’s School of Medicine. “If you have a physician who is your doctor and will work with you, a patient can accomplish amazing things.”
A third-generation Georgia physician, Dr. Sumner is no stranger to accomplishing amazing things. A member of Mercer School of Medicine’s first graduating class in 1986, she said she was expected to go to college, but her parents didn’t push her to study medicine.
“It mattered to them that if you’re going to do something, you do it well and work hard at your profession”
When she received her acceptance to medical school, Dr. Sumner said her mother, a physician’s daughter, reminded her that accepting a spot in medical school was a privilege and commitment. “‘If you accept the position, you need to work hard,’” Dr. Sumner recalled her mom saying.
Taking that advice to heart, Dr. Sumner has served in rural Georgia for most of her career. She practiced medicine in Washington and Johnson counties. While practicing she held a succession of leadership positions and eventually was named the dean of the Mercer 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 and Valdosta, and the development of multiple scholarship programs focused on supporting medical students from rural areas in returning to their hometowns as physicians.
“If you think about the diseases that we treat every day, the more common ones can all be significantly impacted, if not cured or prevented, particularly if you have a well-trained primary care doctor in a small town. The advantage of rural health care is long-term relationships and the building of trust,” said Dr. Sumner.
She has served as a 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.
In 2024, she received the Georgia Commission on Women Lighthouse Award, which is given to a Georgia woman whose efforts have shined a light on solutions to problems and made lives better for Georgia families.
The award was presented to Dr. Sumner by Sallie Barker, Georgia Commission on Women member and director of health services with the Georgia Department of Corrections.
“Dr. Sumner has been raising the health care bar in Georgia all her career, and there are many accomplishments over the decades for which she richly deserves recognition,” Barker said. “However, the Lighthouse Award is not about then, it’s about what she’s doing now to improve health care access and outcomes for Georgians.”
Dr. Sumner is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians (ACP), and in 2020 Dr. Sumner received the ACP’s Ralph O. Claypoole Sr. Memorial Award. The national award is presented annually to an outstanding practitioner of internal medicine who has devoted her or his career to the care of patients. The practitioner must be a clinician who is highly respected by her or his peers and colleagues for clinical skills and who has been a role model. Dr. Sumner is the first Georgian to receive this prestigious award, established by ACP’s Board of Regents in 1979.
“The award recognized a doctor from a small town in the middle of Georgia, one of the poorest counties in our state,” said Dr. Sumner. “Sometimes you wonder if you are making a difference. The really important work is being able to transform somebody’s life through good health care and advocacy for them. I believe the award reflects the work of the many outstanding physicians across rural Georgia who do this work every day.”
In reaction to Dr. Sumner receiving the Ralph O. Claypoole Sr. Memorial Award, Mercer President William D. Underwood said, “She has devoted her life to patient care in rural areas of Georgia, and since 2016 has led our School of Medicine to carry out its impactful mission to prepare physicians to practice primary care medicine in rural and underserved areas of our state. She models that mission for our students every single day.”
Dr. Sumner’s great-grandfather, grandfather, father, uncles, and brothers were physicians. Her family has been practicing medicine in rural Washington County for more than 200 years. She saw personally that her father and grandfather believed physicians should be involved in public health. Dr. Sumner has followed their example and currently serves as the chair of the county board of health, where she resides.
“Mercer is a great organization that values service,” she said. “I believe the School of Medicine has the potential to transform rural Georgia. We can’t do it alone. It takes others too, but we can lead the way, and we can give hope to these communities.”
