EATONTON – Mercer Medicine today held a ribbon-cutting for the launch of its fourth rural primary care clinic, which will open March 1 at 117 Harmony Crossing, Suite 1, in Eatonton.
Mercer Medicine is the primary care practice and the division of the faculty practice of Mercer University School of Medicine (MUSM), with more than 30 primary care and specialty providers in five locations.
“Providing quality, primary care to the citizens of rural Georgia is the cornerstone of Mercer University School of Medicine and Mercer Medicine’s mission. We are looking forward to joining the health care professionals already in the area to improve access to primary care in Putnam County and the communities around it,” said Jean Sumner, M.D., dean of MUSM. “We are delighted to have Dr. Diana Homeier join the Mercer Medicine team. She is an outstanding physician who has specialized training and certification in geriatrics.”
Mercer Medicine Putnam County will bolster local health care providers by offering high-quality primary care in a convenient, friendly atmosphere. Dr. Homeier and staff offer primary care, geriatric care, mental health counseling, EKG, lab, immunizations and specialist visits via telehealth Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Dr. Homeier earned her medical degree from the University of Southern California School of Medicine with highest distinction and completed a family medicine residency at David Grant Air Force Medical Center where she served as chief resident. In 2000, she completed a fellowship in geriatric medicine at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland.
She is board-certified by the American Board of Family Medicine with an added qualification in geriatrics.
Dr. Homeier and her husband recently relocated to Eatonton and are looking forward to being active members of the local community.
“I am very pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to this community that has welcomed us so warmly. I am delighted to join the Mercer family and support its mission of providing quality health care to all Georgians,” said Dr. Homeier.
Mercer Medicine operates a multi-specialty medical complex in downtown Macon in the 43,000-square-foot facility that previously was home to the Georgia Music Hall of Fame.
In July 2018, Mercer Medicine expanded outside of Macon by opening a rural clinic in Plains at the request of former U.S. President and Mercer Life Trustee Jimmy Carter. At the dedication ceremony for the clinic, Mercer President William D. Underwood said Mercer Medicine Plains “represents part of a broad-ranging initiative by the University to transform access to health care in this state” and would serve as a model for additional rural health clinics around the state.
Building off of that successful launch and in order to continue delivering on its commitment to meet the health care needs of rural Georgians, Mercer opened rural health clinics in Peach County in October 2019 and Clay County in November 2020 with plans underway for a future clinic in Harris County.
About Mercer University School of Medicine (Macon, Savannah and Columbus)
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 percent of graduates currently practice in the state of Georgia, and of those, more than 80 percent 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 a full four-year campus in Savannah in 2008 at Memorial University Medical Center. In 2012, the School began offering clinical education for third- and fourth-year medical students in Columbus. Following their second year, students participate in core clinical clerkships at the School’s primary teaching hospitals: Medical Center, Navicent Health in Macon; Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah; and Piedmont Columbus Regional Hospital and St. Francis Hospital in Columbus. The School also offers master’s degrees in family therapy, preclinical sciences and biomedical sciences and a Ph.D. in rural health sciences.
