MACON, Ga. – William Thomas (Tommy) Barnes III, MBA, has been named the executive director of practice plan operations for Mercer Medicine — the multi-specialty physician group practice operated by the Mercer University School of Medicine. Barnes will be responsible for strengthening Mercer Medicine's mission of providing advanced primary and specialty care to patients throughout Central Georgia, as well as enhancing the medical education and research initiatives conducted by faculty physicians through the School of Medicine.
Barnes brings 14 years of health care administrative experience, primarily in the management of physician medical practices, to his new role with Mercer Medicine. His most recent position was as practice administrator and director of business development for Nexus Medical Holdings LLC, a physician-owned medical management organization located in Macon. Barnes also served as an elected member of the Bibb County Board of Education from 2001-2013 in the positions of president, vice-president and treasurer.
“I am excited about this new opportunity, and I look forward to joining the Mercer Medicine team,” said Barnes. “Mercer University has a long history of success and of being a leader in challenging times. I look forward to working with them in pursuing new health care opportunities here in Macon and Middle Georgia.”
Barnes received his Master of Business Administration from Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, and his undergraduate degree from Morehouse College in Atlanta. He began his health care career at Central Georgia Health Systems and The Medical Center of Central Georgia, where he was responsible for recruitment, staffing, training and management of physician practices in the Central Georgia region. In those roles, Barnes established successful and efficient operational guidelines and processes, as well as improved customer service and staff responsiveness.
“Tommy brings great integrity and proven success in managing physician practices with him to Mercer Medicine,” stated William F. Bina III, M.D., MPH, dean of the Mercer University School of Medicine. “With his wealth of health care experience, as well as his successful and longstanding relationship within the Macon and the Bibb County communities, Tommy will be a valuable asset in our future expansion and our continued efforts to provide advanced patient care throughout Central Georgia.”
About Mercer Medicine
Mercer Medicine is the multi-specialty physician group practice operated by the Mercer University School of Medicine. Staffed exclusively by faculty physicians with the School of Medicine, Mercer Medicine uses the latest health care innovations, treatments and procedures to provide advanced primary and specialized care to patients throughout Central Georgia. Mercer Medicine physicians are board-certified in family and/or internal medicine and specialize in cardiology, critical care medicine, endocrinology, gastroenterology, infectious disease, nephrology, psychiatry and behavioral science, pulmonology, rheumatology and sports medicine. Backed by the academic resources of Mercer University, Mercer Medicine physicians also conduct groundbreaking clinical research in their specialized fields of study. Mercer Medicine currently employs more than 45 faculty physicians at clinic locations in downtown Macon and on the Mercer University campus. For more information about Mercer Medicine and its physicians, call (478) 301-2528.
About the 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: The Medical Center of Central Georgia in Macon; Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah; and The Medical Center 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 clinical medical psychology.
