Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Mercer University officials are set to celebrate the opening of a new primary care clinic in downtown Plains, Georgia.
Jimmy Carter
Mercer Medicine Plains, which began accepting patients in July, is an extension of Mercer University School of Medicine, according to a news release from the Macon-based university.
Its opening followed the March 2018 closure of Plains Medical Center, the university said.
To celebrate the opening of the new clinic, Carter will be joined in a ribbon-cutting ceremony by Mercer University President William Underwood and medical school Dean Jean Sumner and others at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Plains Community Center, located at 106 Main St. Plains in Carter’s hometown.
Mercer Medicine Plains offers comprehensive primary care services provided by local physicians and nurse practitioners. Specialty and mental health care also are available, as are internal medicine, OB/GYN, marriage and family therapy, lab and X-ray services, the university said.
“In keeping with its mission to meet the primary care and healthcare needs of rural and medically underserved areas of Georgia, the School of Medicine intends for the Plains clinic to serve as a pilot for future rural primary care clinics,” the university said in the release.
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Some American Baptist partners move offices
Three American Baptist Churches USA partner organizations this week will begin their move from the denomination’s Mission Center in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, to a “new center of mission” in renovated spaces nearby, American Baptist News Service reported.
The American Baptist Extension Corp., American Baptist Women’s Ministries and American Baptist Home Mission Societies plan to move to the new location over four days beginning Tuesday. They are expected to be operational at 1075 First Avenue, King of Prussia, on Aug. 27.
The relocation follows news in 2015 that the Baptist denomination had placed its iconic facility – known as the “Holy Donut” because the building is round with an open circular space in the middle – on the market. The Mission Center was constructed in 1962 and has served as home to a number of ministry partners.
The new location was purchased by the American Baptist Home Mission Societies to provide space for itself and other ministries, the news service reported in 2017. The purchase was made as the denomination’s real estate council negotiates the development of the long-time Gulph Road property with developers.
That report identified seven American Baptist partners planning to move to the First Avenue location. The office of the general secretary also be located in the new space.
Religion Notes is an occasional compilation of events from around the religious world. To suggest items for inclusion, email assistant editor Jeff Brumley at [email protected].