The Surgery Residency was started under its founding Chair, Milford B. Hatcher, M.D., in 1958. Internationally famous for arrhythmia surgery, Will C. Sealy, M.D., succeeded him in 1984. In 1991, Martin L. Dalton, M.D. followed Dr. Sealy as Professor and Chair. Under his tenure as chair, academic growth of the department continued with important clinical programs in trauma and critical care and surgical research. The Residency grew from two to four graduating chief resident positions. Don K. Nakayama, M.D., a pediatric surgeon, was named the Milford B. Hatcher Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery in 2007. He recruited pediatric surgery faculty and developed a robust pediatric surgery department. Dr. Dennis W. Ashley was named the Milford B. Hatcher Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery July 1, 2014. In 2017, a 5th graduating chief resident position was added. On September 30, 2019, Dr. Ashley was named as the first inaugural Will C. Sealy Endowed Chair of Surgery by the Mercer University School of Medicine. The program is fully accredited by the Residency Review Committee in Surgery of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Residents regularly finish with more than 1,200 operations during the five-year training program with extensive experience in all areas of general surgery. Residents enter fellowships in all major surgical specialties. The Surgery Department also supports a third-year medical student clerkship program with Mercer University School of Medicine providing a broad experience in trauma, vascular, general and pediatric surgery. The Department added a one-year Surgical Critical Care Fellowship program in 2009 which developed into a two-year American Association for the Surgery of Trauma Acute Care Surgery Fellowship in 2025.
The Mercer University School of Medicine (MUSM) was organized in 1982, part of a thirteen-year effort by city and community groups, the Bibb County Medical Society, and the Georgia State Legislature to educate physicians and other health professionals to meet the primary and ancillary healthcare needs of rural and medically underserved areas of Georgia. 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. Atrium Health Navicent is a primary clinical site at which third and fourth year MUSM students in Macon complete their clinical training. Other degree programs offered at MUSM include the Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences, Master of Science in Preclinical Sciences and a Master’s of Family Practice. Currently, more than 60 percent of MUSM graduates practice in the state of Georgia. Of those, more than 80 percent are practicing in rural or medically underserved areas of Georgia.
Mercer University will construct a new building for the School of Medicine overlooking the Ocmulgee River in downtown Macon, the first step in a major redevelopment of the area. The Macon-Bibb County Urban Development Authority approved selling 11 parcels at 815 Riverside Drive, between Spring and Second streets, to the University on February 27, 2025. The medical school has grown dramatically since it opened in 1982, more than doubling the number of M.D. students from 96 to 240 and adding Ph.D. and master’s-level programs. “Developing a riverfront home for the Mercer University School of Medicine seizes a unique opportunity to construct a stunning new facility designed to meet the needs of a growing student population with 21st century technology at an important gateway into Macon,” Mercer President William D. Underwood said.
Atrium Health Navicent (AHN) has over a 100-year history of serving the central and South Georgia regions. Atrium Health Navicent, the leading provider of health care in central and South Georgia, is committed to its mission of elevating health and wellbeing through compassionate care. Providing more than 1,000 beds and offering care in 53 specialties at more than 50 facilities throughout the region, Atrium Health Navicent provides care for health care consumers’ through an academic medical center; community, pediatric and rehabilitation hospitals; urgent care centers; physician practices; diagnostic centers; home health; hospice and palliative care; and a life plan community.
Atrium Health Navicent is verified by the American College of Surgeons as a Level 1 Trauma Center, with more than 3,500 trauma admissions per year. AHN supports residency training programs in family practice, general surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology and pediatrics. Specialty fellowships in surgical critical care, orthopedic traumatology, infectious disease, palliative care, and geriatrics are also available. AHN’s graduate medical education programs have more than 100 trainees.
Atrium Health Navicent (formerly known as The Medical Center of Central Georgia) was incorporated on November 17, 1994, as a nonprofit corporation whose primary purpose is to coordinate AHN and other affiliated entities in their mission of providing a comprehensive continuum of high quality, reasonably priced healthcare services to the region. Atrium Health Navicent has 830 beds for medical, surgical, rehabilitation and hospice purposes. The health system includes Atrium Health Navicent, Beverly Knight Olson Children’s Hospital, Baldwin and Peach, (both rural critical access hospitals), Rehabilitation Hospital, Pine Pointe (provides palliative and hospice care in homes and in its facility), Carlyle Place, (continuing care retirement community), and Navicent Health Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Atrium Health Navicent.
On February 8, 2018, it was announced that Atrium Health Navicent would merge with healthcare giant Atrium Health. This ensures a Macon-based institution will continue to be the leading driver of healthcare in central Georgia and beyond. In December 2018, Atrium Health and Atrium Health Navicent signed a definitive agreement to finalize their strategic combination, which became effective January 1, 2019.
In December of 2022, Advocate Aurora Health closed on their formal combination to create Advocate Health. Advocate Health is headquartered in Charlotte while maintaining a strong presence in the Chicago and Milwaukee areas. The Advocate Healthcare, Atrium Health and Aurora Healthcare brands will continue to be used in their respective local communities, with Wake Forest University School of Medicine serving as the academic core of the combined entity. Advocate Health serves nearly 6 million patients annually and is the 5th largest non-profit integrated health system in the nation.
Atrium Health Navicent will continue its role as a teaching hospital maintaining its partnerships with the Mercer University School of Medicine, Middle Georgia State University, Wesleyan College, Central Georgia Technical College, and Georgia College and State University.