The Kids Alliance for Better Care (KidsABC) is a joint initiative between Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (Children’s), Mercer University School of Medicine (MUSM), and the Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center (GRHIC). KidsABC provides avenues of support for Georgia’s rural pediatricians and rural family practitioners to keep care for kids close to home. Practitioners involved in pediatric health care have opportunities to network, learn from their peers, and complete trainings facilitated by subject matter experts.
Free CME Opportunities
The Pediatric Alliance Webinar Series (PAWS) is a free monthly training program offering one-hour virtual sessions led by subject matter experts, allowing providers to earn CME and CNE credits. Topics covered include hypertension, arthritis, epilepsy and more. PAWS complements this with peer-led rural pediatric case studies and in-person continuing education conferences.
Newsletter
Rural Pediatric News is published monthly and highlights training and continuing medical education options, recommended reading, physician spotlights, seasonal health and wellness information to share with patients, and more.
Pediatric Alliance Webinar Series
All sessions are 12:30-1:30 p.m.
Virtual link will be emailed to registrants.
January 14 | Pediatric Stroke | Dr. Sourabh Lahoti
Dr. Lahoti, of the Georgia Neurosurgical Institute, is a board-certified neurointerventional surgeon specializing in minimally invasive, endovascular treatment for stroke, brain aneurysms, carotid artery disease, and related conditions. Dr. Lahoti serves as the medical director of the Neurointerventional Surgery Program at Atrium Health Navicent Medical Center, where he has been entrusted with leading the effort to establish it as a Comprehensive Stroke Center. He is among the few neurologists in the country to hold triple board certification in Neurology, Vascular Neurology, and CNS Endovascular Neurosurgery. He graduated from Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College in India, completed his residency at the University of Kentucky and completed fellowships at Emory University and the University of Iowa.
February 11 | Pediatric Feeding Development and Intervention | Rose Herring, M.Ed., CCC-SLP
Rose Herring, founder of Evolve Therapy Solutions, is a pediatric speech-language pathologist who specializes in feeding therapy. With a strong background in early intervention, medically complex infants, and pediatric feeding disorders, Herring is deeply passionate about improving access to specialized feeding and speech therapy services in rural and underserved communities. Rose earned her master’s in communication sciences and disorders at Valdosta State University and holds her Certificate of Clinical Competence through ASHA. Her clinical approach is evidence-based, family-centered, and rooted in the belief that children thrive when they feel safe, supported, and understood.
March 11 | Anxiety and Depression | Dr. William Powers
Dr. William Powers is an attending child and adolescent psychiatrist at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, where he practices in the outpatient clinic and on the consult‑liaison psychiatry service. He also serves as adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Powers completed his general psychiatry residency and child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at Emory. He directs the Complex Mood Disorders Clinic within the Complex Neuropsychiatry Program at Children’s. He is a member of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and serves as a board member on the Georgia Council of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
May 13 | Asthma and Respiratory Infections | Dr. Jonathan Popler
June 17 | ADHD and Learning Disabilities | Dr. David O’Banion
July 8 | Back to School: Common Diseases and Infections/Immunizations | Dr. Sallie Lin
August 12 | Rural Pediatric Case Study
September 9 | Meningitis | Dr. Collin Dubick
October 14 | SIDS | Dr. Sara Lazarus
November 11 | Diabetes | Dr. Daniel Hsia
Pediatric Alliance Webinar Series (PAWS) 2026
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Rural Pediatric Continuing Education Conference
April 17, 2026 | 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Presidents Dining Room, Mercer University — Macon Campus
Free event. Breakfast and lunch provided.
Conference Topics
- Pediatric Dermatology
Presented by: Joshua E. Lane MD, PhD, MPH, MBA, Director, Lane Dermatology & Dermatologic Surgery
- ADHD Diagnosis and Management
Presented by: Gretchen Weeks, PMHNP, Lead Advanced Practice Provider for Outpatient Behavioral and Mental Health; Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
Presented by: Chathruckan Rajendra, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatric Gastroenterology; Associate Endoscopy Director and Polyposis Director, Emory University School of Medicine | Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
- Vaccines Hesitancy and Safety
Presented by: Satoshi Kamidani MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics; Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Emory University School of Medicine | Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
- Cerebral Palsy
Presented by: Salathiel R. Kendrick-Allwood, MD, FAAP, Associate Professor of Pediatrics; Medical Director, Emory Regional Developmental Progress Clinic, Emory University School of Medicine
Continuing Education Credits
5.5 CME and CNE credits available for in-person attendance.
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of the Medical Educational Council of Pensacola and Mercer University School of Medicine. MECOP is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The Medical Educational Council of Pensacola designates this live activity for a maximum of 5.5 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM.
Registration
**If you do not receive a confirmation email, then you may not be registered. Please contact Amanda Livingston, livingston_aa@mercer.edu.
KidsABC Rural Pediatric Continuing Education Conference 2026
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