Marcus Garner

Mr. Garner began his professional career 30 years ago, working for the Mississippi Department of Health – Office of Primary Care Liaison as a Health Program Specialist. During this tenure he gained extensive knowledge of and experience in working with Federal Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) where he provided recruiting services through programs, such as the National Health Service Corps and J-1 Visa Programs. He also developed and provided training for FQHCs on various federal policies and programs, medical/dental student enrichment activities, and was also instrumental in determining the Health Professional Shortage Area outcomes.

Later in his career he served eight years as the Special Projects Director for the Mississippi Primary Health Care Association (MPHCA). While at MPHCA, he was the director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Mississippi Access for Rural Care (MARC) program. Through the MARC program, Mr. Garner was responsible for all programmatic deliverables that focused on the Student Medical Enrichment Program, Recruitment and Retention, Revolving Loan Fund, Rural Health Networks, and Practice Management efforts.

From 2007 to 2018, he continued his role as the Special Projects Director for the Georgia Primary Care Association. He managed the State Department of Community Health’s FQHC Expansion and Development Grant Program to establish new medical, dental, and behavioral health services throughout GA. He also provided training and technical assistance for various programs to assist with day-to-day FQHC operations, such as, 340B program, Emergency Preparedness, Oral Health Initiatives, Operational Site Visits (OSV) support, FQHC New Start development and Workforce Development activities.

As of August 2018, Mr. Garner became CEO at Athens Neighborhood Health Center in Athens, GA.