Jennifer Tarbutton, MD | Emory School of Medicine

Personal touch

For pediatrician Jennifer Nunn Tarbutton 97C 04MR, rural Georgia is home

Jennifer Nunn Tarbutton 97C 04MR first considered medicine as a profession in middle school. She grew up in Perry, Ga., and none of her family members were doctors.

Her high school counselor asked her about her career plans, and she remembers the counselor saying, “Have you thought about medical school? You remind me of my daughter who is a physician.”

The counselor encouraged her to volunteer that summer at her local hospital where she received further encouragement from a local obstetrician. After observing the delivery of a baby, her interest in attending medical school peaked.

Today, Dr. Tarbutton is a pediatrician in Sandersville, GA, 130 miles southeast of Emory.

“After being in practice almost 20 years now, I still love what I do and love taking care of children,” she said. “I am so thankful for the advice and encouragement given to me along the way.”

Closer to the patient makes a better doctor

Sandersville, Ga. (pop. 5800) is between Augusta and Macon. It is the hometown of her husband, Benjamin R. (Benjie) Tarbutton.

“When we were talking about getting married and where we would live, Benjie mentioned that he would like to live in Sandersville, and I loved the idea,” she said. Her hometown is only an 80-minute drive away. “Sandersville is my home now, and in many ways, it reminds me of Perry.”

Dr. Tarbutton and Benjie Tarbutton have three children, aged 15, 13 and 10. Her practice is owned by Washington County Regional Medical Center.

“No one is turned away in my practice,” she said. “We see all types of private insurance, Medicaid and self-pay patients.” Her practice cares for a wide diversity of patients.

“I grow close to many of my patients, and often, I learn their family dynamics not just in my office but also at the school, church and the grocery store,” she said. “It is easier to understand the person beyond their medical record, and that helps me to provide better medical advice.”

Strong foundation

By choosing to practice in Sandersville, Tarbutton quickly applied a wide range of skills learned at Emory. She remembers fondly the leadership of Dr. Susie Buchter, director of the pediatric residency program, and many other remarkable teachers of pediatrics at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA).

“Emory’s residency program provided me exposure to a large volume of patients and wide variety of both common and rare illnesses,” Tarbutton said. “This gave me a strong foundation to begin my practice in a rural setting.”

There were adjustments, however.

“After moving to Sandersville, it was challenging to realize that the safety net of having Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta located five minutes from your practice had been removed,” she said. “I had to adjust to that reality. In my first year of practice in Sandersville (2007), we had a labor and delivery unit at Washington County Medical Center. I was one of three pediatricians at the time taking call for difficult or premature deliveries, for pediatric emergency room patients, for pediatric inpatients and also seeing patients in our outpatient clinic. Thankfully, Emory’s pediatric residency program had trained me with all of the skills that I needed to take care of the children of Washington County.”

In February 2023, a major initiative was launched by Mercer University School of Medicine and CHOA to improve pediatric healthcare in rural Georgia. Dr. Tarbutton is one of five pediatricians in Georgia participating in pilot programs through this initiative. She is excited to reconnect professionally to the excellent educational programming and network of quality general pediatricians and sub-specialists where she began her training.

A sense of community

Dr. Tarbutton now primarily provides only outpatient care in Sandersville, but she remains passionate about caring for children. She also serves her community on the board of the Washington County Health Department, on the board of Mercer University School of Medicine, and the board of Mercer University, and she volunteers at her local church and her children’s school.

The professional-personal boundaries for a physician in a smaller community are sometimes difficult to manage, but Dr. Tarbutton does not mind. She fondly remembers checking patient’s ears in a parking lot and examining patients in her living room. She recognizes that her own children are lovingly mentored and supported by others in the same way.

She also acknowledges that living and working in a small town may not be ideal for everyone. For her, it works: “We have a wonderful community where people have the time to develop meaningful relationships, sometimes over several generations. It has been a fulfilling place to live and to practice medicine.”

Story by Michelle Hiskey
Photos courtesy of Dr. Jennifer Tarbutton