More than five West Georgia doctors are taking the stage next week to perform live music and raise money for patients who can't afford care. Rapha Clinic of West Georgia will hold its 12th Annual Sound of Medicine fundraising concert on Thursday, Nov. 5, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at Venue 1625 in Carrollton, bringing together physicians and other community performers for a night of music with a medical mission behind it.
The lineup includes several familiar faces from local exam rooms. According to thecitymenus.com, this year's acts include McPherson Street featuring Dr. Amy Eubanks, Dakota Dodge featuring Dr. Howard Seeman, and Day Jobs featuring Dr. Vince Scoglietti, Dr. Mel Stewart and Dr. Bill Behm. The concert supports Rapha Clinic's mission of providing faith-based primary and dental care to uninsured residents across West Georgia.
Dr. Eubanks, who also serves as the clinic's medical director, said the concert is about more than entertainment. “It's a chance for our community to come together, have fun and support a mission that means so much to all of us,” she said, per the same report. The clinic has served uninsured individuals in the region since 2010, offering charitable medical and dental care to patients who otherwise have nowhere to turn.
A Statewide Gap In Coverage
The Carrollton concert lands amid a much larger problem across Georgia. An estimated 1.2 million Georgians are living without health insurance, according to the Georgia Charitable Care Network, as reported by CBS News. Separately, Census figures cited by GPB show 1.2 million Georgians under age 65 lack health insurance, including roughly 171,000 children.
GPB's report also found that an estimated 963,000 uninsured Georgia adults are eligible for a Marketplace plan, while about 240,000 may qualify for traditional Medicaid or the state's Pathways to Coverage program. The outlet noted that more than 40,000 people lost Medicaid coverage due to procedural errors during the redetermination process, while roughly 30,000 people deemed ineligible were transferred to other programs. Georgia's uninsured rate has declined over the past five years but still sits above the national average, per the same report.
Access problems run especially deep in rural parts of the state. GPB reported that 10 Georgia counties have no physician at all, with several more counties having fewer than five. Nine rural hospitals have closed statewide since 2010, and roughly twice that number are considered at risk of closing, according to the outlet.
Nonprofit Clinics Stepping Into The Gap
Rapha Clinic isn't alone in trying to fill that void. Good Shepherd Clinic in Clayton County also provides free medical services to uninsured patients, offering care that includes medications, lab work, specialty referrals and transportation assistance, CBS News reported. The outlet noted that the two clinics founded by Susan Whatley delivered care last year that would have cost patients about $7 million through traditional health systems, and that the Clayton County clinic recently added dental services and now regularly hosts visiting specialists for patients with complex needs.
The Georgia Charitable Care Network has launched a campaign called “Compassion Heals” to raise funding for services aimed at uninsured Georgians, according to the same CBS News report. The scale of need reflected in that campaign echoes what Rapha Clinic has been doing on a smaller, local level in Carrollton for more than a decade.
A Tradition Of Doctors Making Music
Sound of Medicine has become something of an institution in West Georgia. The concert series was created by Dr. Eubanks in her role as Rapha Clinic's medical director and board chairman, according to raphaclinic.org. The eighth annual concert was scheduled for Sept. 22, 2022, at the Hamilton McPherson Fine Arts Center in Bremen, with sponsorship support to help cover care for uninsured patients.
The ninth annual concert moved to the University of West Georgia in Carrollton in September 2023, featuring physicians and their family members who, as Rapha Clinic put it, “perform quality medicine during the day and perform incredible music after hours.” Other Georgia health nonprofits have picked up on a similar formula: the Family Health Centers of Georgia announced its own Sounds of Good Medicine fundraiser for Sept. 12, 2026, at the Mable House Barnes Amphitheatre in Mableton, featuring jazz artists Damien Escobar, Kirt Whalum and Peter White, according to a release on GlobeNewswire. That organization said it serves more than 20,000 patients annually, including children and seniors managing chronic illness.
For Carrollton, though, the spotlight stays on local doctors stepping away from charts and prescriptions for one night to perform music for their neighbors. The concert supports Rapha Clinic's work providing care for uninsured patients.
