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The origins of the practice can be traced back to 1929, when Newnan native, Dr. Harold Atkinson, arrived in Macon. Dr. Atkinson completed his training at Emory Medical School and Jefferson Medical School in Philadelphia before moving to Macon. He was one of the first doctors to focus on Internal Medicine. In 1939 he became board certified which was the first year the Board of Internal Medicine was organized.
Dr. Beverly Forester joined Dr. Atkinson in 1950. Dr. Forester was a graduate of the Medical College of Georgia and completed his training at Tulane University. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Mercer University School of Medicine. The two shared an office on the ground floor of the Middle Georgia Hospital Doctors’ Building until 1955. They then relocated their office to 724 Hemlock Street in the newly constructed doctors’ offices.
In 1961, Dr. John O’Shaughnessey joined forces with the other doctors. He was a graduate of Tulane Medical School and had completed his training at Philadelphia General Hospital and New Orleans Charity Hospital. After moving to Macon, Dr. O’Shaughnessey became a celebrated figure with the Macon Civic Club Revue as well as a longtime supporter of the Macon Cherry Blossom Festival. He was also a founding member of the Macon Volunteer Clinic.
Dr. Forester met Dr. Joe Shields at a medical society meeting in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. Dr. Shields was an honor graduate of Amherst College. He was an exceptional athlete who had been selected to play catcher for the Milwaukee Braves. However, he opted instead to follow in his father’s footsteps. He graduated from Tulane Medical School and completed his residency at the New York Hospital at Columbia University. Dr. Shields moved to Macon in 1969 and began work with the other doctors. Internal Medicine Associates, P.C., was officially organized as a private corporation on July 29, 1971.
Dr. Loren Stahl joined the practice in 1975. Dr. Stahl graduated from Emory Medical School and completed his residency in Boston with additional training at McGill University in Montreal, Canada.
The newly formed corporation moved into the building at 618 Orange Street in November, 1975. The Internal Medicine Associates doctors and staff would call this location home for the next 31 years. Dr. Atkinson, being near retirement, did not make the move to Orange Street.
Dr. Thomas Lowe joined the practice in 1976. He had completed his training at Emory University and was fresh from two years’ service at the US Capitol as the physician to Congress.
Please see the biographical information on the doctors currently practicing with the group here.
Since 2006, Internal Medicine Associates has been located at its current site on the Piedmont Macon Hospital Campus.
Internal Medicine Associates, P.C., has a tremendous legacy of service to the population of middle Georgia. For more than 85 years, our physicians and staff have provided quality care to the community. We stand ready to deliver the high level of care that our patients have come to expect.