Nearly $55 million awarded for statewide rural health initiatives

Nearly $55 million in grant funding has been awarded to multiple healthcare providers and institutions statewide as part of the Alabama Rural Health Transformation Program (ARHTP).

An announcement was made by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA). 

“The goal of improving rural healthcare in Alabama is of utmost importance, and we are grateful to Governor Ivey and the Legislature for their confidence in ADECA to administer this program,” said ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell.

“The projects announced today as well as those announced earlier hold great potential for improving healthcare in a wide range of areas, and we look forward to seeing the progress as these projects move forward.”

See below for those in the Black Belt that were provided funding: 

Maternal and Fetal Health Initiative

The University of Alabama at Birmingham – $1 million to improve the ability of rural hospitals, emergency departments and emergency medical service providers to recognize, stabilize and manage obstetric and neonatal emergencies. This project will equip at least 20 rural hospitals with emergency readiness labor and delivery carts and simulation resources while providing training (Statewide).

Triad of Alabama LLC DBA Flowers Hospital – $1.45 million to establish a regional maternal-fetal medicine telehealth hub and connect Medical Center Enterprise to specialty services through telerobotic ultrasound serving eight counties (Barbour, Coffee, Covington, Dale, Geneva, Henry, Houston, Pike).

The East Alabama Health Care Authority – $1.23 million to establish three community-based maternal health access points and connect them to East Alabama Health specialty and referral services in three counties (Barbour, Bullock, Chambers).

University of South Alabama – $1.63 million to establish a connected maternity care network linking its obstetric and maternal-fetal medicine hub in Mobile with rural access locations in southwest Alabama (Baldwin, Butler, Clarke, Conecuh, Covington, Escambia, Marengo, Mobile, Monroe, Washington).

Infirmary Health System Inc. – $1.79 million to establish a regional maternal-fetal-medicine referral hub connected with Jackson Medical Center and Washington County Hospital allowing high-risk pregnant patients to receive specialist-supported care closer to home in five counties (Choctaw, Clarke, Mobile, Monroe, Washington).

EMS Trauma and Stroke Initiative

The University of Alabama at Birmingham – $3.44 million to strengthen and expand Alabama’s statewide emergency care coordination system for trauma, stroke, cardiac and other time-sensitive conditions in partnership with Birmingham Regional Emergency Medical Services System and its Alabama Trauma Communications Center (Statewide).

Greene County Health System – $308,694 to establish a rural emergency care coordination network to strengthen how patients with suspected stroke, major trauma and other time-sensitive emergencies in 14 counties are identified, stabilized, referred and transferred to the appropriate level of care (Bibb, Choctaw, Dallas, Fayette, Greene, Hale, Lamar, Marengo, Marion, Perry, Pickens, Sumter, Tuscaloosa, Wilcox).

EMS Treat-in-Place Initiative

The University of Alabama – $1.76 million to establish rural Emergency Medical Services Treat-in-Place infrastructure across Alabama by providing participating agencies with portable telemedicine equipment, connectivity, training, clinical protocols, documentation tools, referral workflows and quality monitoring to support safe care without unnecessary transport to emergency departments in 13 counties (Bibb, Choctaw, Dallas, Fayette, Greene, Hale, Lamar, Marengo, Marion, Perry, Pickens, Sumter, Wilcox).

The project will also establish a physician-consultation demonstration in Lamar, Perry and Pickens counties, connecting emergency medical services personnel with physicians during eligible field encounters to guide treatment, referrals, follow-up care and transport decisions.

Greene County Health System – $750,000 to establish an Emergency Medical Services Treat-in-Place program that allows trained emergency medical personnel to assess and treat eligible patients under approved protocols and medical oversight (Greene County).

Haynes Ambulance of Alabama Inc. – $1.4 million to establish a physician-directed regional Emergency Medical Services Treat-in-Place program that allows specially trained paramedics to assess and treat qualifying patients at their location when transport is not necessary in seven counties (Bullock, Covington, Crenshaw, Elmore, Lowndes, Macon, Pike).

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Simulation Training Initiative

Cahaba Medical Care Foundation – $125,055 to expand mobile, hands-on training programs for rural healthcare workers and emergency medical personnel in three counties. The training will cover childbirth emergencies, newborn resuscitation, advanced Cesarean delivery skills, bone and joint emergencies, airway management, access to blood vessels for emergency treatment and coordinated response (Bibb, Perry, Wilcox).

QHG of Enterprise Inc. – $70,000 to upgrade clinical training equipment to provide hospital employees with hands-on instruction for practicing heart and lung assessments, premature newborn resuscitation, childbirth emergencies, facility-wide emergency response and infant lifesaving resuscitation in six counties (Coffee, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale, Geneva, Pike).

Greene County Health System – $575,000 to establish a permanent regional training center for healthcare workers serving west Alabama and the Black Belt by purchasing realistic adult, maternal, newborn and pediatric patient simulators, procedure-training equipment, portable resources and technology for recording and reviewing training exercises (Greene County).

The Children’s Hospital of Alabama – $288,542 to expand its pediatric emergency training program for rural hospitals, emergency medical services, outpatient clinics and school health personnel (Statewide).

Cancer Digital Regionalization Initiative

St. Vincent’s Chilton LLC DBA UAB St. Vincent’s Chilton – $618,000 to implement the Rural Prostate Cancer Digital Regionalization Project by deploying a mobile prostate cancer screening program in eight counties (Bibb, Chilton, Dallas, Hale, Lowndes, Marengo, Perry, Wilcox).

Cahaba Medical Care Foundation – $266,486 to implement Project LOOP to expand cervical cancer detection, diagnostic follow-up and treatment capacity for women in four counties (Bibb, Chilton, Perry, Wilcox).

Greene County Health System – $2.28 million to establish the Black Warrior Rural Cancer Detection, Navigation and Early Diagnosis Network to improve access to cancer screening, early diagnosis, navigation and timely follow-up in five counties (Greene, Hale, Marengo, Pickens, Sumter).

Franklin Primary Health Center Inc. – $534,937 to expand the deployment and clinical use of its existing mobile cancer screening unit to improve access to early-detection services in five counties (Baldwin, Choctaw, Conecuh, Escambia, Monroe).

Infirmary Health System Inc. – $1.37 million to establish the Southwest Alabama Breast Cancer Detection Network to expand access to breast cancer screening, early detection, diagnostic follow-up and coordinated specialty care in seven counties (Baldwin, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Escambia, Monroe, Washington).

University of South Alabama – $164,450 to expand cervical cancer prevention and screening by deploying mobile teams in seven counties (Baldwin, Clarke, Conecuh, Escambia, Mobile, Monroe, Washington).

Rural Health Initiative

Cahaba Medical Care Foundation – $161,580 to implement a unified digital patient intake and engagement platform to allow patients to electronically complete intake forms, screenings, scheduling, appointment reminders and payments in four counties (Bibb, Chilton, Perry, Wilcox).

Andalusia Health – $305,428 to replace two outdated portable X-ray machines with modern units that produce high-resolution bedside imaging to serve four counties (Butler, Conecuh, Covington, Crenshaw).

South Central Alabama Mental Health Board Inc. – $840,000 to establish a coordinated rural healthcare network connecting primary care, behavioral health, hospitals, emergency medical systems, schools, public agencies and community organizations in four counties (Butler, Coffee, Covington, Crenshaw).

Rural Workforce Initiative

The Alabama School of Healthcare Sciences – $7.27 million to support the statewide residential high school in Demopolis that will prepare students from rural communities for healthcare careers. Funding will also support transportation to clinical placements and partnerships with healthcare providers and educational institutions (Statewide).

Alabama Community College System – $20.6 million to establish an integrated, statewide rural healthcare workforce pipeline through Alabama’s community colleges. The system will expand rural healthcare training capacity at Alabama’s community college, enabling students to earn healthcare job credentials without relocating. The project will establish remote emergency medical technician (EMT) and advanced EMT tracks. It also will expand allied health training through a centralized pipeline using shared curriculum, procurement and support across rural community colleges in respiratory therapy, surgical technology, radiologic technology, medical lab technology and medication technician program. It will increase nursing capacity through additional faculty, simulation resources, instructional sites and new paths to nursing education. The program also will establish a structured rural pipeline to advanced nursing careers, including nurse practitioner, physician assistant and certified nurse midwife (Statewide).