By John Brice
Correspondent
Healthcare services in rural areas of Alabama will receive a significant boost in funding due in large part to the success of the Chambers County Community Health and Wellness Center in LaFayette. Two million dollars in the form of a grant to Auburn University for its Rural Health Initiative has been awarded by the Alabama State Department of Finance in recognition of the outstanding performance of the healthcare venture undertaken there.
According to a recent press release posted on the official AU website, the grant will “fund an ambitious health care access initiative aimed at addressing significant health disparities across rural Alabama. Auburn University Outreach, in collaboration with the colleges of Pharmacy, Nursing, Human Sciences and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, first pioneered this groundbreaking project in Chambers County, Alabama.”
It goes on to continue “Auburn University’s Rural Health Initiative will expand its transformative health care access model to combat health disparities in rural Alabama. This novel approach merges cutting-edge telehealth technology provided by OnMed with hands-on wellness care delivered by Auburn faculty and students specializing in health-related fields. The state-of-the-art OnMed telehealth station offers affordable, private and efficient health care access to patients.”
Special recognition was directed at the LaFayette facility when the release stated “This technology facilitates real-time patient encounters with licensed clinicians, bringing quality health care to individuals in underserved areas. The Chambers County Community Wellness Center, which opened its doors in February 2023, is the project’s inaugural site, providing health care services during times when traditional health facilities are typically closed.”
Assistant Vice President for University Outreach and Public Service and project director for the initiative Dr. Hollie Cost was quoted as saying “Our center in Chambers County has touched so many lives in that community. Our vision was to learn from this experience alongside the community so we could continue expanding the work through our partnership with Alabama Cooperative Extension System, other disciplines across campus and university and community partners across the state”.
Dr. Cost goes on to continue “These funds will enable us to do that with the anticipated outcome of remapping the rural health landscape and improving the quality of life across rural Alabama.”
Vice president for University Outreach and associate provost Royrickers Cook also commented on the news “The funds provided by the Alabama Department of Finance through ARPA will enable us to work toward our goal of equitable health care access across rural Alabama”.
Cook went on to continue “The center we’ve established in Chambers County collaboratively with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, other colleges across campus and Chambers County community members and leaders enabled us to refine a model to replicate in these underserved areas throughout the Black Belt. We are especially enthusiastic about the opportunity to partner with other universities and health care service providers to deliver high-quality health care and health education to our neighbors.”