Upcoming Event Rural Health Conference
- April 3rd, 2024
- in Uncategorized
The University of Alabama Student Health Center and Pharmacy, which is operated by UA’s College of Community Health Sciences, was re-accredited by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care through March 31, 2027.
Accreditation is granted upon completion of an on-site survey conducted by AAHC representatives, who visited the SHCP Feb. 12-13, 2024. During their visit, SHCP health policies and procedures were observed and monitored.
“The accreditation reflects a commitment to providing high quality health care and patient safety and how we do business with the community we serve,” said Dr. Amelia de los Reyes, director of Quality Improvement and Clinic Health Informatics for the SHCP. “Accreditation also provides a continuous review and improvement of our services and speaks to the quality of these services. It states that we meet a set of nationally, endorsed standards in the health care profession, and that we hold ourselves accountable for achieving them.”
The SHCP provides medical services for UA students, including primary health care, women’s health care, mental health care, and nutrition, allergy and immunization services.
The SHCP has been accredited since 1995.
Four residents of The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa Family Medicine Residency Program were named chief residents for the 2024-25 academic year. The residency is operated by UA’s College of Community Health Sciences.
The new chief residents and their leadership roles:
“Congratulations to our new chiefs,” said Dr. Tamer Elsayed, residency director. “We are looking forward to working with you as you advance your leadership roles and elevate CCHS and the residency mission of excellent service to patients, and to train residents for a full-spectrum family medicine practice.”
The new chief residents start in these roles July 1. They replace chief residents Drs. Mitch Currie, Nicholas Goodwin, Jillian Kelly, Nicole Lally and Josh Washington.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine students who completed their clinical education at UA’s College of Community Health Sciences were selected for residency programs across the country.
CCHS serves as a regional campus of the UAB Heersink School of Medicine in the education of medical students, and clinical education consists of the third and fourth years of medical school.
The students learned of their residency placements during a commemorative event in March with the release of the National Resident Matching Program results.
Residencies provide in-depth training within a specific discipline of medicine.
The 32 medical students matched into residences in 11 different states.
“I am very proud of this incredible cohort of learners and their success in the NRMP Match,” said Dr. Dale Dickinson, director of Medical Student Affairs at CCHS. “These students began medical school during the initial height of COVID-19 and had to adapt to a new learning method while largely being separated from one another. This resilient group persevered, learned preclinical coursework and mastered clinical skills. These Match results are a testament to their hard work.”
The 32 students and the types of residencies they matched into: five into family medicine, five into obstetrics and gynecology, five into pediatrics, four into surgery, three into internal medicine, two into emergency medicine, two into neurology and two into anesthesiology. In addition, one student each matched into diagnostic radiology, orthopaedic surgery, psychiatry and physical medicine and rehabilitation.
Medical students 2024 match results:
| Last Name | First Name | Specialty | Program |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abshire | Jacob | Neurology | UAB Medical Center in Birmingham, Ala. |
| Bruce | Channing | Obstetrics-Gynecology | Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, N.C. |
| Bryan | Willow | Internal Medicine | University of North Carolina Hospitals in Chapel Hill, N.C. |
| Butler | Thompson | Anesthesiology | University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine in Knoxville, Tenn. |
| Byramji | Cyrus | Phys Medicine & Rehab | UAB Medical Center in Birmingham, Ala. |
| Cao | Emma | Psychiatry/Research | UAB Medical Center in Birmingham, Ala. |
| Darwish | Collin | Internal Medicine | Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C. |
| Davis | William | Surgery | WellStar Health System in Marietta, Ga. |
| Dykes | Elissa | Surgery | University of Louisville School of Medicine in Louisville, Ky. |
| Fagan | William | Family Medicine | University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences in Tuscaloosa, Ala. |
| Ferguson | Sara | Obstetrics-Gynecology | Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn. |
| Girardi | Abdias | Orthopaedic Surgery | Naval Medical Center in San Diego, Calif. |
| Goldman | Camille | Pediatrics | Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn. |
| Gorman | Claire | Pediatrics | Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn. |
| Graham | Joshua | Emergency Medicine | Baylor Scott and White Medical Center in Plano, Texas |
| Hooker | Emily | Pediatrics | UAB Medical Center in Birmingham, Ala. |
| Jones | Anna | Obstetrics-Gynecology | Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Mo. |
| Kidd | Austin | Family Medicine/Urban | Cahaba Medical Care in Woodstock, Ala. |
| Kiszla | Benjamin | Neurology | Mount Sinai Morningside/West in New York, N.Y. |
| Kurtts | Eva | Pediatrics | Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn. |
| Lalor | Fallon | Internal Medicine | UAB Medical Center in Birmingham, Ala. |
| Means | Kalissa | Diagnostic Radiology | Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C. |
| Price | Griffin | Anesthesiology | University of Louisville School of Medicine in Louisville, Ky. |
| Shiver | Rye | Family Medicine | UAB-Huntsville Family Medicine Residency Program in Huntsville, Ala. |
| Simmons | Jernell | Surgery | New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, N.C. |
| Spears | Ashley | Family Medicine | AnMed Health in Anderson, S.C. |
| Stidham | Gregory | Family Medicine | North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo, Miss. |
| Tinglin | Jillian | Obstetrics-Gynecology | New York-Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia University Medical Center in New York, N.Y. |
| Ward | Emily | Emergency Medicine | Prisma Health-Greenville/University of South Carolina School of Medicine in Greenville, S.C. |
| Watt | Mykaela | Surgey | University of Texas Health Sciences Center in Houston, Texas |
| Wolford | June | Pediatrics | University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, Tenn. |
| Wright | Cooper | Obstetrics-Gynecology | UAB Medical Center in Birmingham, Ala. |
Sixteen new medical school graduates begin their graduate education in July 2024 at the College of Community Health Sciences.
They will receive specialty raining in family medicine as part of The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa Family Medicine Residency Program Class of 2027.
The three-year residency was established in 1975 and is one of the oldest and largest family medicine residencies in the United States.
The residency has a long tradition of working to improve the health of individuals and communities in Alabama and the Southeast. In Alabama, one of every seven practicing family medicine physicians is a graduate of the residency, and 90% of graduates practice in the Southeast.
During their time in the program, residents are educated and trained in academic and community environments by physicians in family medicine and other specialties and learn to provide high-quality and patient-centered care. Residents have opportunities to practice in hospitals and continuity and community clinics and connect with patients in the context of their families and communities.
CCHS also offers post-residency fellowships for additional training in behavioral health, emergency medicine, geriatrics, hospital medicine, neurology, obstetrics, pediatrics and sports medicine.
The residency Class of 2027 and where they completed medical school:
Brandon Chiedo, MD: Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, Ga.
Haley Cook, DO: Edward Via University (Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine- Carolinas), Spartanburg, S.C.
Carleson Dozier, MD: the University of Alabama at Birmingham Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine, Birmingham, Ala.
Will Fagan, MD: the University of Alabama at Birmingham Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine, Birmingham, Ala.
Luis Gonzalez Anguiar, MD: University of Miami-Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Fla.
Kevin Harris, DO: Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine at New Mexico State, University Park, N.M.
Noor Khalil, MD: George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington D.C.
Thaksin Kongchum, MD: Louisiana State University School of Medicine, Shreveport, La.
Akanksha Kumar, MD: Saba University School of Medicine, The Bottom, Caribbean Netherlands
Elizabeth Clark Lanier, DO: Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine, Dothan, Ala.
Andrew Longanecker, MD: Louisiana State University School of Medicine, New Orleans, La.
Asha Meilstrup, MD: University of Mississippi School of Medicine, Jackson, Miss.
Kingsley Nwaobasi, MD: American University of Antigua College of Medicine, Osbourn, Antigua and Barbuda
Faith Pittard, DO: Edward Via University (Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine-Carolinas), Spartanburg, S.C.
Japneet Sachdeva, MD: St. George’s University School of Medicine, West Indies, Grenada
Vishal Sharma, MD: Saba University School of Medicine, The Bottom, Caribbean Netherlands
Dr. Lea Yerby, associate professor of community medicine and population health with CCHS, and her University of Alabama research team are working to recruit families to participate in a study about the impact of environment and social conditions on a child’s growth and development.
Information about the study, “The HEALthy Brain and Child Development Study at The University of Alabama: Implementing a Longitudinal Cohort Study with Local Families,” was presented at a CCHS conference March 19.
The study is funded by the National Institutes of Health HEAL Initiative. CCHS is one of 27 research sites across the United States participating in the study, and is a partner site with the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
“We have been involved in this study since September 2021, and our focus is on recruiting pregnant women in their second trimester and their offspring living in rural Alabama communities to study how environmental and social factors influence the brain and development of the children,” Yerby said. “We recruit through our family navigators at University Medical Center in the Pediatrics Clinic, UMC-Carrollton and UMC-Northport.” CCHS operates University Medical Center.
Any pregnant person in their second trimester living in West Alabama is eligible to enroll.
Family navigators assist in the recruitment, screening, consenting and survey portions of the participants’ visits.
“We believe it is best for the navigators to walk them through the process because they have already established a relationship with that person,” Yerby said. “There are eight visits in total, and some of those visits can be done remotely. The first visit is prenatal, before the child is born. The second visit is when the child is between zero and one month of age but can be scheduled up to three months after birth.”
During the visits, surveys are used to collect information about environmental factors, such as food insecurity, work-related stress, financial troubles, violence at home and exposures to second-hand smoke or lead.
Data is also collected on: pregnancy and fetal development; brain imaging (MRI); biosensors and electroencephalogram (EEG) tests; family medical data; and bio specimens of saliva, urine and blood.
“All of our staff are infant and CPR certified,” said Yerby. “We do receive clinical alerts when survey response answers meet a threshold for depression, suicidality and interpersonal violence. If there are alerts related to the MRI scan, we send those to radiologists at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, as a double line of defense.”
So far, Yerby and her team have had 13 participants complete their first visit and one participant complete a second visit.
“This study is measuring everything you could think of and is for our families,” Yerby said. “We are looking at what it is like to live and grow and develop in our environment in West Alabama.”
Yerby said her team can assist with transportation, food, childcare and potential lodging for participants that have challenges making the visits to the research study site. She also said the entire study is conducted in one facility at UA, which also provides a comfortable space for participants to relax during the longer portions of the study.
Pregnant participants have the option of additional support from navigators who are trained and certified as doulas and who can assist them with labor and delivery needs if they opt in. After delivery, a post-partum visit ensures participants have resources available for themselves and their child. Childhood educational classes are also offered to the participants.
“It’s been rewarding that sometimes we are the first call after delivery for our babies and for those moms that have chosen that additional support. In our community, it’s such a critical need to retain and connect with our families,” said Yerby.
Other CCHS faculty involved with the study include Drs. Catherine Lavender, Lilanta Bradley, John McDonald and Brian Gannon.
Dr. Sandral Hullett, a graduate of The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa Family Medicine Residency Program and a distinguished leader in rural health who dedicated her career to delivering health care to the poor and underserved, died March 22, 2024. She was 78 years old.
Described by her peers as a gifted clinician, effective administrator and tireless humanitarian, Hullett developed a preeminent national leadership position during her professional years for her expertise in rural health care.
“Dr. Hullet was and continues to be a role model for professionalism, advocacy and passion for work in rural Alabama,” said Dr. Pamela Payne-Foster, a professor of community medicine and population health with UA’s College of Community Health Sciences and a preventive medicine physician.
After graduating from the Tuscaloosa Family Medicine Residency, Hullett began her career as a family medicine physician at Greene County Hospital/Clinic in rural Eutaw, Ala. For 23 years, Hullett served as both a physician and as medical director for the non-profit West Alabama Health Services in Eutaw, where she supervised the operation of 24 primary health care facilities serving 20 rural Alabama counties. She also served as a preceptor in Eutaw for a large number of medical students, resident physicians and other health-care providers.
She later served as CEO of Cooper Green Mercy Hospital in Birmingham, Ala., becoming the first African American female hospital CEO in the state.
Active in local, state and national organizations, Hullet served on the Alabama Family Practice Rural Health Board, the Practicing Physicians Advisory Council for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Institute of Medicine Committee on Environmental Justice and the Kettering Foundation, among many others. She served as principal investigator for grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Kellogg Foundation, the Ford Foundation and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
Hullett served on the Board of Trustees of the UA System from 1982 to 2001. At the time of her appointment, she was the first medical doctor, first female and second African American appointed to the board. Her contributions to higher education were recognized in 2001 when she received the national Distinguished Service Award in Trusteeship, the nation’s top honor bestowed on a lay board member of a public university.
Dr. John Wheat, professor and founding director of CCHS Rural Programs, said that as a UA trustee, Hullett cleared the way for rural medical education to gain traction in the state.
“Sandral was a pioneer with authentic voice explaining to policy makers near and far the desperate need for effective primary care in the (rural Alabama) Black Belt. She helped demonstrate the value of community health centers, rural practice and local leadership in affecting that care,” Wheat said.
Hullett received numerous other honors during her career, including induction into the Alabama Academy of Honor and the Institute of Medicine, a unit of the National Academy of Sciences. She was named Rural Practitioner of the Year by the National Rural Health Association in 1988, and she received the Clinical Recognition Award for Education and Training from the National Association of Community Health Centers.
A native of Birmingham, Ala., Hullett graduated from George Washington Carver High School, earned her undergraduate degree from Alabama A&M University, her medical degree from the Medical College of Pennsylvania and her master’s degree in public health from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
In 1976, Hullett was accepted into the Tuscaloosa Family Medicine Residency – at the time the first female and only the second African American accepted into the residency.
“It was a challenging time; you have to prove who you are and what you can do,” Hullett said in a 2012 interview with CCHS’s annual magazine, On Rounds. “I was uncertain about everything and wanted to do well. I ended up in the right place.”
Hullett was a pioneer in the College, Payne-Foster said. “She certainly paved the way for so many.”
Payne-Foster said she first got to know Hullett when they both worked on a large grant that focused on health disparities and health inequities in Alabama. “Since that time, I have had the privilege to know her as a mentor for me as an African American woman working in rural and public health. What an inspirational legacy she left behind for us to pick up the mantle and run with.”
Colleagues and friends of Hullet said that in everything she did, she raised awareness about rural health in Alabama and lived by the belief that one person can make a difference in people’s lives.
“A remarkable Alabamian,” Wheat said.