The University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences is dedicated to improving and promoting the health of individuals and communities. The College accomplishes its mission through leadership in medical and health-related education, the provision of direct patient care and research.
Education
- The College is home to one of the nation’s oldest and largest family medicine residencies, the UA Tuscaloosa Family Medicine Residency program, and offers post-residency fellowships as well as graduate degree programs in population health and community and rural health.
- In its role as a regional campus of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine, the College provides the third and fourth years of clinical education and training to a portion of medical students.
- Through a series of nationally recognized pipeline programs, the College recruits and mentors students from rural Alabama who want to return to their hometowns or similar areas to practice.
Health Care
- The College operates University Medical Center, with six locations that together comprise the largest multi-specialty community medical practice in West Alabama.
- The College also operates the UA Student Health Center and Pharmacy and Capstone Hospitalist Group.
Research
- The College houses the Institute for Rural Health Research, the UA Center for Convergent Bioscience & Medicine and the UA Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society and engages in research to support its mission.
Departments
Sports Medicine
The Department of Sports Medicine is committed to impacting the field of sports medicine through innovative and practical clinical teaching and training.
Surgery
The Department of Surgery provides comprehensive education and training for future generations of physicians and delivers the most advanced care to patients from across the region.
Translational Science and Medicine
Coming Soon!
In the News
Connect health care and research with a CCHS online master’s degree in population health sciences.
One of seven family medicine physicians practicing in Alabama graduated from our residency – one of the oldest and largest family medicine residencies in the United States.
Congratulations
CCHS educators receive Heersink School of Medicine awards
Several medical educators at the College of Community Health Sciences are recipients of the UAB Heersink School of Medicine 2024 Argus Awards. Nominated and voted on by medical students, the Argus Awards recognize outstanding faculty, residents, community preceptors and departments in various categories.
In its role as a regional campus of the Heersink School of Medicine, CCHS provides the third and fourth years of clinical education and training to a portion of medical students.
CCHS Argus Award recipients for this year are:
· Best Clinical Educator – Dr. Catherine Ikard, assistant professor and neurology clerkship director
· Best Resident Educator – Dr. Austin Brooks, third-year family medicine resident
· Best Community-Based Educator – Dr. Quinton Matthews, surgery
· Best Clinical Department – Family Medicine
The Argus Awards give medical students the chance to honor their mentors, courses and course directors for outstanding service to medical education and training.
In addition to educating medical students, CCHS operates The University of Alabama Family Medicine Residency Program, University Medical Center, the UA Student Health Center and Pharmacy and Capstone Hospitalist Group.
Rural Medical Scholars
Eleven students were welcomed this fall to the 29th Class of the CCHS Rural Medical Scholars Program, a five-year medical education program exclusively for rural Alabama students who want to become physicians and practice in the state’s rural communities. Educating and training the next generation of rural health care physicians is one way CCHS is meeting its mission of improving health in communities.
Rural Dental Scholars
Five students were welcomed this fall to the 2nd Class of the CCHS Rural Dental Scholars Program, which is exclusively for rural Alabama students who want to become dentists and practice in the rural communities. The program was created to address the shortage of dentists in the state’s rural communities.
Our Mission
We are dedicated to improving and promoting the health of individuals and communities in rural Alabama and the Southeast region through leadership in medical and health-related education, primary care and population health; the provision of high quality, accessible health care services; and research and scholarship.
Core Values
- Integrity
- Learning
- Innovation
- Transparency
- Social Accountability
- Patient-Centeredness
- Interprofessional Collaboration