Social workers are frequently called upon to be patient, resourceful, positive and generous. Laura Beth Brown exemplifies these qualities. She furthers them by inspiring others to be tireless and devoted to helping improve the lives of those around her. Though she has only been working in social services for three years she has made a…

Ten students who want to become physicians and practice in rural Alabama communities were recognized April 27 at a convocation for the Rural Medical Scholars program, which is operated by the College of Community Health Sciences and the University of Alabama School of Medicine. The program is exclusively for rural Alabama students and includes a…

Partnerships with communities to improve health was the focus of the 20th annual Rural Health Conference hosted by The University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences and its Institute for Rural Health Research. The conference, “Partnering with Resilient Communities,” was held April 10-11 and included presentations about creating community networks and health care coalitions,…

Many areas in rural Alabama are prenatal deserts and that impacts how Dr. Connie Leeper cares for some of her pregnant patients. Leeper, a family medicine obstetrician, might ask rural patients about their plans for getting to the hospital when they go into labor. Some of her patients live an hour or more from the…

Four participants of the Rural Medical Scholars Program have graduated from the University of Alabama School of Medicine and will proceed to enter The University of Alabama Family Medicine Residency this summer. Jacob Guin, Josh Price, Crystal Skinner and Hannah Zahedi will be the largest group of Rural Medical Scholars to complete the program in…

Dr. Jane Weida, interim chair of the College’s Department of Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine, authored the chapter “Measles (Rubeola),” published in the 2019 edition of Conn’s Current Therapy, a family medicine textbook. Weida, a family medicine physician, also cares for patients at University Medical Center, which the College operates. The College’s sports medicine fellows,…

Your co-worker can’t breathe. What do you do? You come across a person injured and bleeding. How do you respond? In both scenarios, time is critical, and you may be the only one who can help. While most people instinctively want to assist, not knowing what to do can prevent a bystander from acting, said…

The College of Community Health Sciences in March filled its 2022 class of residents and celebrated medical students who completed their clinical education at the College and were selected for residencies across the US. Sixteen residents will begin the three-year University of Alabama Family Medicine Residency July 1. Four members of the incoming class will…

Dr. Bob McKinney, assistant professor of social work for the College of Community Health Sciences, warned residents, faculty and staff attending the College’s March Grand Rounds lecture that suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the US with an average of 105 suicides happening daily in America. There is no patient that is…

Up to 3.8 million concussions occur each year in the US, many of them sustained by athletes during practice or play, said Dr. Catherine Ikard, an assistant professor of neurology for the College of Community Health Sciences and a neurologist at University Medical Center, which the College operates. Concussions are caused by acceleration and deceleration…