healthcare

Healthcare services in some rural West Alabama Communities are on the decline. A lack of financial support appears to be causing problems for those who have to travel almost an hour to a hospital. Others are worried whether they’ll make it there if they or a family member has a life-threatening emergency. APR student reporter Caleb Aguayo* explains how this situation is impacting rural ambulance services and peoples’ access to care. This feature is made possible by a grant by the Caring Foundation.

The U.S. Supreme Court is ruling to uphold access to one of two pills used in medication abortion. Meantime, the first over the counter birth control pill is still on the shelves in Alabama, but abortion rights supporters caution of a possible federal contraceptive ban.

Senate Republicans in Washington have blocked legislation that would make it a right nationwide for women to access in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments. The action follows February’s ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court that frozen embryos are considered “children.”

Alabama lawmakers gave final approval to legislation creating a new high school focused on preparing students for careers in healthcare, science and technology. The school will be located in Demopolis but would take in students from around the state.

Alabama Arise Action members are urging state lawmakers to close the Medicaid coverage gap in Alabama, which they say can save lives, create jobs and boost workforce participation in the Yellowhammer State. Activists with the nonprofit organization lobbied for the measure last week in Montgomery.

Mobile is celebrating National Community Development Week through April 5, with several events highlighting local resources offered through the city's Neighborhood Development Department. This is being done to recognize and highlight critical programs and services supported with federal funding.

Alabama is one of 10 states that hasn't expanded Medicaid to cover adults with low incomes. Members of the nonprofit organization Alabama Arise Action and advocacy partners will gather Tuesday, April 2, at 12:15 p.m. in Room 200 of the State House in Montgomery for a news conference on the urgency of closing Alabama’s health coverage gap.

The City of Montgomery’s $36.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Neighborhood Access and Equity will expand transportation options and enhance access to essential services like jobs, education, healthcare, food, and recreation. Funding for the program was allocated in President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

An Alabama hospital is offering a new treatment for chronic low back pain. The therapy is done by physicians at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Pain Treatment Clinic.

At least one clinic in Alabama has resumed in vitro fertilization treatments after the governor signed a bill into law shielding providers from potential legal liability raised by a court ruling that equated frozen embryos to children.