Rural Health

Voters in one Alabama Congressional district will make history in November. They’ll cast their first ever votes for a newly redrawn seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. The U.S. Supreme Court ordered deep red Alabama to redraw its political map to better represent African Americans. The APR news team spent the better part of the year investigating issues impacting voters in the new District 2. One hits many close to home.

Close to two hundred thousand people in Alabama, and two other States could see over $300 million dollars in medical debt disappear. A New Orleans-based system of hospitals and clinics is working with a New York nonprofit to wipe out their doctor bills.

Public health experts from some of the nation's leading research universities have deployed a massive medical trailer to rural parts of the South as part of an ambitious and unusual new health study. The researchers aim to test the heart and lung function of rural residents of Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana and Mississippi.

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.

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.

A new initiative by The University of Alabama aims to alleviate the shortage of health services for youth in rural Alabama counties. The H.O.P.E project stands for health, opportunity, passion and equity. The program received more than $3.7 million in federal funding.

Princeton Baptist Medical Center in Birmingham and Shelby Baptist Medical Center in Alabaster will eliminate prenatal and maternal care service on October 25. Monroe County Hospital will follow suit and close its obstetrics department in November. OB care focuses on labor and delivery and pregnant patients.

A different type of healthcare could soon be catching on in Alabama. “Osteopathic Medicine” seeks to improve a person’s entire wellbeing. Practitioners in the field say patients develop attitudes and lifestyles that fight illnesses and prevent them.

Black women in the U.S. are nearly three times more likely to die during pregnancy or delivery than any other race. Some doctors don't take their concerns seriously. Black babies are more likely to die, and also far more likely to be born prematurely.

The Alabama Hospital Association says more than a dozen Alabama hospitals are at an immediate risk of closing. These facilities reportedly lost more than $700 million dollars in 2022. The Association said even with federal relief money, Alabama hospitals have lost $1.5 billion dollars since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.