DOTHAN, Ala. (WDNews) — Millions of dollars in new healthcare funding is headed to the Wiregrass, including more than $700,000 for Flowers Hospital in Dothan.
Gov. Kay Ivey announced Monday that 138 grants totaling more than $144 million have been awarded to healthcare providers and institutions through the Alabama Rural Health Transformation Program.
While projects will reach rural communities across Alabama, several grants directly affect Houston, Coffee, Dale, Henry, Pike, Geneva, Covington and Blount counties.
“Alabama is serious about creating systematic changes through the ARHTP to ensure every citizen has access to quality care. This program is enabling institutions covering every part of the state to improve healthcare for Alabamians through projects that are both innovative and sustainable,” Ivey said. “From the federal policymakers and state administrators to our professional healthcare leaders, I commend all the thoughtful work dedicated to ensuring the success of this program.”
Houston County
Triad of Alabama, doing business as Flowers Hospital, was awarded $727,000 for a project serving Houston County.
The money will be used to expand the hospital’s surgical technology training program. The project is designed to increase workforce training opportunities for people pursuing allied health careers while also supporting recruitment and retention efforts for specialized nurses and allied health professionals.
Coffee, Dale, Geneva and Pike Counties
QHG of Enterprise Inc. was awarded $2.77 million for diagnostic imaging improvements serving Coffee, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale, Geneva and Pike counties.
The funding will be used to upgrade the medical center’s existing MRI unit and replace its only CT scanner.
Professional Medical Associates PC was awarded $800,000 for a project covering Coffee, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale and Geneva counties. Funding will support recruitment and retention incentives for clinicians, onboarding, technology improvements and expanded patient access.
Troy University will receive $118,070 to establish an interprofessional training program bringing nursing and emergency medical services students together through virtual clinical simulations. The program will focus on improving communication and coordination during patient handoffs in Coffee and Pike counties.
Geneva County
Wiregrass Medical Center will receive $391,000 to establish an in-house microbiology laboratory.
The project is expected to provide faster diagnostic testing for patients and healthcare providers in rural southeast Alabama.
Pike and Coffee Counties
The Troy Hospital Health Care Authority was awarded $623,000 to renovate an intensive care unit that is more than 30 years old.
The project serves Barbour, Coffee, Crenshaw, Montgomery and Pike counties and is designed to improve patient safety and support hospital staff.
Dale, Geneva, Henry and Pike Counties
Auburn University received one of the larger awards affecting the Wiregrass — $6.38 million.
The university will establish a shared digital health and cybersecurity network intended to improve access to care, information sharing and technology support for rural healthcare providers.
The project covers 12 counties, including Barbour, Bullock, Chambers, Covington, Dale, Geneva, Henry and Pike, along with Macon, Monroe, Tallapoosa and Washington counties.
The Alabama Primary Health Care Association will also receive $867,102 for a shared rural health technology and care coordination framework covering 43 counties. Wiregrass counties included in that project are Coffee, Dale, Henry and Pike.
Covington County
Andalusia Health received $625,257 to replace an obsolete CT scanner with a modern imaging system.
The new equipment is intended to accommodate a wider range of patients and help emergency teams diagnose heart and stroke conditions more quickly, allowing more patients to receive care closer to home.
Haynes Ambulance of Alabama will receive $283,314 for cybersecurity and information technology improvements across its rural emergency medical service stations. The project includes Covington County along with seven other Alabama counties.
Blount County
UAB St. Vincent’s Blount was awarded $839,753 to modernize information technology, cybersecurity and electronic health record systems. The project is intended to improve patient care, protect health information and strengthen the hospital’s ability to maintain operations.
More Rural Healthcare Funding Coming
The Alabama Rural Health Transformation Program includes 11 initiatives. Five are being funded during this initial round: Rural Health, Rural Workforce, Mental Health, Rural Health Practice and Collaborative Electronic Health Record, IT and Cybersecurity.
Additional grant awards are expected to be announced later.
“To say that there is great interest in improving rural healthcare in Alabama is an understatement. This announcement comes at the end of a process that included six packed-house informational meetings in different locations throughout the state, five grant application workshops and hundreds of grant applications,” Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs Director Kenneth Boswell said. “I appreciate the confidence that Gov. Ivey and the Legislature have in ADECA’s ability to administer this important program, and we are excited to now see so many projects moving forward.”
The projects are supported through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services as part of a federal financial assistance award totaling more than $203.4 million.
“The Trump Administration’s Rural Health Transformation Program is based on one simple idea: your access to quality health care shouldn’t depend on your ZIP code,” Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said. “Funding new approaches to expand access to both primary and specialty care is a critical step toward achieving that vision for Alabamians, and I look forward to seeing RHTP investments drive equally transformative innovations for rural communities nationwide.”