Infirmary Health Receives More Than $5.3 Million For Rural Expansion

Infirmary Health has received more than $5.3 million through the Alabama Rural Health Transformation Program to expand women’s health services, improve coordination between rural and regional healthcare providers and train physicians in rural communities across Southwest Alabama. The grants are among 138 awards totaling more than $144 million announced in August by Gov. Kay Ivey. For the regional referral and technology network, the $3.5-million project will connect Infirmary Health with rural hospitals and clinics in Clarke, Mobile and Washington counties. For women’s health projects, more than $1.5 million combined will establish the Rural Women’s Health Hub of Southwest Alabama in Clarke and Washington counties and launch the Women’s Access to Care Close to Home Initiative in Baldwin, Clarke, Conecuh and Escambia counties. Planned services include a weekly women’s health clinic in Millry; expanded prenatal services in Jackson; and a mobile, telehealth-enabled program through North Baldwin Infirmary. The Infirmary Rural Physician Workforce Pipeline will provide $342,147 to establish structured rural clinical rotations for internal medicine residents in Baldwin, Clarke, Escambia, Mobile and Washington counties. The program is designed to strengthen the physician pipeline and expand supervised clinical capacity. The Alabama Rural Health Transformation Program is administered by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs and supported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.