FA L L 2 0 1 9

UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

KNOWLEDGE TO
S AV E A L I F E

HELPING WITH
HYPERTENSION

DIABETES PREVENTION
AND MANAGEMENT

BRIDGING
TH E DIV IDE
connecting people to social services to improve health
 WE ARE DEDICATED TO IMPROVING
AND PROMOTING THE HEALTH OF
INDIVIDUALS AND COMMUNITIES IN
ALABAMA AND THE REGION THROUGH
LEADERSHIP IN MEDICAL EDUCATION
AND PRIMARY CARE; THE PROVISION
OF HIGH QUALITY, ACCESSIBLE HEALTH
CARE SERVICES; AND SCHOLARSHIP.

2
 A MESSAGE
FROM THE DEAN
excellence
A
t about this time last year, I stepped into the role of
interim dean of the College of Community Health
Sciences at The University of Alabama. I previously
served, since 2013, as director of the UA Family Medicine
Residency, and as chair of the CCHS Department of Family,
Internal, and Rural Medicine.
I am honored and quite humbled to have been chosen in
July as the permanent dean of CCHS. I am excited to begin
this permanent role, and I am particularly excited about
continuing the work that we began in the interim period.
I look forward to building upon the successes of our
College’s education, patient care, research and outreach
programs. I hope you will join me in our commitment to
further elevate the distinction of our medical student
education and residency, the care of our patients at
University Medical Center, and the translation of our
research and discovery into improving the health of
Alabama. In fact, we are about to embark upon a new
strategic planning process for the College.
The previous dean and his team developed our last
strategic plan in 2014. The College did a fine job of keeping
up with the vision and goals established over the last five
years, but it is time to take a careful look at where we are
now and where we want to go during the next decade. We
hope to have a finalized and College-wide approved new
strategic plan in early spring of 2020.
This planning will certainly be an opportunity to align
the College more closely with The University of Alabama
F A LFLA L2L0 1290 1 9
A journey to
strategic plan, finalized earlier this year, and begin to prepare
for the next decade, which will be full of challenges, including
an ever-changing health care regulatory environment, new
quality reporting requirements, an evolving landscape in
academic medicine and higher education, new degree
offering opportunities, creating a culture of philanthropy within
the College, continuing to foster a positive and impactful
relationship with our community partners, particularly those
in rural and underserved areas, creating a culture of diversity
and inclusion within CCHS and, finally, creating a culture of
excellence and accountability in all that we do.
Now, as we move to close out one fiscal year and begin
a new one, I want to provide you with some updates about
our recent efforts.
We had one of our strongest years ever in faculty and
clinician recruitment. We added numerous faculty in nearly
all of our academic and clinical departments, including
physicians specializing in family medicine, pediatrics,
endocrinology and obstetrics and gynecology, as well as
seasoned doctoral-level researchers in our Institute for Rural
Health Research. We significantly expanded the size and
scope of our University Hospitalist and Neuro Hospitalist
Group, 23 physicians and four nurse practitioners who care
for our patients when they are hospitalized, and we have
seen, through the high-quality care delivered, those patients
spend less time in the hospital and have fewer readmissions
once discharged.
Our University Medical Center location in Demopolis,
C O L L E G E O F C O MMU N I T Y H E ALT H SC IEN C ES 1

DEAN’S MESSAGE
Alabama, continues to experience significant growth
and that success means we have a practice model that
can be replicated in similar Black Belt and medically
underserved Alabama communities. We are currently
working with several rural communities that understand
not every rural community will have a hospital in the future.
The regulatory environment and escalating costs will just
not support existing hospital models without significant
changes to the current reimbursement model. Many
of our resident physicians have gone on to practice in
these rural areas with passion and enthusiasm to provide
excellent care. Unfortunately, the same challenges that
we are seeing across the country in regard to rural health
– declining populations, older and sicker patients and
lower reimbursement for providers - have impacted our
graduates’ decisions to leave rural Alabama communities.
Many of our graduates and family medicine physicians
from across the state have come to us looking for solutions.
Our growing and successful medical practice in Demopolis
gives us a sustainable model that can be replicated across
the state. We are working hard to continue to refine and
study this model for the future.
Our College’s focus on external research funding
continues to drive change throughout CCHS. Both number
of grants and monetary awards are up substantially as
compared to the same time last year. This growth has
created additional and important opportunities for our
learners at all levels. Additional resources have been given
to the Institute for Rural Health Research and that team
has responded in tremendous fashion. We are working on
other initiatives across campus that will naturally create
2 DEAN, COLLEGE OF COMMUNITY HEALTH SCIENCES
“
we ARE READY TO
BUILD oN OUR
SUCCESSES
more opportunities for our MD and PhD faculty. I look for this
endeavor to continue to drive growth in this important area
of the College’s mission.
We have added emerging and important areas to our
degree programs and curricula offerings, including master’s
degrees in population health and rural community health,
and certification in global health. Our initial institutional
effectiveness review placed these programs in the top 10%
of all degree programs at The University of Alabama. What
an awesome accomplishment! This speaks to the high-
quality work we do on a regular basis.
We also continue to bring health care resources directly to
people in communities, including through “social work hubs”
in Tuscaloosa and health-related projects in Pickens County.
The College of Community Health Science has
accomplished much during the past fiscal year and we are
ready to build on our successes as we move into the next
decade. We are presented with a tremendous opportunity
for ongoing and continual growth within the College. We will
create a culture of excellence throughout all of our programs
as we approach future challenges in health care, higher
education and research. Hold on, buckle up and join us on
our journey to excellence.
-DR. RICHARD FRIEND
 WINTER 2018

FA L L 2 0 1 9 | V O L U M E 2 6 | N U M B E R 2 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS DEAN

Dr. Richard Friend
1 Dean's Message
EDITOR
4 News Leslie Zganjar, MPA

10 Q&A with Dean Friend ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Kaylin Bowen

12 Save a Life Training Erin Tech

14 BRIDGING THE DIVIDE CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Erin Tech
16 Comcare Program
18 A Bridge to Mental Health Care WRITERS
Leslie Zganjar, MPA
Kaylin Bowen
19 Transitioning the ACTION Program Kathryn Fish

22 Caring for Foster Children DESIGNERS
Kaylin Bowen
24 Social Work Student Field Education Nicholas Jones
Erin Tech
27 Laura Beth Brown Persistent About Solutions
COVER PHOTOGRAPHER
31 Christmas in July Greg Randall

32 Reaching Out to Educate the Community PHOTOGRAPHERS

Kaylin Bowen
33 Building the Bridge Greg Randall
UA Photography

34 Diabetes Education from an Expert

37 The Rising Burden of Insulin
ON THE COVER

39 Helping with Hypertension The University Medical
Center Office of Case
43 Snapshots Management and Social
Services is working to
47 New Faculty reduce the impact of social
determinants of health in
Alabama (page 14).
53 New Faculty Roles
56 Accolades

On Rounds is a semiannual publication of The University of Alabama

College of Community Health Sciences.
Please send address changes and correspondence to Erin Tech,
College of Community Health Sciences, The University of Alabama,
Box 870326, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487 or erin.tech@ua.edu.

C O L L E G E O F C O MMU N I T Y H E ALT H SC IEN C ES 3


Dr. Robert Sheppard and Dr. Charles Lehman
U N I V ER SITY
HOSPITALIST GROUP
CARING FOR HOSPITALIZED PATIENTS
Doctors who practice hospital medicine work
within hospitals, caring for patients from the time
they are admitted to the time they are discharged
and providing much of the hospital care once
handled by patients’ primary care physicians.
The College of Community Health Sciences
in recent years has significantly expanded the
size of its hospitalist group. Starting in 2003 with
two hospitalists, today 23 physicians comprise
University Hospitalist Group and work primarily at
DCH Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa. DCH
is a tertiary-care facility with more than 580 beds,
an advanced trauma unit and advanced services
in cancer, cardiology, robotic and minimally
invasive surgery, critical care pulmonology,
gastroenterology and nephrology.
University Hospitalist Group physicians
provided more than 52,320 patient care visits
for University Medical Center and other patients
hospitalized at DCH in 2018. The College
operates UMC, which has locations in Tuscaloosa,
Northport and Demopolis.
Hospital medicine has quickly become one
of the largest medical specialties in the US. The
4
N EWS
number of practicing hospitalists is currently
estimated at 30,000 and demand for hospitalists
remains high.
The growth of the specialty has been fueled
by several trends, the main one being that the
demands on office-based physicians’ time have
significantly increased and many have less time
to travel to facilities where their patients are
hospitalized. Research also suggests greater
satisfaction among hospitalized patients who are
cared for by hospitalists.
“Hospitalists are there all day” said Dr. Robert
Sheppard, associate professor of family, internal,
and rural medicine at the College and a hospitalist
with University Hospitalist Group. Sheppard also
founded in 2006 and currently directs the College’s
University Hospitalist Fellowship, the first in the
nation for family medicine physicians seeking
additional experience practicing medicine within
hospitals. There are currently four physicians in
the fellowship program.
Sheppard said hospitalists can immediately
answer questions of hospitalized patients, meet
with the family and follow up on tests. Traditional

office-based physicians often find it difficult to split their
time throughout the day with the office and hospitalized
patients, so hospitalists help them do a better job in the
office because their focus can remain there, he said.
“But hospitalists are more than fill-ins for physicians
who no longer round in hospitals,” said Dr. Richard Friend,
dean of CCHS. “Today, hospitalists are the key drivers
of many of the metrics hospitals need to be financially
successful – length-of-stay indexes, readmission rates and
patient satisfaction – since many hospital reimbursement
incentives and penalties are directly tied to their daily work.”
In fall 2018, the College realigned its contract with
University Hospitalist Group to shift the focus to quality
goals rather than visits per provider and, as a result, has
seen hospital readmission rates and length-of-stay indexes
fall for UMC patients hospitalized at DCH. While the 30-day
readmission rates continue to rival those of any hospital
system in the country, the length-of-stay index continues to
be a challenge, Friend said.
“Hospital readmission rates are trending down nicely,”
Friend said. “This has been strong work, helping both DCH,
patients and the community. I think this demonstrates the
commitment of DCH and UMC to quality patient care.
Hospital readmissions and length-of-stay are very complex
problems that do not have easy solutions. We study the
literature constantly to see what others are doing to try to
help us make decisions that will yield better, quality care.”
C O L L E G E O F C O MMU N I T Y H E ALT H SC IEN C ES
H OS P I TAL I ST
FE LLOW S H I P
The College of Community Health Sciences
offers a hospitalist fellowship for family medicine
physicians seeking experience practicing
medicine within hospitals and caring for patients
from admission to discharge.
There are currently four fellows participating
in the University Hospitalist Fellowship, founded
in 2006 and the first hospitalist fellowship in the
nation for family medicine physicians. To date,
20 family medicine physicians have received
training through the fellowship.
The yearlong fellowship is housed and offers
training at Tuscaloosa’s DCH Regional Medical
Center, a tertiary-care facility with more than
580 beds and an advanced trauma center. DCH
offers a variety of specialty units and advanced
services that include cancer, cardiology, robotic
and minimally invasive surgery, critical care
pulmonology, gastroenterology and nephrology.
The fellowship offers one-on-one supervision
from a hospitalist attending physician for the
College, with backup from a large academic
hospitalist service of board-certified physicians.
It was founded and is directed by Dr. Robert
Sheppard, associate professor of family,
internal, and rural medicine for the College and
a practicing hospitalist.
Once fellows complete the program, they
are prepared to take the necessary exams to
become board certified in hospital medicine.
5
 NEWS
FAST GROWING
UMC-DEMOPOLIS
BRINGING MUCH NEEDED PRIMARY CARE TO THE COMMUNITY
In August 2017, University Medical Center added a
permanent location in Demopolis, Alabama, and in the
two years since, the practice there has experienced
significant growth.
In the beginning, UMC-Demopolis was comprised
of six exam rooms in the outpatient facility adjacent
to the now Whitfield Regional Hospital and physicians
from UMC’s main location in Tuscaloosa traveled
to Demopolis several days a week to provide family
medicine and prenatal care. The practice saw four
patients during that first month.
Today, UMC-Demopolis is still in the same location,
but the number of exam rooms has increased to nine,
pediatric and obstetrical services have been added, and
patients are seen by the same three UMC physicians
who are there five days a week. UMC-Demopolis
now averages 575 patient visits and approximately 10
newborn deliveries each month.
“We’re getting very busy down there really fast,” said
Dr. Richard Friend, dean of the College of Community
Health Sciences, which operates University Medical
Center and its three locations, including Demopolis.
“We have invested heavily in establishing a presence in
Demopolis. We will continue to provide the Demopolis
practice what it needs to provide excellent patient care
and to fill a community need. The community needs us,
and we feel we are doing good work there. The initial
feedback we have received from the community is very
positive and encouraging.”
6
The move to a permanent location in Demopolis,
situated in Alabama’s rural Black Belt region, began as
a temporary response to an immediate need to help the
only local physician still providing prenatal care cover his
practice in his absence, and following the closure of the
hospital’s obstetrical unit in 2015. When the physician
retired shortly thereafter, it became apparent to the
College that there was a significant and growing need for
family medicine and prenatal care in Demopolis and the
surrounding communities.
Currently, CCHS is “working with the hospital
administration to establish obstetrical services for that
community,” Friend said. “Besides providing a much-
needed clinical service to the community and the hospital,
we also hope to establish that practice as a teaching site
in the future.”
Today, the temporary coverage has transitioned into
UMC-Demopolis, the third location for UMC along with
a main location in Tuscaloosa and a second location in
Northport. UMC is the largest multi-specialty community
medical practice in West Alabama.
Meanwhile, administrators from the UAB Health System
are working with leaders of Whitfield Regional Hospital
(member of the UAB Health System) to continue to develop
strategies to improve the hospital’s financial operations
and viability, and CCHS is assisting in those efforts.
“We’ve partnered with the hospital and UAB to continue
to bring primary care to Demopolis,” Friend said.
3FULL-TIME
PHYSICIANS
575 AVERAGE NUMBER OF PATIENTS
SEEN PER MONTH

9
EXAM
ROOMS
10 NUMBER OF NEWBORN
DELIVERIES PER MONTH

+ OBSTETRICAL AND PEDIATRIC SERVICES ADDED

DR. BRITTNEY ANDERSON has a special interest in rural medicine.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Duke University in Durham,
North Carolina, and completed a master’s degree in rural and community health as
a Rural Medical Scholar at The University of Alabama. She received her medical
degree from the UA School of Medicine and completed her residency training at the
UA Family Medicine Residency, which is operated by UA’s College of Community
Health Sciences. Anderson is also an assistant professor of family, internal, and
rural medicine for the College, which operates UMC-Demopolis, and spends time
teaching the College’s family medicine residents and medical students.

DR. CONNIE LEEPER provides both family medicine and obstetrics care
for patients at UMC-Demopolis. She graduated cum laude from Duke University in
Durham, North Carolina, with a bachelor’s degree in biology. She earned her medical
degree and a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Alabama School
of Medicine. Leeper completed a family medicine residency at the Ventura Family
Medicine Residency in Ventura, California, where she served as chief resident. She
also completed an obstetrics fellowship at Natividad Medical Center in Salinas,
California. In addition, Leeper is an assistant professor of family, internal, and rural
medicine for the UA College of Community Health Sciences, which operates UMC-
Demopolis, and assists in teaching the College’s family medicine residents and
medical students.

DR. ASHLEY WAMBOLT STEINER is a graduate of Cape Breton

University in Nova Scotia, where she was an Academic All-Canadian volleyball
player. Prior to graduation, she spent seven years in the Canadian Armed Forces,
reaching the rank of Lieutenant Navy. Steiner earned her medical degree from Saba
University School of Medicine in the Caribbean Netherlands and completed her
residency training at The University of Alabama Family Medicine Residency, which is
operated by the UA College of Community Health Sciences. She also completed an
obstetrics fellowship at the College. Steiner has a passion for women’s health, and
she provides obstetrics care for patients in addition to family medicine care. Steiner
is an assistant professor of family, internal, and family medicine for the College,
which operates UMC-Demopolis, and also assists in teaching the College’s family
medicine residents and medical students.

C O L L E G E O F C O MMU N I T Y H E ALT H SC IEN C ES 7

 NEWS
NEW FELLOWSHIP
COLLEGE CREATES PEDIATRIC FELLOWSHIP
FOR FAMILY MEDICINE PHYSICIANS
PEDIATRICS
The College of Community Health Sciences
has created a Pediatric Fellowship for family
medicine physicians that is believed to be the
first such training program in the country. The
fellowship will provide comprehensive instruction
for family medicine physicians seeking additional
skills in pediatric care.
Dr. Sara Phillips, fellowship director and
assistant professor of pediatrics for the College,
said the year-long program offers a variety of
experiences in both primary care and tertiary
care settings, including at Children’s of Alabama,
a Birmingham-based hospital that provides
specialized medical care for ill and injured
children. Fellows will also receive dedicated
research time and financial support for continuing
medical education activities.
Phillips said while the Pediatric Fellowship is
grounded in a primary care setting, it also provides
important exposure to pediatric care in hospitals
8
and with specialists. “If you have primary care
physicians with pediatrics experience, they can
intubate, start lines on pediatric patients, whatever
they might have to do.” She said there is a scarcity
of pediatric care in rural areas, so equipping primary
care physicians with pediatric care skills can help
with the shortage of care that currently exists.
The Pediatric Fellowship can currently
accommodate one fellow. Interviews will begin in
fall with a start date of July 2020.
The addition of the Pediatrics Fellowship brings
to seven the number of fellowships offered by
CCHS, which include behavioral health, emergency
medicine, geriatric medicine, hospital medicine,
obstetrics and sports medicine.
CCHS operates The University of Alabama
Family Medicine Residency, one of the oldest and
largest family medicine residencies in the country,
and it provides the clinical years of education for a
portion of UA School of Medicine students.
 FA L L 2 0 1 9

FRIEND NAMED DEAN OF CCHS

beginning in 2006, and then as program director
from 2007 to 2012.
In addition to his administrative experience,
Friend brings substantial clinical experience,
including inpatient and ambulatory medicine,
endoscopic procedures and extensive emergency
room experience. He serves as an emergency
medicine physician at Choctaw General Hospital
in Butler, Alabama, as a family medicine physician
at DCH Regional Medical Center and at Rush
Foundation Hospital in Meridian, Mississippi. He
previously served as an emergency medicine
physician at DCH’s Northport Medical Center and
Fayette Medical Center. He has also served as a
medical director for nursing homes, a home hospice
and a home health company.
He has been awarded millions of dollars in grant
funding, authored published articles and given
Dr. Richard Friend, a physician with extensive
invited presentations.
administrative experience in family medicine at two
Friend graduate from Louisiana State University
universities and who also spent 10 years in private
School of Medicine with honors and completed
practice, was named dean of The University of Alabama
his residency at LSU Health Sciences Center in
College of Community Health Sciences July 15.
Shreveport. He earned his undergraduate degree,
Friend has served as interim dean and professor in
with honors, from Tulane University.
the College for the past year.
He is a member of the American Academy
“Dr. Friend’s extensive qualifications and familiarity
of Family Physicians, the Association of Family
with the University will serve the campus well as he
Medicine Residency Directors and the Alabama
leads CCHS,” said Dr. Kevin Whitaker, UA executive
Academy of Family Physicians, and he serves on
vice president and provost. “Our College of Community
the Alabama Academic Family Medicine Council.
Health Sciences will strongly support UA’s research
initiatives, particularly those related to life research. The
College also plays a vital role in rural health initiatives
in the state and impacts medical student education
by serving as a regional campus of the University of
Alabama School of Medicine.”
Friend joined CCHS in 2012 as director of the UA Dr. Richard Friend
Family Medicine Residency, which the College operates, talks with guests at
and as associate professor of family medicine and vice his Dean’s reception
chair of the CCHS Department of Family Medicine. He
on August 8, 2019.
was later named director of the Family Medicine Clinic
within University Medical Center, also operated by
CCHS, and chair of the College’s Department of Family,
Internal, and Rural Medicine.
Friend came to UA from the LSU School of Medicine,
where he served as assistant residency program director
C O L L E G E O F C O MMU N I T Y H E ALT H SC IEN C ES 9
Q
A
and
with
Dean Friend
Where did you grow up? What inspired you
to study medicine?
My family relocated from Illinois to New Orleans when
I was 11 years old and at that time my great-uncle was a
pediatrician in New Orleans who used to make house calls.
He was the first physician in Louisiana to use penicillin. He
really inspired me to become a physician.
Where did you go to medical school and what
were those years like?
I went to undergrad at Tulane University and earned a BS
in psychology. I graduated with honors and then I went to
medical school at LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans.
I graduated there and then went on to do my residency
training at LSU (Health Science Center) in Shreveport.
LSUHSC was a level-one trauma center so I also learned
how to manage very sick patients.
When I was in medical school, the old Charity Hospital
was still there, before Katrina. We had great experiences
as medical students. We did everything from registering
patients to drawing blood. There were lots of opportunities
for procedural training, lots of babies being delivered.
That whole system was very dependent on students and
residents to function, so it was a great training experience.
When did you know that you wanted to
specialize in family medicine?
I decided that I really enjoyed the variety of clinical
challenges that presented themselves in family medicine.
I really enjoyed going from one clinical arena to the next.
I found it challenging to be able to go from the ICU to the
10
emergency room to the obstetrics unit to the medicine floor
to the endoscopy suite. I found the variety of being able to
practice good medicine across all of those different venues
enjoyable. I really became interested in rural health after doing
some rural initiatives while in medical school. I practiced family
medicine in rural Louisiana for almost 10 years.
Do you encourage students to practice
in rural areas?
That’s why we’re (College of Community Health Sciences)
here. I think those opportunities exist. I think we have to
continue to nurture, develop and continue to support rural
hospitals. I think we’re doing an excellent job of training world
class physicians. In rural areas, they’re having a hard time
retaining doctors because of the challenges that many of our
local communities are going through with health care.
What are some of the strategies you think
can improve rural health care?
The biggest thing is there’s always a need for well-trained
family physicians in rural communities. Each rural family
physician brings in about two million dollars in economic
revenue to a rural community. As rural communities are
changing, I think the models in those communities are going
to change very quickly. Some of the communities that always
had a hospital may be better served with a large primary care
base and a free-standing emergency room or some after-
hours urgent care. It’s especially true for those within 30 to
60 miles of a major hospital. It will be a challenge in the next
decade to help the state and the region transform itself into a
model that is sustainable over time.

How has the transition from patient care to
academics and administration been for you?
We all have to continue to practice to keep our
license active, so I still do some patient care here (at
University Medical Center, which CCHS operates) and in
the hospital, occasionally. I think it’s been an evolution
for me away from patient care into administrative roles.
When I first got into academics, I was assistant residency
director (in Louisiana) and then become the residency
director. Then I became chair of family, internal, and
rural medicine (at CCHS) and was (UA Family Medicine)
residency director. And of course last year, I was interim
dean. I think my administrative roles have just grown over
time and you adapt as things change to serve the needs
of the organization. I have tried to be a good team player
and take on additional roles as opportunities presented
themselves. I have learned a tremendous amount along
the way.
Tell me about the degree programs
the College has started.
The College is at an exciting time in its history right
now. For most of its history, the College of Community
Health Sciences did not grant degrees. Just within the last
year has that started. We now have 29 graduate students
in the College in our master’s of population health and
our master’s in rural community health programs. It has
enabled us to more closely align with the mission of The
University of Alabama. I am very interested in bringing
more degree programs to CCHS - offering undergraduate
degrees related to the health sciences, and some
expansion of the graduate degrees. I think that is going to
be very challenging, but also very rewarding. It will allow
us to really continue to give back to the University.
What is your plan for continuing the push
for more research and publications?
We’re trying to create an organizational structure that
empowers faculty to be creative and innovative. We are
trying to establish a leadership within the College that will
support the work of the faculty. We have established a
mission, a vision and goals for research. We are also giving
frequent feedback to the faculty about our metrics. We are
driving them to continue to reach for external funding and
achieve excellence. I am very excited about the untapped
potential that CCHS has in this area and we have made
great progress in the interim period. Our submission rate
for external awards is up well over 150% and our award
rate is up over 10% from this same time last year. I am very
proud of the work that our faculty, staff and administration
has done in this area. I look for that to continue.
What does the College do well, and where
would you like to see improvement?
We provide excellent patient care. We are improving
accessibility to our patients. We are very patient-centered,
but we are challenged with some new quality programs.
Starting those from the drawing board is really going to
give us an opportunity to achieve excellence in patient care
and prepare us for successful revenue strategies in the
future. I am excited that we are getting into undergraduate
and graduate education. In fact, we have already begun
a record of accomplishment of excellence in graduate
education. Our two new master’s degree programs
have been reviewed by the UA Office for Institutional
Effectiveness and both programs qualify for the Spring
2020 Assessment Honor Roll (as top 10% of all degree
programs across campus). This is the type of excellence
that I would like to see throughout the College.
Tell me about the College’s alumni relations.
We really have an opportunity to work with our alumni
to develop our alumni relations. We want to keep them
informed and energize them to help support the College in
the future. Developing a culture of philanthropy within the
College is very important. The reimbursement challenges
in health care are tremendous and they vacillate greatly. We
will need to continue to rely on our alumni to help support
our initiatives. The support goes both ways. We have
many alumni in Pickens County and we are working with
the hospital there. We have alumni all over the state and
all over the Southeast. We try to get keep them involved
through our communications efforts, like our Annual Report
and On Rounds magazines, our Board of Visitors and our
Capstone Health Services Foundation Board. We value
their input and want them to be a part of our day-to-day
operations and our long-term strategic planning.
What is your message to the College?
My message to the entire organization is that we will
become excellent in all that we do. We are committed to
helping our learners, our faculty and our staff find their
true passion and support them in that. I am very much
a collaborative leader. The College has developed an
excellent relationship with our community hospital partner,
DCH, and we want to see that continue to grow and
flourish. We have also done that with the other colleges on
campus and our UA School of Medicine medical student
education partner. Having MD and PhD partnerships in
research collaborations will benefit both our clinicians
and the PhD researchers. It can really make our (external
funding) submission and award rate continue to accelerate
going forward.
C O L L E G E O F C O MMU N I T Y H E ALT H SC IEN C ES 11
 F E AT U R E
PREPARE FOR A CRISIS WITH
Save
T R AININ G
“ You need confidence, which
comes from the knowledge
you know what to do, and that
knowledge comes from training. ”
- Glenn Davis
12
Life
Y
our 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 Glenn Davis,
director of Emergency Medical Services for the
Institute for Rural Health Research, which is part
of the College of Community Health Sciences.
“You need confidence, which comes from
the knowledge you know what to do, and that
knowledge comes from training,” Davis said.
He and Travis Parker, program specialist for the
Institute for Rural Health Research, collaborate
with partners across campus to provide that
confidence and knowledge to The University of
Alabama community through Save a Life Training.
SALT is a free, two-hour class, with the
first hour covering high-quality CPR, the
Heimlich maneuver, airway obstruction
and Automated External Defibrillator skills.
The second hour covers Stop the Bleed.
For those who have taken a CPR course in the
past, SALT can be a needed refresher covering
the American Heart Association’s updated
guidelines, Davis said. “High-quality CPR is more
than just pushing on a victim’s chest. It must keep
the blood flowing. To do so, we teach, “Push
hard. Push fast. Full recoil. Minimize delays.”
 Participants practice compressions on CPR mannequins during a SALT class led by Glenn Davis and Travis Parker.
PU SH HAR D. P U S H FA S T.
FULL RECOIL. MINIMIZE DELAYS.
Automated External Defibrillators, or AEDs, are
found in buildings throughout campus. SALT makes
people more aware of their presence, helps them
remember to use the devices and gives people
the confidence to work through the steps quickly.
“The AEDs will let you know if the person needs
to be shocked,” Davis said. “If you can turn on the
machine and follow directions, you can use an AED.
The training is to minimize delays by
increasing familiarity with the steps and
giving people the confidence to act.”
Lindsey Hughey, open records and
policy specialist for UA’s Department of
Communications, recently completed
the training and echoed Davis’s
comments on gaining confidence.
“The class was a bit harder than
I expected, just because you do not
realize how much energy you exert when giving CPR.
But I do feel much more prepared to help someone
in the event I am ever involved in a crisis situation.”
As for the Stop the Bleed portion of the training, the main
skill learned is how to apply pressure to a wound or to use
a tourniquet. While models are available, Davis encouraged
people who identify as squeamish to give the training a
try. “They can practice on their own arm. We want people
to be comfortable and we don’t pressure.”
SALT is usually offered the third
Friday of each month in the Northeast
Medical Building on the Bryce
campus, but Davis and Parker will also
bring the training to groups across
campus. Registration is required and
certificates are issued upon completion.
For more information, contact Davis
at gadavis@ua.edu and (205) 348-4549.
C O L L E G E O F C O MMU N I T Y H E ALT H SC IEN C ES 13
 BRIDGING THE DIVIDE

BRIDGING
THE DIVIDE
REDUCING THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL DETERMINANTS
OF HEALTH IN ALABAMA
BY: KAYLIN BOWEN
PHOTOS: GREG RANDALL

Faculty and staff of the Office of Case Management and Social Services at University
Medical Center are striving to put themselves out of work.
They acknowledge it’s a strange way to approach their jobs. But their focus, and the primary focus
of the office’s programs and personnel, is to help treat the causes of preventable health crises, not just
the symptoms.
The unseen causes behind many health issues for Alabama residents, and around the US and even
the world, can be classified as the social determinants of health (SDOH). These are the environmental,
social and economic climates. Economic stability, access to education, public transportation and access
to healthy sources of food are just a few of the factors classified as social determinants of health.
In Alabama, where more than 17% of the population lives at or below the federally defined poverty
line, it is not hard to see the impact of SDOH.
Every action and program the UMC Office of Case Management and Social Services takes is directly
working to mitigate and lessen the effects of the negative SDOH that Alabamians in Tuscaloosa and
surrounding areas experience. UMC is operated by The University of Alabama College of Community
Health Sciences.
“This department acts as a bridge between patients and resources,” said Victoria Mallon, the office’s
patient services coordinator. “We aren’t solving the problem, but we are making that connection to help
patients solve it.”
The office consists of three practicing social workers and a patient services coordinator, as well as
a rotating group of UA social work student interns. The four core members act as pillars of support for
UMC patients.
Dr. Bob McKinney, a licensed clinical social worker, leads the office. He is also an assistant professor
in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at CCHS and is jointly appointed to the UA
School of Social Work.

14

Laura Beth Brown, a licensed master social worker,
and Paige Parish, a licensed clinical social worker,
are the office’s two licensed social workers and they
each head programs that they have created and honed
to benefit the community. Mallon ensures the tools
are available for the social work experts to succeed
while simultaneously providing an access point and
assistance to patients seeking daily case management.
PATIENT CARE
A t the UMC Office of Case Management and
Social Services, patients do not have to have an
appointment to be seen, though it is recommended.
Patients explain their need to Victoria Mallon, patient
services coordinator, or an intake worker (usually a
social work student intern) who then directs them
to the appropriate resource. If the patient’s situation
cannot be resolved quickly, Mallon or the intake worker
schedules a consultation with a social worker or a
student intern.
In 2018, Mallon implemented a patient intake
tracking system that has recorded 1,105 unique
patients visits in the 14 months since its creation. The
office sees patients struggling daily with the five place-
based social determinants of health (economic stability,
education, social community context, health and
health care, and neighborhood and built environment)
defined by Healthy People 2020 and endorsed by the
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Mallon, the offices’ social workers, Paige Parish
and Laura Beth Brown, and Dr. Bob McKinney, director
of the office, agree that inadequate or nonexistent
public transportation is one of the most challenging
obstacles that many West Alabama residents face.
Neither the state of Alabama nor the city of Tuscaloosa
has a widespread, accessible public transportation
FA L L 2 0 1 9
The social work field student education program,
the TRANSITIONS program, the Foster Care Clinic,
Christmas in July fundraiser, community education
outreach programs and the ComCare program enable
the office, as well as physicians and other health care
providers at UMC and in the community, to improve
conditions for underserved residents of West Alabama.
infrastructure, and with the cost of owning and
maintaining a vehicle impossible for many residents,
the inability to find timely and affordable public
transportation limits many Alabamians’ access to
food, health care and resource centers.
“We’ve got the Tuscaloosa Trolley, which a lot of our
patients use, but we don’t even have a Trolley stop in
front of our building (UMC),” McKinney said. “They’ve
got to cross the street to get here, so that’s an issue if
you’re a patient in a wheelchair or someone who has
mobility issues.”
Brown said that when teaching social work students,
one of the key topics she stresses is the importance of
doing all legwork at the clinic while patients are there.
It is crucial to get everything done while student interns
are meeting with patients in person because it may be
difficult for patients to come back, she said.
“If the patient is here, see them,” Brown said. “Ten
dollars (for transportation), that might not seem like a
lot, but $10 to come back and sign a form because
we’ve forgotten something on our part is unnecessary.”
Transportation is just one of the many issues
the social work team at UMC sees in a day, as they
continue to develop programs, including those that are
community-based, to connect patients with services
and to address SDOH.
C O L L E G E O F C O MMU N I T Y H E ALT H SC IEN C ES 15
 Pictured left to right: Paige Parish, Dr. Bob
McKinney, Laure Beth Brown and Victoria
Mallon comprise the core of the Office of Case
Management and Social Services at UMC.

COMCARE PROGRAM

T he ComCare Program at University Medical Center

offers services to individuals who are unable to
afford health insurance. Patients must be at or below
early warning signs and educating patients about
lifestyle changes that may reduce their risk for disease
and keep the overall population healthy.
200% of the current federal poverty level in order to be
eligible for ComCare, in addition to other requirements.
The Office of Case Management and Social Services
is allowed to add three new patients to the ComCare
roster every two weeks. ComCare applications must
be renewed every six months; renewals don’t count
against the new patient limit. Patients are covered for
a female annual exam, a yearly physical exam, X-rays,
ultrasounds and in-house labs. Services that may be
provided by external providers (i.e., a technician to read
X-rays and ultrasounds) are not covered.
The coverage offered by ComCare is intended to
provide community residents with access to health care
to prevent the development of more serious conditions
that might be avoidable. The value is returned by finding

16
 FA L L 2 0 1 9

TO THE COMCARE PROGRAM

STEP S TO APP LY
1. PATIENT INQUIRY
2. APPLICATION SUBMISSION
3. APPLY FOR MEDICAID
4. FILE PROOF OF MEDICAID DENIAL
5. UMC MAKES FINAL DECISION
6. RECEIVE TREATMENT AT UMC

Approved applicants to the ConCare Program can recieve treatment at UMC

with no cost to the patient.

C O L L E G E O F C O MMU N I T Y H E ALT H SC IEN C ES 17

 BRIDGING THE DIVIDE
A BRIDGE TO MENTAL HEALTH CARE
T he Psychiatric Collaborative Care program at
University Medical Center helps build a bridge
to mental health care for patients. The program links
patients, primary care providers, psychiatrists and
care managers to increase access to mental health
care and to reduce the amount of time between initial
visit and treatment.
UMC patients have the opportunity to be screened
for mental health concerns when they visit their
primary care provider. Patients who screen positively
for mental health depression or anxiety can be referred
to the Psychiatric Collaborative Care program, if
they wish. A care manager meets with the patient to
conduct a thorough assessment.
The care manager then consults with a psychiatrist
about the diagnosis and possible pharmacological
interventions. This information is shared with the
LINKING RESOURCES TO
CREATE A BALANCED
TREATMENT PLAN
18
primary care provider, who manages recommended
prescriptions. The care manager facilitates scheduling,
contact, and medication recommendations determined
by the primary care provider and psychiatrist and
provides brief therapeutic services to the patient
monthly by phone.
By linking patients, primary care physicians, the
care manager and psychiatrists, a balanced treatment
plan can be developed that reduces the risk of a
patient’s treatment being delayed due to paperwork
and scheduling issues, said Paige Parish, a licensed
clinical social worker with the UMC Office of Case
Management and Social Services.
For patients who lack transportation or funds for
copays for both primary care and mental health care
visits, the Psychiatric Collaborative Care program can
ensure they receive the care they need.

TRANSITIONING THE ACTION PROGRAM
T he ACTION Program began in Tuscaloosa in 2017
as a way to reduce the number of non-emergency
911 calls that potentially misdirect emergency services
at an unnecessary cost to the patient, the hospital and
the city. The program initially ran a two-response front:
a medical care team and a mental health care team.
Moving forward, the ACTION Program, short for
Appropriate Care and Treatment in Our Neighborhood
and a partnership of Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue
Services and The University of Alabama College of
Community Health Sciences, has expanded and
refined its target purpose. It will no longer provide
response services but, instead, will focus on prevention
and intervention. And it will operate under a new name
– University Medical Center Transitions Program.
“This year, we are looking forward to further
supporting our patients and hospital through robust
transition services,” said Paige Parish, a licensed
clinical social worker in the UMC Office of Case
Management and Social Services. The College
operates UMC.
The UMC Transitions Program will continue follow-
up services that were provided by the ACTION
Program and that bridge the gap between the needs
of patients and the demands of their in-home medical
and social services care after their discharge from the
hospital. The follow-up visits are designed to reduce
the likelihood of readmittance to the hospital.
The UMC Transitions Program has two facets:
Transitions Primary Care and Transitions Hospitalists.
Eligible patients of both groups will be offered an in-
FA L L 2 0 1 9
home visit that includes a medical assessment and
a social needs assessment, in addition to 30 days of
follow up with a social worker.
“Under the ACTION Program, we have been able
to pilot these transition services with a small, multi-
disciplinary team,” Parish said. “We are looking
forward to expanding these services to meet the
needs of our patients.”
Additionally, in the last year the former ACTION
Program and the UMC Office of Case Management
and Social Services have continued to bridge the gap
left from various social determinants of health through
the Social Work Hub. The hub is intended to meet the
immediate needs of low-income areas of Tuscaloosa
by offering on-the-spot referrals to community social
service providers.
The former ACTION and now Transitions
multidisciplinary team—comprised of social workers,
Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue paramedics, a nurse
practitioner and students—has participated in six
Social Work Hubs in the past six months. Personnel
worked with more than 200 residents providing more
than 400 referrals for food services, utility assistance
and access to health care.
The overall goal of the Social Work Hub is to educate
high-risk and high-need communities about local
social services and resources available to them. The
initiative was recently recognized by the Tuscaloosa
City Council for its contributions to the community
(see story page 21).
Reid Galyon, a nurse
practitioner, and Yolanda
Sanders-Williams, a social
worker, make house calls
as part of the newly minted
TRANSITIONS Program.
They go to patients’ homes
to provide medical and
social services.
C O L L E G E O F C O MMU N I T Y H E ALT H SC IEN C ES 19
 BRIDGING THE DIVIDE

Below: A social work

student intern, Morgan
Holcombe (center),
accompanies Yolanda
Sanders-Williams
(left) and Reid Galyon
(right) on house calls.

20

ACTION PROGRAM RECOGNIZED BY CITY
T he City of Tuscaloosa recognized the
exceptional community service efforts of
four members of the former ACTION Program
on May 15, 2019.
ACTION team members Paige Parish, Reid
Galyon, Yolanda Sanders-Williams and Brianna
Parrales worked with other Tuscaloosa civil
agencies, like the fire and police departments,
at the underserved community of Creekwood
Village in Tuscaloosa’s West End.
The interdisciplinary task force included
various city departments and was assigned to
assess housing code violations, fire hazards
and address immediate needs. The ACTION
Program set up a Social Work Hub to handle
case management referral requests and to
perform basic medical assessments for any
resident of the complex. ACTION Program
Coordinator Paige Parish said the majority of
referrals were for food resources.
Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox led the
May meeting and personally thanked each of
Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox
C O L L E G E O F C O MMU N I T Y H E ALT H SC IIEN
FA L L 2 0 1 9
the individuals receiving recognition for their
efforts at Creekwood Village.
“I appreciate everyone taking what we had
and making a difference in the face of what
can often seem to be overwhelming odds,”
Maddox said.
The Social Work Hub goes out monthly to
provide social service referrals to Tuscaloosa
communities in an effort to connect them with
appropriate care.
ACTION (Appropriate Care and Treatment
in Our Neighborhood), a partnership of
Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue and The
University of Alabama College of Community
Health Sciences, was created in 2017 to meet
less critical medical needs of the community
and reduce costly hospital emergency room
transports of people with low-level emergency
conditions through linkage to appropriate
medical, mental health and social services. The
program has since become the TRANSITIONS
Program (see page 19).
EN C ES 21
 BRIDGING THE DIVIDE

CARING FOR FOSTER CHILDREN

T he University Medical Center Foster Care Clinic works

with the Tuscaloosa County Department of Human
Resources to care for foster children in the county. Once
a child is in the custody of the state, a mandatory physical
exam is required in the initial 90 days.
The UMC Foster Care Clinic reduces the separation
between at-risk children and reliable health care with
a pediatrician. Child wellness is important in the early
developmental stages and an interruption in care can have
lifelong consequences.
Dr. Brian Gannon, a physician in the Pediatrics Clinic at
UMC, treats incoming foster care children. Victoria Mallon,
patient services coordinator for the UMC Office of Case
Management and Social Services, leads the filing and
paperwork process for their care. She has streamlined the
internal system and hopes to one day see a continuous line
of communication between the office and the Pediatrics
Clinic at UMC and the case manager with the state.
The physical exam gives the case manager and physician
a chance to identify and, hopefully, address early on some
of the negative environmental factors that could cause or
lead to future heath issues for foster children.

Above: Dr. Brian Gannon

cares for children in the Fos-
ter Care Clinic at UMC.
Left: The pediatrics team at
UMC looks for any signs that
a child’s environment might
be affecting his or her health.

22

POVERTY SIMULATION TRAINING
S ocial work student interns from University
Medical Center took part in a Community
Action Poverty Simulation held at The University
of Alabama Ferguson Student Center alongside
College of Community Health Sciences faculty,
residents, medical and master’s students. The
poverty simulation mimicked what it would be like
to live for one month in a low-income household.
“Social workers take it as their mission to work
with people who are at risk, who are marginalized,
who live on the fringes of society and frequently
those people find themselves in poverty,” said Dr.
Bob McKinney, who coordinated the simulation
and who teaches social work students, residents
and medical students. “Those are the folks with
whom we work, and this is a great opportunity for
the students to see how it is to live if you are a
person in poverty.” McKinney also directs UMC’s
Office of Case Management and Social Services.
The simulation took place in the ballroom
where tables were arranged around the room
with volunteers manning the stations that
represented work, school, social services, a
bank, grocery store, pawn shop and many other
common community locations. Participants were
divided into family units, given identification and
assigned a job or school to attend.
Each family was issued a budget and a set
of rules to abide by. If a worker missed work,
then the family did not receive money that week
and had to attempt to feed their family by other
means. The simulations try to recreate the costs
of living by including check cashing fees and
after-school activities.
Additionally, families were given a limited
number of transportation vouchers to mimic one
C O L L E G E O F C O MMU N I T Y H E ALT H SC IEN C ES
FA L L 2 0 1 9
of the biggest barriers to low-income families in
Alabama, where there is no access to affordable
public transportation.
“It’s frustrating to be the provider; I can only
imagine what it is like in the real world,” said
Rabecca Davis, a UMC social work intern who
works with the Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue
Services’ Emergency Medical Services Prevention
Program. “I couldn’t go to work because I didn’t
have enough transportation passes, so that’s an
entire week we’re going to be out of money. We
take into account that people need referrals, but
we don’t see how much is actually being taken
out of their checks.”
The poverty simulations take place twice a
year for the general public, but program specific
simulations can be scheduled. The simulations
can take place with anywhere between 30 to
80 people. They are facilitated by Bailey Duke,
coordinator of volunteer management at the UA
Center for Service and Leadership. The program
is the Missouri Community Action Network
Poverty Simulation.
Duke added that the simulations take two
to three hours to complete and are designed
to replicate the frustrations that community
members who live in poverty face on a daily basis.
There are additional luck-of-the-draw cards that
are given to family units at random that mimic the
random windfalls and pitfalls that happen in life.
“We work with populations like this all the
time,” said Danielle Guido, a social work intern
at UMC. “It’s good to experience it, especially
transportation problems, because we deal with
those all the time, so I think it is realistic in that
aspect. It’s very informative.”
23
 BRIDGING THE DIVIDE

SOCIAL WORK STUDENT FIELD EDUCATION

E ach year, The University of Alabama School of Social

Work sends students earning a bachelor’s degree or
master’s degree in social work to various organizations to
Office of Case Management and Social Services team are
trying to change that. The exams use actors to portray
situations that social work students must then react to as
obtain hands-on experience. These students are taught they would in the field.
by experts in the field about how to work with and on “With the OSCEs, we can see where the students are
behalf of underserved members of the community, and in their skills,” Brown said. “We can know who to send out
how to build bridges to resources and services for clients. to a case based on their expertise. We know where the
The University Medical Center Office of Case strengths and weaknesses are in their training.”
Management and Social Services has on average four Brown anticipates that the first few groups of students
social work students each academic year who are required who participate in the OSCEs will act as a basis for
to complete 450- improving the strategy
500 hours of service, and honing the process.
depending upon the
degree they are earning.
These students are given
“This experience has just The scenarios will gauge
competencies for social work
practices. She would like
a full workload of cases, the examination technique
as well as theoretical opened my eyes a lot to to expand to other field
training in social education programs at other
determinants of health the fact that people from schools as well.
(SDOH), mental health Educating future social
awareness, empathetic all walks of life deserve to workers about negative social
practice, diversity and determinants of health and
other topics. Led by Dr. have dignity and deserve how to respond and best
Bob McKinney, director locate resources for people in
of the office, and Laura
Beth Brown, a licensed
master social worker
to be heard
-HAILEE BENSON
” those circumstances is a vital
part of how the office ensures
the continuation of good
with the office, the UMC practices to address SDOH.
Social Work Education Hailee Benson, a current
Program has undergone social work intern at UMC
a complete renovation pursuing her master’s degree,
in the last two years, giving students more hands-on has worked closely with the UMC Foster Care Clinic and
experience with a variety of cases and a more thorough has honed her desire to work with children and teenagers
grasp of the skills that are required to be an effective in her future career.
social worker in a variety of settings and with a broad “This experience has just opened my eyes a lot to
range of clients. the fact that people from all walks of life deserve to
Continuing to revolutionize the UMC Social Work have dignity and deserve to be heard,” Benson said.
Education Program, Brown began administering social “Lots of our systems are hard to navigate even for very
work focused modified Objective Clinical Structure competent, smart people, and for a lot of our patients
Examinations (OSCE) this fall. OSCEs have a long tradition who are illiterate or never graduated high school, I can’t
in medical education but have not been widely used in imagine how much harder it is for them to accomplish
social work education. Brown and the rest of the UMC these things on their own.”

24
 FA L L 2 0 1 9

Top: Dr. Bob McKinney (center), director of UMC’s Office of

Case Management and Social Services, and Dr. Anne Halli-
Tierney, director of the UMC’s Geriatric Clinic, worked a
community table at the simulation. Above: During the poverty
simulation, social work interns participated in an exercise to
survive one month with the resources of a low-income family.
The simulation included luck of the draw cards that accounted
for unexpected misfortunes and windfalls that life has. Right:
Rabecca Davis, a UMC social work student intern, visits the
bank to exchange her check for cash to visit the food bank, and
learns of a $5 fee for not holding an account at that branch.
C O L L E G E O F C O MMU N I T Y H E ALT H SC IEN C ES 25
 Above: Victoria Mallon acts as an
elderly patients seeking referrals
during the OSCE. Left: Brown
observes and rates the students
performance in reacting to the
situation. Right: Brown received
the 2019 E. Roger Sayers
Distinguished Service Award
for her efforts to improve social
work education at UA and social
services in the community.

26
 FA L L 2 0 1 9

LAURA BETH BROWN PERSISTENT ABOUT SOLUTIONS

S ocial 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 measurable difference in the
quality of life for people in The University of Alabama
and Tuscaloosa communities.
Brown is a licensed master social worker in the
Office of Case Management and Social Services at
University Medical Center, which is operated by the
College of Community Health Sciences.
It is for her exemplary work ethic, problem solving
ability and dedication to helping people that she was
awarded the E. Roger
Sayers Distinguished
belongings prior to an extermination, she and another
fellow purchased hazmat suits, went into the apartment
and prepped it for debugging.
Dr. Bob McKinney, director of the UMC Office of
Case Management and Social Services, said that in
addition to her work as a social worker, Brown prioritizes
educating others. She has completely reshaped the
educational component of the field placement for
social work students making the program one of the
most unique in the country.
“She’s incredibly passionate about the clients and
her students,” McKinney said. “She’s persistent. She
doesn’t want to stop until she finds a solution.”
Brown said she wants to use the award as a call to
action to raise awareness of what social workers are
capable of providing
for their communities.

“She’s incredibly passionate

Service Award at the She said social
2019 Capstone Awards workers are one of
ceremony. The award the most valuable
was created in 1996 to all-purpose tools
recognize UA faculty and available to the general
administrative personnel about the clients and her public. Social workers
who have performed in are often licensed to
an exemplary manner students. She’s persistent. provide counseling,
to further the mission of resource management
the University.
“She’s the type of
She doesn’t want to stop and client liaison with
doctors, lawyers and
person who never says
no,” said Paige Parish,
until she finds a solution. pharmacists.
workers can
Social
help
who peer-nominated
Brown for the award.
“She says let’s find a
-DR. BOB MCKINNEY
” translate complicated
legal, insurance or tax
documents that may
solution for this.” not make sense to
Brown was hired as someone not familiar
an intern to work for with the jargon.
University Medical Center while studying at the UA “There’s a lot that social workers can do for our
School of Social Work. She made a strong impression clients,” Brown said. “We are really good at advocating
within her first two months and was asked to work as a for our patients and clients, but we have a hard time
fellow for the inaugural year of the UA Pickens County advocating for ourselves.”
Partnership program. While working there she served When Brown was informed of the lack of options
rural communities in West Alabama daily and created for breastfeeding mothers on UA football home game
the Pickens County Resource Guide in 2017. days, she immediately started working to find a way to
Once when a client’s home was overrun with help them. In the past, nursing mothers had nowhere
bedbugs and the person was unable to retrieve their to go unless they used a temporary toilet stall on the

C O L L E G E O F C O MMU N I T Y H E ALT H SC IEN C ES 27

 BRIDGING THE DIVIDE

UA Quad. Brown worked with organizers of the Family
Friendly Tailgate to create the Nursing Mothers Tent as a
designated private space for nursing women.
Social work departments rely on community partners
and resources to provide the care and support their
clients need. Often those seeking social services
are the people least able to access help by any other
means due to poverty, a lack of local resources or other
impairments. Social work professionals assist people
from infancy to old age.
“It’s hard, difficult work, but we address it. We take it
day-by-day,” Brown said. “We figure out what’s wrong
and how to best help people with the resources that are
available to us.”

Left: The T-Town Tots tent has many

partners to ensure that nursing mothers
have a place to feed their babies or pump
on UA home football games. Center:
Volunteer Courtney Greene points out
locations where there are nursing stations
located inside UA’s Bryant Denny Stadium.
Right: Laura Beth Brown and Trendle
Samuel, co-founders of T-Town Tots,
instruct their volunteers on the procedures
for the upcoming game day.

28

GAMEDAY MOTHER’S TENT
N ursing mothers with their babies or those
needing a place to pump while tailgating
at The University of Alabama now have a
convenient location closer to Bryant-Denny
Stadium. The T-Town Tots Breastfeeding
Support lactation tent moved to the UA Quad
near the Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library.
This will be the second year the tent has
been available to nursing mothers at tailgating
during football season. Last year the tent was
located at the Family Friendly Tailgate, which
was located near the soccer fields a quarter
mile from the stadium.
The tent offers, at no charge, a private
area with seating and fans for new mothers
to nurse or pump. The tent is a partnership
of the University Medical Center Office of
Case Management and Social Services, UA
Gameday, the State Perinatal Program and
the Tuscaloosa County Department of Public
Health. UMC is operated by the UA College of
C O L L E G E O F C O MMU N I T Y H E ALT H SC IEN C ES
FA L L 2 0 1 9
Community Health Sciences.
The tent was initiated by Laura Beth
Brown, a licensed master social worker who
practices at UMC and is a member of the
State Perinatal Program. She received funding
from the CCHS Initiatives Fund to buy the
tent and supplies necessary to get the service
started. UA Gameday provides the generator,
electricity, and Quad location.
“The ultimate goal here is to normalize
breastfeeding and provide a safe place for
women to breastfeed or pump,” Brown said.
“Even if only one mom comes, it’s worth it. It’s
hard to breastfeed, and not having a place to
do it doesn’t help.”
Brown said the partners expect to
experience a higher number of mothers
coming through the tent this year and are
looking for volunteers to staff the tent. The
nursing mothers’ tent will be on the Quad
every UA football home game.
29
 Above and left: Victoria Mallon collects hygiene products,
such as shampoo, conditioner and deodorant, to place into
stockings for children.

30

CHRISTMAS IN JULY
T he Christmas in July Fundraiser organized by
the University Medical Center Office of Case
Management and Social Services assists the College
of Community Health Sciences December Holiday Toy
Drive. The internal fundraisers have so far brought in
more than $1,000 this year to provide holiday gifts for
underserved children.
Headed by Victoria Mallon and Laura Beth Brown,
both with the Office of Case Management and Social
Services, the fundraisers are intended to provide as
many children as possible a toy from their list, a book, a
jacket and a hygiene stocking.
“We talked to the families last year and asked what
the kids asked for Christmas,” Mallon said. “It was an
overwhelming amount that said they wanted their own
PROVIDING
RESOURCES
FOR CHILDREN
FA L L 2 0 1 9
towel or shampoo and conditioner.”
The negative aspects social determinants of health
can often affect children more than adults, Mallon said.
Access to nutritious food, clean water and breathable
air are essential for child development. Experts say a
lack in any of these areas can lead to lifelong health and
wellness issues. The Christmas in July and Holiday Toy
Drive work in conjunction to provide children of West
Alabama resources they might need.
Children are selected based on nominations from
CCHS faculty and staff and must be current UMC patients
under the age of 18. The fundraisers will benefit 20-25
children this year. The Office of Case Management and
Social Services will take additional donations to fulfill a
child’s wish list as well. CCHS operates UMC.
C O L L E G E O F C O MMU N I T Y H E ALT H SC IEN C ES 31
 BRIDGING THE DIVIDE

REACHING OUT TO EDUCATE THE COMMUNITY

I n addition to providing a connection to resources to

assist residents of the community with pressing issues,
social work staff at University Medical Center are also a
source of education to empower community members
to seek and utilize tools that
The University of Alabama Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.
The OLLI program offers educational courses and activities
for older citizens in Tuscaloosa County. Both provide
lectures and other presentations on emerging health topics
and new medical practices

“We have so many learners

ease the effects of negative and discoveries.
social determinants of health In addition, McKinney
in their lives. and Parish help educate
Dr. Bob McKinney, director UMC and community

and it’s just a constant

of the UMC Office of Case physicians on special
Management and Social topics about caring for

education setting. We’re

Services, works with the
Diabetes Self-Management
Course at UMC, providing
counseling tools to help newly
diagnosed diabetic patients
find the support they need
to manage their diabetes.
The diagnosis can often feel
overwhelming and a solid
foundation of support can
make the difference between
living with or suffering through
the lifelong condition, he said.
patients through the
College of Community
Health Sciences Grand
constantly educating and Rounds continuing medical
education program. CCHS
learning and being a part operates UMC.
“I’m glad for the
of both presenting that opportunity here,” Parish
said. “We have so many
information and receiving learners and it’s just a
constant education setting.
that information
”
We’re constantly educating
and learning and being a

-PAIGE PARISH
McKinney and Paige Parish, part of both presenting that
a licensed clinical social worker information and receiving
with the office, participate in that information.”

32
32

BUILDING THE BRIDGE
T hrough their work and programs, the University
Medical Center Office of Case Management and
Social Services and its faculty and staff are making
strides every day to mitigate the negative effects of
social determinants of health that are the reality for many
Alabamians. The continuous need ensures that the office
will not run out of business any time soon.
“Medical interventions address approximately
10% of the causes of premature death,” said Dr. Bob
McKinney, director of the office. “The issues that social
workers work with address roughly 70%. Social work is
a powerful health care profession.”
McKinney and his colleagues, social workers Paige
Above: Dr. Bob McKinney has built the Office of Case
Management and Social Services team during his three years
as director. Right: The team works to educate and empower
patients at University Medical Center.
FA L L 2 0 1 9
Parish and Laura Beth Brown, and Victoria Mallon, patient
services coordinator, are not discouraged. They remain
positive about the effect they have in the community and
with their patients. Their dedication is contagious, and
they pass on their convictions to the next generation of
social workers.
“There have been certain cases where I’ve watched
my patients succeed or get things that they needed and
surpass barriers that I don’t think they ever thought they
would,” said Hailee Benson, a social work student intern
with the office. “Watching them do that, those are my
biggest achievements. It’s just cool to be a part of all the
different people’s stories just a little bit.”
C O L L E G E O F C O MMU N I T Y H E ALT H SC IEN C ES 33
 F E AT U R E
DIABETES EDUCATION
FROM AN
EXPERT
L
BY: KAYLIN BOWEN
PHOTOS: GREG RANDALL
iving with diabetes is not as simple as
taking a once daily medication and moving
on. It is a constant struggle that needs
diet, exercise and a strict insulin and blood sugar testing
regimen. It takes constant vigilance to maintain a regular,
healthy amount of glucose in the blood and cells.
This is why life often gets in the way of managing
diabetes, said Dr. Robert Osburne, a board-certified
endocrinologist at University Medical Center and faculty
member at the College of Community Health Sciences,
which operates UMC.
Early detection during an annual screening can be the
difference between a lifetime of medications and needles,
or simple diet and exercise changes. Prevention of the
disease is the ideal route, but often people do not know
they have diabetes or prediabetes. Education must be
used to encourage prevention and detection.
“Diabetes, more than most diseases, requires self-
management,” Osburne said. “The diabetic has to be
educated in how to take care of themselves. They need
to understand the disease process and to know, for
example, why some foods impact their sugar more than
34
other foods and why, when they get sick, they have to
pay more attention to their sugar than usual.”
UMC offers self-management education courses that
include workbooks, support groups and guided grocery
store visits.
Endocrinologists like Osburne are experts in glands
and hormones, and the most common disease they treat
is diabetes. However, most diabetic patients will never
see an endocrinologist; often only the most serious cases
are referred to an endocrinologist.
There are an estimated 38 million Americans living with
diabetes; however there are only around 5,000 practicing
endocrinologists. That’s why, Osburne said, primary
care physicians must remain up-to-date on the latest
treatment recommendations for patients with diabetes.
“It enables more time for the specialist to manage the
more complex issues,” Osburne said. “Type 1 diabetics,
for example, need a referral to an endocrinologist
more frequently than Type 2 diabetics because they
do not produce, insulin at all and often have metabolic
complications.”
Osburne began his medical career in the U.S. Navy.
 FA L L 2 0 1 9

Diabetic patients made up roughly half of his patients

while in the Navy, primarily in retired members who
received care through the military medical system.
After leaving the Navy, Osburne continued to see
about half his practice dedicated to diabetes treatment
in Birmingham, Alabama, and Atlanta, Georgia.
To all of his patients, he reiterates the value of
prevention and accurate reporting of sugar levels as
ways of avoiding complications.
The complications of diabetes are often what make
it deadly. When the disease progresses to damaging
nerves, eyesight and kidneys, it can potentially lead
to death. Diabetic patients are now the most common Far Left: Dr. Robert Osburne is a board-
recipients of non-trauma necessitated amputations. certified endocrinologist with 35 years
Once nerve damage, or neuropathy, from diabetes of experience who joined CCHS as an
has occurred there is no reversing the damage. assistant professor in the Department of
Patients can only try to avoid damaging the tissue of Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine and
who practices at UMC. Below: Regular
the foot by checking their feet daily, wearing proper
foot exams by a physician and daily by
shoes and not smoking.
the patient are vital for avoiding serious
Osburne said that one of the greatest achievements complications, such as amputation from
in diabetic medical care since he began practicing in neuropathy, or numbness in the feet.
the 1970s has been the development of home blood Osburne uses a small pin that puts 10
glucose monitors, which enable much safer and more grams of pressure on the foot that can be
accurate insulin dosing for diabetics who require it. felt easily if there is no nerve damage.
Another great advance has been the evolution of
technology to read A1C levels and growing use of that
technology said Osburne. A1C provides an average
measure of blood glucose levels for the previous two
to three months and is a more accurate measure of
a patient’s control over his or her disease than an
instant read.
The future of diabetes care lies in continuing to
develop the algorithms, pumps and home glucose
meters that can be trusted for treatment. This
technology can be the key to finding balance for
diabetics, especially Type 1 patients.
“The holy grail now is closing the loop,” said
Osburne. A closed loop insulin delivery system will
one day be able to perfectly mimic the pancreas’s
regulation of insulin. “It’s what they’ve been working
on for decades now.”

C O L L E G E O F C O MMU N I T Y H E ALT H SC IIEN

EN C ES 35
 F E AT U R E

A higher body mass index (BMI) and larger waist circumference have been closely linked with the development of Type
2 diabetes. Maintaining a healthy weight can prevent further development of serious complications.

What’s the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes?

Diabetes is a worldwide problem.
Both types occur when the body can’t store and use glucose in the
The World Health Organization cells, causing a buildup in the bloodstream.
listed diabetes as the seventh
leading cause of death in the
world in 2016, and that standing
is expected to rise as the number
of diabetic patients increases.
Type Type
• Pancreas can’t make • Body can’t use the
The two types of diabetes insulin insulin produced by
are often confused or • Not Preventable the pancreas
• Less Common • Most common type
misunderstood. Awareness • Often seen in children • Often can be prevented
and education are necessary to • Must use supplemental with lifestyle changes
prevent serious complications insulin • Can be slowed down
• More likely to need to or placed in remission
from the disease. Primary
see an endocrinologist. • Can often be managed
care doctors are often the first without supplemental
line of defense against the insulin
development of Type 2 diabetes.
36
 FA L L 2 0 1 9

THE RISING
L eanndra Thompson reached shakily toward one of
the grocery store shelves. She could feel her body

BURDEN OF
shutting down. As Thompson frantically opened a
package of donuts, she realized it was already too late,
her blood sugar was too low. Unable to move, she seized
and crashed to the floor.
This was not the first time Thompson had woken up in
the hospital due to her diabetes, and she feared it would
not be the last.

INSULIN
Thompson is one of many diabetics greatly impacted
by the rapidly rising cost of insulin, a medication vital
to their health. Thompson, like many others, has Type
1 diabetes, meaning that insulin is not important for just
her health, but for her survival.
Unlike Type 2 diabetes, which is characterized by
the inability of one’s body to effectively utilize the insulin
being produced, those affected by Type 1 diabetes do
not produce insulin on their own. Insulin is a hormone
necessary for one’s body to function, as it allows glucose
BY: KATHERINE FISH to enter the body’s cells instead of building up in the
PHOTOS: GREG RANDALL bloodstream. Without a constant supply of glucose to
every cell, the body would shut down.
Over the past six years, the price of insulin has risen
drastically, with some companies having increased the
medication price by more than 500%.
“You can buy regular insulins, like Humulin R, at
Walmart without a prescription, but it used to be $20
for a vial of it. Now it’s $156,” said Angela Hammond,
a diabetes educator and nurse practitioner at University

“
Medical Center, which is operated by The University
of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences. A
It used to be recent American Diabetes Association study suggests
that a complex supply chain from the drug factory to the
pharmacy might promote higher prices.

$20 for a vial of it. These growing medication prices, some of which

”
amount to hundreds of dollars, have become a dangerous
financial burden for diabetics like Thompson. The high

Now it’s $156. costs have caused many patients to risk their health in
attempts to stretch out their insulin, even skipping it for a
day, because they could not afford it.
-Angela Hammond “For a while I was put on the pump, but my doctor
hadn’t prescribed me enough insulin for what I needed
each month. I was running out of insulin halfway through
the month, but my insurance wouldn’t pay for any more,
so I had to start rationing out my insulin,” said Thompson.
“A couple times, it has gotten to the point where I’ve had
to go and buy it myself out-of-pocket.

C O L L E G E O F C O MMU N I T Y H E ALT H SC IEN C ES 37

 F E AT U R E
F E AT U R E
One tube of my insulin costs about $150 and for me,
paying that has sometimes meant not being able to buy
all of the groceries I need.”
Even with good health insurance, it has not been
guaranteed that the appropriate amount of medication
will always be covered. Monthly restrictions placed on
prescription refills by insurance companies have caused
patients to suffer when their insulin has not lasted them as
long as intended.
“If my daughter’s insulin got warm, if for some reason
the refrigerator broke and it wasn’t kept cool, the insulin
would be ruined, it wouldn’t work. If that happens, or if
she lost it or something, then she would have to ration,
literally meaning she wouldn’t be able to eat as much, she
couldn’t eat any carbohydrates,” said Kelly Darragh, a
parent of a Type 1 diabetic.
For people with diabetes, being able to maintain healthy
insulin levels is vital to their long-term health. In addition
to the struggles they have always faced, diabetics are
38
A blood glucose meter measures the levels of sugar
in the bloodstream. Artificial insulin makes up for
what the body lacks.
now also faced with the constant fear of their medication
becoming a financial obstacle in their lives.
“It’s scary knowing that in the future I’ll always have
to, or at least I should, find a job that has good insurance
because without it my medication adds up to a whole
lot of money,” said Hannah Jones, a 22-year-old Type
1 diabetic. “For my insulin alone, before insurance, it’s
hundreds of dollars for a box that will last me a month.
Each supply of the test strips costs about $60, and that’s
just for a little bottle. If I am checking my blood sugar all
day every day, as I’m supposed to, I’ll go through that little
bottle in one week.”

H e lpi n g
w i t h hyp e rte n s i o n
BY: LESLIE ZGANJAR
PHOTOS: GREG RANDALL
F
aculty at The University of Alabama College
of Community Health Sciences received a
demonstration project grant from the American
College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) to develop
an innovative medical practice model for addressing
high blood pressure in African American males, a
population group with disproportionately large numbers
of hypertension diagnoses.
The grant, The Impact of Electronic Health Records
on Hypertension Screening, Diagnosis and Management
in African American Males, was one of only six awarded
nationwide by the ACPM. Dr. Louanne Friend, assistant
professor of community medicine and population health,
and Dr. Tamer Elsayed, director of The University of
Alabama Family Medicine Residency, are project directors.
The grant was awarded to the Capstone Health Services
Foundation (CHSF) and is the first grant ever awarded to
the foundation, said Dr. Richard Friend, dean of CCHS
and a family medicine physician. The non-profit CHSF
provides the organizational framework for the operation
of the College’s education programs and for the provision
of patient care provided by University Medical Center.
“This is very significant because the CHSF may qualify
for additional external funding opportunities related to its
patient base and organizational structure,” Friend said.
“We have worked hard to integrate CHSF with broader
University initiatives.”
The ACPM has partnered with the Division for Heart
Disease and Stroke Prevention at the US Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention on the grant program.
Awardees will work to develop and implement protocols
to detect, control and prevent hypertension, or high
FA L L 2 0 1 9
blood pressure, among black males ages 35 to
64, using data from existing electronic health
records. The goal is to improve the standard
of care for hypertensive patient identification,
referral and treatment.
The work by the CCHS group will be conducted
at University Medical Center, a multi-specialty
community medical practice operated by the
College and the largest in West Alabama with
locations in Tuscaloosa, Northport and Demopolis.
UMC has used electronic health records for more
than a decade.
Grant awardees have the potential to receive
funding for a total of three years, depending on
availability of federal funding and successful
completion of initial work. The College was
awarded $20,000 in April 2019 for the first year of
the research project, which will last through July
2020. There is the opportunity for the project to be
awarded a total of $50,000.
Addressing and reducing the burden of
hypertension, a known risk factor for heart disease
and stroke, is a public health priority, according to
the ACPM. Nearly 1 of 3 adults in the US, about 75
million people, have high blood pressure and only
about half of those have their hypertension under
control. More than 40% of adults in Alabama have
high blood pressure, according to the Alabama
Department of Public Health.
A population group that experiences higher
rates of high blood pressure are African American
men. In Alabama, 47.6% of African Americans are
diagnosed with hypertension, compared to the
US rate of 41.1%, according to America’s Health
Rankings 2018 Annual Report.
C O L L E G E O F C O MMU N I T Y H E ALT H SC IEN C ES 39
 F E AT U R E
From left: Dr. Louanne Friend, Blake Newman from the Center for Advanced Public Safety, Suzanne Henson and Dr. Gregg Bell
conduct a planning meeting for the HYPE app.
Team approach to care
The ACPM grant program seeks to increase
physician awareness of African American men with
hypertension, or at risk for the condition, and to
implement protocols to identify, screen, treat and
refer these patients to evidence-based Self-Measured
Blood Pressure (SMBP) programs that can provide
clinical support and lifestyle changes.
The ACPM strongly encourages use of a team-
based care approach for management of hypertension
that includes the patient, primary care provider and
other health care professionals – an accepted and
preferred strategy for reducing and controlling high
blood pressure.
The grant program calls on program participants
to test and evaluate innovative approaches to:
SCREEN AND TEST PATIENTS FROM THE
TARGETED POPULATION AND REFER
THESE PATIENTS TO SMBP PROGRAMS.
ENCOURAGE PATIENTS TO ENROLL IN
SMBP PROGRAMS AND SUPPORT THE
REFERRAL AND RETENTION PROCESS.
ADDRESS A SOCIAL DETERMINANT OF
HEALTH THAT PRESENTS A BARRIER TO
SCREENING, CARE MANAGEMENT AND
ENROLLMENT IN SMBP PROGRAMS.
COLLECT AND REPORT DATA ON PROCESS
AND OUTCOME MEASURES RELEVANT TO
THE EXPERIENCES OF THE TARGETED
POPULATION IN ACHIEVING THE GOALS
OF THE GRANT PROGRAM AND ASSESS
THE IMPACT OF INTERVENTIONS TAKEN.
40
The ACPM is providing technical assistance, resources
and expertise to help grant awardees achieve the goals of
the program and will work with grant awardees to support
their efforts and to disseminate lessons learned.
ACPM representatives from Washington, DC, conducted
a site visit at the College on July 8. Andrea Price, ACPM’s
project director for partner programs, and Dr. Stacey Schott
with the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical
Practice, suggested the CCHS team work first on designing
and testing a patient-focused and patient-driven evidence-
based lifestyle intervention to reduce hypertension in the
target population. They encouraged the team to include
the patient perspective in the design of their work, to “help
generate context around what will or will not work for them,”
and to consider including a patient on the care team. An
intervention can then be selected based on feasibility
and potential impact and piloted with a small group, the
representatives said.
“The potential for great success is evident, given the
creativity, dedication and innovation already utilized to create
their own self-monitoring digital app, named HYPE (see story
page 41),” according to the ACPM’s site visit report.
A model for other chronic conditions
Louanne Friend said work has already begun to identify
potential participants for the project.
She said UMC patients will have the opportunity to
enroll in an on-site or online education and training program
to develop lifestyle habits for self-monitoring and blood
pressure control. The on-site education classes will be held
at UMC and patients will receive assistance and support from
UMC nurses, social workers, physicians, pharmacists and its
dietitian to help meet their blood pressure goals. Patients will
also be provided with blood pressure testing equipment and
access to a free mobile health tracking app with diet and
exercise tips.
 FA L L 2 0 1 9
“While the ACPM project focuses on a particular
patient population, UMC physicians can use the
practice model and techniques to help patients
with other chronic health conditions,” said Richard
Friend. “Hypertension will be the first chronic disease
process, but we can look for others and, in this way,
provide even better care for our patients,” he said.
In addition to CCHS, other awardees of the ACPM
demonstration project are: Access Health Louisiana
in Kenner; Cook County Health in Chicago; Grady
Health System in Atlanta; Henry Ford Health System
in Detroit; and Lincoln Community Health Center in
Durham, North Carolina.
The APCM is a professional organization that
provides leadership in research, professional
education, development of public policy and that
works to enhance standards of preventive medicine
on behalf of its physician members.

hypertension:
there’s an app for that

D
r. Louanne Friend, assistant professor of
community medicine and population health
at The University of Alabama College of
Community Health Sciences, is working to help
patients reduce their hypertension, or high blood
pressure, with the help of an app.
Friend and her team at CCHS, including
Suzanne Henson, assistant professor of family,
internal, and rural medicine and a registered
dietitian, and Dr. Gregg Bell, assistant professor of
community medicine and population health, were
awarded $75,000 in funding last year from the
Alabama Department of Public Health through the
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The award is funding work to detect and treat
hypertension in University Medical Center patients,
and to provide lifestyle training for patients with
hypertension and high blood cholesterol. Friend
and her team have received an additional $75,000
for 2019-2020.

C O L L E G E O F C O MMU N I T Y H E ALT H SC IEN C ES 41

 F E AT U R E

The partnership with ADPH began in 2017 with

a $20,000 community grant, which supported
the development of a hypertension template
that was embedded into the electronic medical
record at University Medical Center’s Northport
location. The template alerts physicians when
patients might be undiagnosed with hypertension
and provides physicians access to a decision-
making tree for referral to lifestyle education and
pharmacotherapy. The template is also now in use
in all UMC family medicine clinics at UMC’s main
location in Tuscaloosa and at UMC-Demopolis.
CCHS operates University Medical Center.
Once the hypertension template was in use
at UMC-Northport, Friend’s work as part of this
project included development of a mobile health
app, called HYPE, in collaboration with the UA
Center for Advanced Public Safety. HYPE, a free
mobile app available in both iOS and Android
platforms, provides evidenced-based lifestyle
education and allows users to download and
print their health information, including blood
pressure, heart rate, weight, physical activity and
medications being taken, to bring with them to
doctor visits. Friend and her team hope to improve
the standard of care for hypertensive patient
identification and treatment, particularly for
patients who cannot attend in-person education
classes due to transportation barriers, a main
social determinant of health. The app will also be
highlighted with a demonstration project funded
this year by the American College of Preventive
Medicine and also being led by Friend, providing
the opportunity for the technology to be utilized
across the nation.
Friend said work is continuing to fine-tune the
app. Year 2 plans call for reminder and motivator
communications pushes, and for a feature that
would allow users to share their information
collected by the HYPE app with their electronic
medical record at UMC.

42
 SNAPSHoTS
1
The College of Community Health
Sciences, in partnership with
The University of Alabama Office
for Research and Economic
Development, Alabama Life
Research Institute, Institute
for Rural Health Research and
University Medical Center,
unveiled the new Mobile Outreach
Unit in April at the 2019 Rural
Health Conference held at the UA
Bryant Conference Center. The
vehicle has been instrumental in
continuing efforts of the UA Flu
Shot Campaign on the UA campus,
and the All of Us Program in
Tuscaloosa County, a nationwide Mobile Outreach Unit
precision medicine research
project of which the Institute for
Rural Health Research is a partner.

2 Partnerships with communities

to improve health was the focus
of the 20th annual Rural Health
Conference hosted this year
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, and
Community Health the impact of rural hospital
closures on emergency medical
services response times.
C O L L E G E O F C O MMU N I T Y H E ALT H SC IEN C ES 43
 SNAPSHOTS

3
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. Rex Farris was
one of the scholars who
RMS Convocation
presented his research at
a poster presentation held
the day of the convocation.

4
Twenty-one physicians were
honored June 30 at the 44th
annual graduation ceremony
of The University of Alabama
Family Medicine Residency and
Fellowships. Residency Director
Dr. Tamer Elsayed presented
outstanding recognition awards
to residents. The 15 graduating
residents and six fellows have
gone on to begin their own
practices in Alabama and other
states, or to fellowship programs.
FMR Graduation
44
 FA L L 2 0 1 9

5
Thirty-six medical students
were honored at the College of
Community Health Sciences
Senior Banquet on May 16 at the
Tuscaloosa River Market. The
students, now physicians, have
begun their residency training in
programs across 14 states.

Senior Banquet

6
The University of Alabama
named Dr. Richard Friend
dean of the College in
July 2019. A reception was
held to introduce him in
his new role to the campus
community and the College’s
partners across the state.
Friend had served as interim
dean since August 2018.

Dean’s Reception
C O L L E G E O F C O MMU N I T Y H E ALT H SC IEN C ES 45
 SNAPSHOTS

7
The College of Community
Health Sciences has again
partnered with WVUA-23
in Tuscaloosa to produce
the award-winning news
program Health Matters. The
segments feature University
Medical Center physicians
and CCHS faculty experts
discussing topics ranging
from balancing your diet to
increasing access to care
for expectant rural mothers.
Health Matters

8
Dr. Louanne Friend,
assistant professor of
community medicine and
population health, was
one of the faculty on hand
to teach new residents
and medical students at
the College of Community
Health Sciences the
proper technique for
inserting an IV during a
practice training session.

Practice Makes Perfect

46
 FA L L 2 0 1 9

FA C U LT YNEW TO THE COLLEGE

of COMMUNITY HEALTH SCIENCES

DR. BRITTNEY ANDERSON

Anderson joined the College of Community Health Sciences as assistant professor
of family, internal, and rural medicine. She will also care for patients at University
Medical Center, which the College operates, and teach and supervise the College’s
family medicine residents, medical students and clinical learners. Anderson earned
a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina,
and completed her master’s degree in Human Environmental Sciences as a Rural
Medical Scholar at The University of Alabama. She received her medical degree from
the UA School of Medicine, completing her third and fourth years of clinical education
at the College, which also serves as a regional campus for the School of Medicine.
She completed her residency training at the UA Family Medicine Residency, which is
operated by the College. Anderson has a special interest in rural medicine.

F A M I LY M E D I C I N E

DR. SHAWN CECIL

Cecil joined the College of Community Health Sciences as assistant professor of
pediatrics. He will also care for patients at University Medical Center, which the College
operates. Cecil received a bachelor’s degree from The University of Alabama and his
medical degree from the University of Alabama School of Medicine. He completed
his third and fourth years of medical school at CCHS, which serves as a regional
campus of the School of Medicine. Cecil completed his residency at the University of
Arkansas for Medical Sciences and served as chief resident at Children’s Hospital in
Little Rock, Arkansas.

P E D I AT R I C S

DR. IL GYU CHO

Cho joined the College of Community Health Sciences as a clinical assistant professor
of psychiatry and behavioral medicine. He will primarily care for patients at University
Medical Center’s Betty Shirley Clinic and will also spend time teaching the College’s
family medicine residents and medical students. Cho earned bachelor’s degrees in
biomedical sciences and biological sciences from Colorado State University in Fort
Collins. He received his medical degree from the University of Colorado School of
Medicine in Aurora. Cho completed general psychiatry residency training as well as
child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship training at the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill. He is board certified in psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry
and Neurology and his clinical interests are in child and adolescent psychiatry and
psychotic disorders.

B E H AV I O R A L M E D I C I N E
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 N E W F A C U LT Y

DR. DALE DICKINSON

Dickinson joined the College of Community Health Sciences as director of the Office of
Medical Student Affairs and associate professor of community medicine and population
health. In the director role, Dickinson will provide strategic leadership and oversight for
programs that support the education of medical students at the College. CCHS is a
regional campus of the University of Alabama School of Medicine. Specifically, Dickinson
will lead the College’s Office of Medical Student Affairs in the areas of academic and
career success, professional development, student health and wellness, student
leadership, and student organizations and interest groups. Prior to joining the College,
Dickinson spent nearly two decades at the University of Alabama at Birmingham as
faculty and in senior administration, including in the provost’s office as director of UAB’s
Quality Enhancement Plan. Dickinson received a bachelor’s degree in biology from
McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and a PhD in molecular biology and genetics
from the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario. He completed post-doctoral work at
the University of Southern California. As an associate professor of public health at UAB,
he published numerous scientific manuscripts, designed and taught courses and was
twice honored with the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.

M E D I C A L S T U D E N T A F FA I R S
DR. LILLIAN FINDLAY
Findlay joined the College of Community Health Sciences as associate professor
and psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner in the Department of Psychiatry
and Behavioral Medicine. Findlay has more than 20 years of advanced practice
experience in psychiatric-mental health nursing in both inpatient and outpatient
settings. She also has experience as a registered nurse in a medical intensive care
unit. Findlay has extensive experience in research as a study coordinator and with
psychiatric research teams in university settings. Her most recent research includes
examining health behaviors, health behavior decision making and the importance
of support services and other mechanisms to improve treatment adherence among
adults with serious mental illnesses. In addition, she developed a transitional care
model for a state mental health hospital aimed at improving health outcomes and
reducing health disparities and frequency of inpatient readmissions. Findlay earned a
bachelor’s degree from The University of Alabama, a master’s degree in nursing from
the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a PhD in nursing from the University
of Kentucky.
B E H AV I O R A L M E D I C I N E
DR. LISLE HITES
Hites joined the College of Community Health Sciences as associate professor in
the Department of Community Medicine and Population Health. He is also affiliated
with the Institute for Rural Health Research, which is operated by the College. Hites
received a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of Missouri at Kansas
City and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi
(USM), followed by a master’s degree in adult education, also from USM. He received
a master’s degree in industrial/organizational psychology from Tulane University in
New Orleans, and a PhD in occupational health psychology from the Tulane University
School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. Hites’s research interests include
burnout in health care workers, chronic disease disparities in rural and underserved
communities, and the associated health outcomes and financial impact.

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DR. HARITHA GUTTIKONDA

Guttikonda joined the College of Community Health Sciences as an assistant professor.
She will serve as a hospitalist at DCH Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa as part
of the College’s University Hospitalist Group. Guttikonda earned her medical degree
from Guntur Medical College in India and completed her residency at the Montgomery
Family Medicine Residency in Montgomery, Alabama. She spent 10 years working as
a primary care physician in Birmingham, Alabama, before joining the College. She has
special interests in women’s health, pediatrics, acute care and hospital medicine.

H O S P I TA L M E D I C I N E

DR. JACQUELYNN LUKER

Luker joined the College of Community Health Sciences as assistant professor of
family, internal, and rural medicine. She will also care for patients at University Medical
Center. Luker completed her undergraduate degree in biological sciences at The
University of Alabama. As a Rural Medical Scholar at UA, she went on to complete
her master’s degree in Rural Community Health. She earned her medical degree from
the UA School of Medicine and completed her residency training at the UA Family
Medicine Residency, which the College operates. She also completed a geriatrics
fellowship at the College. Luker has special interests in rural medicine, geriatrics, end-
of-life care and hospice care.

F A M I LY M E D I C I N E

DR. CHEREE MELTON

Melton joined the College of Community Health Sciences as assistant professor of
family, internal, and rural medicine. She will also care for patients at University Medical
Center, which the College operates, and teach and supervise the College’s family
medicine residents, medical students and clinical learners. Melton earned a bachelor’s
degree in biology from the University of Mobile, in Mobile, Alabama. She received her
medical degree from the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine in Spartanburg,
South Carolina. She completed her residency training at The University of Alabama
Family Medicine Residency, which is operated by the College, as well as a fellowship
in obstetrics at the College. She has special interests in adolescent female health,
obstetrics and long-acting reversible contraception.

F A M I LY M E D I C I N E
DR. GILMER RODRIGUEZ
Rodriguez joined the College of Community Health Sciences as assistant professor. He will serve as a hospitalist
at DCH Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa as part of the College’s University Hospitalist Group. Rodriguez
earned his medical degree from the National University of Trujillo in Peru and his internal medicine training
from the National University of Trujillo and the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York. He has post-
graduate degrees in general preventive medicine and public health from the Medical College of Wisconsin, and
in medical management from Tulane University in New Orleans. Rodriguez previously served as associate chief
of staff of Central Alabama Healthcare System, providing leadership and management to the system’s acute
care hospitals and multi-specialty clinics and was the designated educational officer responsible for 60 affiliated
academic institutions and 21 Veterans Affairs program directors.

H O S P I TA L M E D I C I N E

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 N E W F A C U LT Y

DR. HEATHER SKANES-DEVOLD

Skanes-Devold joined the College of Community Health Sciences as assistant
professor of obstetrics and gynecology. She will also care for patients at University
Medical Center. Skanes-Devold earned her medical degree from Wright State
University Boonshoft School of Medicine in Dayton, Ohio. She completed her
residency training at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, where she served as
the chief administrative resident. She has specific interests in health care disparities in
maternal-child health and in medical education.

OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY

DR. ASHLEY WAMBOLT STEINER

Steiner joined the College of Community Health Sciences as assistant professor
of family, internal, and rural medicine. She will primarily care for patients at UMC-
Demopolis, which is operated by the College. Wambolt earned her medical degree
from Saba University School of Medicine in the Caribbean Netherlands and completed
her residency training at The University of Alabama Family Medicine Residency,
which is operated by the College. She also completed an obstetrics fellowship at
the College. She has specific interests in women’s health and long-acting reversible
contraception. Steiner is a native of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia and a graduate
of Cape Breton University, where she was an Academic All-Canadian volleyball player.
Prior to graduation, she spent seven years in the Canadian Armed Forces, where she
reached the rank of Lieutenant Navy, served as executive officer for a regional section
of the Canadian Cadet Movement, and trained bi-athletes for national competitions
with particular attention to the development of distinguished marksmanship.

F A M I LY M E D I C I N E
DR. TIFFANY THOMAS
Thomas joined the College of Community Health Sciences as assistant professor
of family, internal, and rural medicine. She will also care for patients at University
Medical Center, which the College operates. Thomas earned a bachelor’s degree
in microbiology from Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina. She received
her medical degree from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston and
completed her residency training at The University of Alabama Family Medicine
Residency, which is operated by the College. She has special interests in rural and
global health and has visited four countries while participating in mission trips. Thomas
hopes one day to lead an annual mission trip to Kenya, while also finding ways to
serve small rural communities in Alabama.

F A M I LY M E D I C I N E

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SEVEN FELLOWSHIPS
The College of Community Health Sciences offers post-residency fellowships in
Emergency Medicine, Behavioral Health, Hospital Medicine, Geriatric Medicine,
Obstetrics, Sports Medicine and Pediatrics. Each fellowship is a year-long program
designed to provide additional, specialized training to family medicine physicians.

PEDIATRICS
PEDIATRICS

DR. RUSS GUIN

Guin is a sports medicine fellow with the College of Community Health Sciences.
The Sports Medicine Fellowship offers education, training and certification to family
medicine physicians, who are often called to serve as team physicians for high school
sports program in their communities. Sports medicine fellows also care for patients
at University Medical Center, which the College operates. Guin received a bachelor’s
degree in health sciences from The University of Alabama. He received his medical
degree from the UA School of Medicine and completed his residency training at the
UA Family Medicine Residency, which is operated by the College.

SPORTS MEDICINE

DR. ELIZABETH JUNKIN

Junkin is an obstetrics fellow with the College of Community Health Sciences. The
Obstetrics Fellowship, for family medicine physicians, one of the first of its kind in the
US, aims to address the need for obstetric care in rural areas. Obstetrics fellows master
high-risk, operative obstetrics and office ob/gyn procedures, including ultrasound,
colposcopy, cryotherapy and endometrial biopsies. They also care for patients at
University Medical Center, which the College operates. Junkin received a bachelor’s
degree in chemical engineering from The University of Alabama. She earned her
medical degree from the UA School of Medicine and completed her residency training
at the UA Family Medicine Residency, which the College operates.

OBSTETRICS

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 N E W F A C U LT Y

DR. SOOJUNG LEE

Lee is a geriatrics fellow with the College of Community Health Sciences. The Geriatrics
Fellowship offers a variety of experiences, including collaborating with interdisciplinary
teams and working at nursing home facilities, geriatric psychiatry facilities, hospice
and assisted living facilities. The fellowship also provides opportunities to work in rural
settings, and fellows care for patients at University Medical Center, which is operated
by the College. Lee earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Tulane University in
New Orleans and her medical degree from the Louisiana State University School of
Medicine in New Orleans. She completed her residency training at The University of
Alabama Family Medicine Residency, which is operated by the College.

G E R I AT R I C S

DR. SHAWNA OGDEN

Ogden is a behavioral health fellow with the College of Community Health Sciences.
The Behavioral Health Fellowship trains family medicine physicians, particularly those
planning to practice in rural communities, to better care for patients with mental health
and psychiatric concerns. Ogden received a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology from
Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and a master’s degree in biomedical science
from Barry University in Miami Shores, Florida. She received her medical degree from
St. George’s University in Grenada, West Indies, and completed her family medicine
residency training at LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport. As a resident, Ogden
was awarded the Family Medicine Resident Award for Advocacy for persistent efforts
to represent family medicine at a state level.

B E H AV I O R A L H E A LT H
DR. LIDIANNY POLANCO
Polanco is a hospitalist fellow with the College of Community Health Sciences. The Hospitalist Fellowship
is housed at DCH Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa, a tertiary-care facility with more than 580 beds
that offers a variety of specialty units and advanced care services, including cancer, cardiology, robotic and
minimally-invasive surgery, critical care pulmonology, gastroenterology, nephrology and the region’s most
advanced trauma center. Polanco, originally from the Dominican Republic, was raised in the Bronx in New
York City and earned her bachelor’s degree at Touro College in Harlem, New York. She completed her medical
education at the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine and her residency training at Our Lady of Lourdes
Memorial Hospital in Binghamton, New York. She has a special interest in inpatient medicine.

H O S P I TA L M E D I C I N E

DR. GAYLE WONG

Wong is a hospitalist fellow with the College of Community Health Sciences. The Hospitalist Fellowship
is housed at DCH Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa, a tertiary-care facility with more than 580 beds
that offers a variety of specialty units and advanced care services, including cancer, cardiology, robotic and
minimally-invasive surgery, critical care pulmonology, gastroenterology, nephrology and the region’s most
advanced trauma center. Wong received a Bachelor of Sciences degree as a Toxicology Specialist, with honors,
from The University of Toronto in Ontario, Canada. She earned her medical degree from Windsor University
School of Medicine in the Caribbean and completed her residency at Emory University Family Medicine
Residency in Atlanta.
H O S P I TA L M E D I C I N E
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FA C U LT YNEW ROLES IN THE COLLEGE

of COMMUNITY HEALTH SCIENCES

DR. MARTHA CROWTHER

Crowther was named associate dean for Research and Health Policy. She had
been serving in the position in an interim role. Crowther is professor of community
medicine and population health, and family, internal, and rural medicine. She is also
an investigator with the College’s Institute for Rural Health Research.
Crowther received her PhD in clinical psychology from Duke University in Durham,
North Carolina. She received a master’s degree in public health with a focus on
chronic disease epidemiology from Yale University, and earned a bachelor’s degree in
psychology from The University of California-Berkley.
Crowther has built a solid research portfolio on aging and racial diversity in urban
and rural populations. Her research has focused primarily on the elimination of mental
and physical health disparities in older adults, as well as the assessment of caregiving-
related stressors and outcomes at local, state and national levels. Her work has
considered the reduction of health disparities through community-engaged research.
She has been awarded research funding from federal, state, foundations and industry,
and has published journal articles and book chapters on topics that include mental
health, sexuality, aging and psychology.

A S S O C I AT E D E A N F O R R E S E A R C H

DR. TAMER ELSAYED

Elsayed was named director of The University of Alabama Family Medicine Residency,
which is operated by the College. In the role, he is responsible for the overall operation
of the residency, including resident recruitment and selection, residency teaching
and scholarly activities, supervision of residents, resident education in the context of
patient care, and ensuring compliance with accreditation requirements.
Elsayed served as interim residency director for the past year and before that held
the role of assistant director of the residency. The UA Family Medicine Residency
is one of the oldest and largest family medicine residencies in the US, training 48
residents per year and having graduated nearly 500 family medicine physicians
to date.
Elsayed earned a bachelor’s degree in medicine and a master’s degree in internal
medicine from the Medical School, Cairo University, Egypt, where he graduated with
honors. He also received an Award of Excellence from the Kuwait Ministry of Health.
He completed his residency training at the UA Family Medicine Residency.
Elsayed joined the College as assistant professor of family medicine in 2014. In
addition to participating in the clinical education of medical students and residents,
he cares for patients in the Family Medicine Clinic at University Medical Center, which
is operated by the College. Elsayed is also co-director of the College’s Emergency
Medicine Fellowship.

RESIDENCY DIRECTOR
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 N E W F A C U LT Y R O L E S

DR. JOHN C. HIGGINBOTHAM

Higginbotham, professor and chair of the Department of Community Medicine and
Population Health and director of the College’s Institute for Rural Health Research,
was named senior associate vice president for Research and Economic Development
for The University of Alabama.
In the role, Higginbotham works to develop and enhance research initiatives across
campus and serves as the chief operating officer for the UA Office for Research and
Economic Development.
In his UA role, Higginbotham focuses on overseeing and growing ORED’s internal
grant program and the annual process for identifying federal priorities for the University.
He is continuing his leadership roles with CCHS.
Higginbotham received a bachelor’s degree from UA, a master’s degree in public
health from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and his doctorate in preventive
medicine and community health from the University of Texas Medical Branch at
Galveston. He has an extensive portfolio of funded research, and his most recent
presentations and publications focus on racial and ethnic disparities related to cancer
and other health issues. He has chaired standing grant review committees for the
National Institutes of Health, received the Charles Barkley Excellence in Mentoring
Award, and received the Alabama Public Health Association’s Ira L Myers Award for
having a significant impact on public health.
In his leadership roles with the College, Higginbotham teaches, conducts research
and oversees the CCHS research infrastructure. He works in partnership with all areas
of the College to promote research and scholarly activities among faculty, fellows,
family medicine resident physicians, medical students and others.

U A S E N I O R A S S O C I AT E V I C E P R E S I D E N T
FOR RESEARCH AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

DR. DRAKE LAVENDER

Lavender, assistant professor of family, internal, and rural medicine, was named
director of Rural Programs. He was in the first class of the College’s Rural Medical
Scholars, a program created in 1996 to address the shortage of primary care physicians
in Alabama’s rural communities.
Lavender was raised in a small, rural Alabama community and earned a bachelor’s
degree in microbiology from The University of Alabama. He completed the Rural
Medical Scholars Program before going on to the UA School of Medicine, where he
earned his medical degree in 2001. The Rural Medical Scholars Program includes
a year of study, after students receive their undergraduate degree, which leads to
a master’s degree in rural community health and early admission to the School of
Medicine. Lavender completed his residency training at the UA Family Medicine
Residency, which is operated by the College, serving as a chief resident.
He went into private practice in Gordo, Alabama, before joining the College in 2014.
Lavender has been actively involved with the College’s longitudinal curriculum for
medical students, and also teaches endoscopy to resident physicians. In addition,
he cares for patients in Pickens County in need of endoscopy services. He is active
both regionally and nationally in the advocacy of family medicine and rural
medicine training.

DIRECTOR OF RURAL PROGRAMS

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DR. JOHN MCDONALD

McDonald, associate professor of OB/GYN, was named interim chair of the
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
In his new role, McDonald will continue teaching the College’s medical students
and resident physicians and caring for patients at University Medical Center, which
the College operates. He will also continue as director of the College’s Obstetrics and
Gynecology Clerkship, a position he has held since 2008.
After graduating from The University of Alabama with bachelor’s and master’s
degrees in accounting, McDonald earned his medical degree from the University of
Alabama School of Medicine. He completed residency training at the University of
South Alabama in Mobile, where he served as chief resident. He is board certified by
the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
McDonald has received a number of teaching awards throughout his career and
has served on numerous CCHS and UA committees. He has served as chair of the
OB/GYN Department at DCH Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa. He is a certified
public accountant (inactive) and a member of the Alabama Society of CPAs.

INTERIM CHAIR OF OB/GYN

DR. GRIER STEWART

Stewart, associate professor of family, internal, and rural medicine, was named
assistant dean for Medical Student Education. He has been an integral part of the
design, development and implementation of the College’s longitudinal curriculum for
medical student education. CCHS also functions as a regional campus of the University
of Alabama School of Medicine and in that role provides the clinical years of medical
education (third and fourth years) to a portion of School of Medicine students.
Stewart joined the volunteer faculty for CCHS shortly after going into private practice
in Tuscaloosa. He attended on the College’s Internal Medicine Service and served as a
preceptor for the fourth-year elective for medical students. He joined CCHS full time in
2008 and became Internal Medicine Clerkship director in 2014.
Stewart works with medical students learning at University Medical Center, which
the College operates, and DCH Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa. He serves
on the School of Medicine Admissions Committee and is involved with the College’s
Primary Care Track that is currently admitting its second class of medical students. The
track, the only four-year MD program in the School of Medicine system, is for students
interested in primary care careers and provides a strong foundation in clinical medicine
focused on primary care.
Stewart’s interests also include geriatrics and nursing home care and he serves as a
medical director for a Tuscaloosa nursing home.

A S S I S TA N T D E A N ,
M E D I C A L S T U D E N T E D U C AT I O N

C O L L E G E O F C O MMU N I T Y H E ALT H SC IEN C ES 55

 ACCOLADES
Sports Medicine Fellows Present at
National Conferences
Drs. Aloiya Earl and Mike Bradburn, who recently completed the Sports Medicine Fellowship at
the College of Community Health Sciences, presented at two national conferences – the American
Medical Society of Sports Medicine and the American College of Sports Medicine. Earl presented “A
unique case of recurrent stress fractures in a pediatric multi-sport athlete,” and Bradburn presented
“Isolated popliteus rupture in a 7th grade running back.” The Sports Medicine Fellowship is a year-
long program for family medicine physicians that offers education and training in sports medicine
care. During the year, fellows work with local high school athletes and University of Alabama athletic
team physicians, coaches, trainers and athletes.

Residency Graduates
Author EKG Textbook
Drs. Richard Giovane and Stephanie Kinsley, recent graduates of The University of Alabama
Family Medicine Residency, authored the textbook EKGs in a Nutshell: A Practical Companion.
The residency is operated by the College of Community Health Sciences. Dr. Robert Sheppard,
an associate professor of family, internal, and rural medicine for the College and director of its
Hospitalist Medicine Services, is also an author. The textbook on EKG interpretation is written for
the generalist and includes a broad array of clinical examples and detailed clinical applications. It
provides readers with real-life EKG analysis taken from patients the authors have personally cared
for, enabling them to provide clinical details most helpful to the interpreting and referring physicians.

Recent Graduate Presents

at International Conference
Dr. Jessica Powell, a recent graduate of The University of Alabama Family Medicine Residency,
presented a poster titled “The Impact of Family Medicine-Obstetric Care on Infant Mortality Rates in
Rural Alabama” at the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Annual Spring Conference in Toronto,
Canada. The residency is operated by the College of Community Health Sciences. The results of Powell’s
study show that access to local prenatal care and delivery services in Pickens County, Alabama, was
associated with a more than 60% drop in the infant mortality rate for the rural county.
The study also found that when the hospital in Pickens County closed its labor and delivery unit
and patients had to find prenatal care and delivery services in neighboring cities and counties, infant
mortality rates returned almost to baseline. Powell presented her poster with CCHS faculty Dr. Catherine
Skinner, a family medicine obstetrician, and Dr. Drake Lavender, a family medicine physician.

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Weida Selected to Permanent

Seat on National Committee
Dr. Tom Weida, chief medical officer for University Medical Center, was
selected by the American Academy of Family Physicians for its permanent
seat on the Relative Value Scale Update Committee (RUC). The committee,
established in 1991 by the American Medical Association, is a volunteer
group of physicians who make recommendations about how to value a
physician’s work when computing health care prices in the country’s
Medicare program. Weida, also a professor of family medicine for the
College of Community Health Sciences, which operates UMC, is currently
an alternate for the permanent RUC seat and will begin his service as a
permanent seat member in January 2020. He also serves as a member of
the RUC’s Practice Expense Subcommittee.

Payne-Foster Publishes
Research in National Journals
Dr. Pamela Payne-Foster, professor of community medicine and
population health for the College of Community Health Sciences,
co-authored: “Interdisciplinary, community, and peer leadership
approach to addressing housing among persons living with HIV in
the rural South,” published in the January 2019 issue of Housing
Policy Debate; “Physician trust and home remedy use among low-
income black and whites with hypertension: Findings from the TRUST
study,” accepted for publication in the Journal of Racial and Health
Disparities; and “Reducing the African American disease burden in the
Deep South: Addressing the role of faith and spirituality,” accepted for
publication in AIDS and Behavior.

Halli-Tierney and Carroll Publish

Research in National Journal
Drs. Anne Halli-Tierney and Dana
Carroll authored “Polypharmacy:
Evaluating Risks and Deprescribing”
published in the July 2019 issue of
American Family Physician. Halli-Tierney
is assistant professor of family, internal,
and rural medicine for the College of
Community Health Sciences and a
practicing geriatrician at University
Medical Center, which the College
operates. Carroll is clinical assistant
professor of pharmacy for the College. Dr. Anne Halli-Tierney Dr. Dana Carroll

C O L L E G E O F C O MMU N I T Y H E ALT H SC IEN C ES 57

 ACCOLADES

McKinney Co-Authors
Editorial for National Journal
Dr. Robert McKinney, assistant professor of social work for the
College of Community Health Sciences, co-authored “Editorial:
Abortion and The Routledge Handbook of Social Work Ethics and
Values,” published in the spring 2019 issue of Journal of Social Work
Values and Ethics.

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

Hammond Receives
Travel Health Certification
Angela Hammond, CRNP, has received a Certificate of
Knowledge Examination from the International Society of Travel
Medicine. Achieving certification demonstrates expertise in the
profession and solid knowledge of travel medicine. Hammond, a
nurse practitioner at University Medical Center, which the College
operates, leads the provision of travel health services for UMC’s
Faculty-Staff Clinic.

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College Faculty Recognized

with Argus Awards
Tuscaloosa campus winners of the 2019 Argus Awards
Students from the University of Alabama School of Medicine named a faculty member and a resident
on the Tuscaloosa Regional Campus winners of 2019 Argus Awards. The College of Community Health
Sciences, which operates The University of Alabama Family Medicine Residency and University
Medical Center, also serves as the School of Medicine’s Tuscaloosa Regional Campus and provides
clinical education for a portion of third- and fourth-year medical students. Dr. Joseph Wallace, chair
of the College’s Department of Surgery, received the Excellence in Education by a Community-Based
Physician award. Dr. Zach Smith, a third-year resident of the UA Family Medicine Residency, received
the Best Resident Educator award. The Argus Awards give medical students the chance to honor their
mentors, professors, courses and course directors for outstanding service to medical education and
training. The awards were presented during a ceremony on September 20 at the UAB Alumni House in
Birmingham, Alabama.

Excellence in Education
by a Community-Based Physician
Dr. Joseph Wallace, Department of Surgery

Best Resident Educator

Dr. Zach Smith, The University of Alabama
Family Medicine Residency

Dr. Zach Smith Dr. Joseph Wallace

Paxton Co-Authors
Articles for Research Journals
Dr. Raheem Paxton, associate professor of community medicine
and population health for the College of Community Health Sciences,
has co-authored: “Patient recommendations for reducing long-lasting
economic burden after breast cancer,” accepted for publication in Cancer;
“Health behaviors and lifestyle interventions in African American breast
cancer survivors – A review,” accepted for publication in Frontiers in
Oncology; “Correlates of dysfunctional career thoughts in breast cancer
survivors from the Bahamas,” accepted for publication in the Journal
of Psychosocial Oncology; “Survivorship issues in older breast cancer
survivors,” accepted for publication in Breast Cancer Research and
Treatment; “Health disparities among the United States Mainland, Puerto
Rico, Guam, and the United States Virgin Islands,” in The Journal of Health
Disparities Research and Practice; and “Managing spirituality within
distress throughout the cancer continuum,” accepted for publication in the
American Journal of Nursing.
C O L L E G E O F C O MMU N I T Y H E ALT H SC IEN C ES 59
 ACCOLADES

Adams and Cole Receive

Outstanding Recognition Award
Alison Adams and Leif Cole, employees of the
College of Community Health Sciences, were awarded
the 2019 Outstanding Staff Award by The University of
Alabama Office, Clerical and Technical Staff Assembly.
The award recognizes two outstanding employees
from among the office, clerical and technical staff of
the University whose exceptional ability, performance
and attitude have advanced the mission of UA. Adams
is the administrative specialist for the UA Family
Medicine Residency, which is operated by CCHS.
Cole is a medical records coding clerk at University
Medical Center’s Northport location. The College Alison Adams
operates UMC.

Leif Cole

Chief Residents
2019–2020 Academic Year

Dr. Larab Ahmad Dr. Meghan Bonds Dr. Anthony Johnson

*Not pictured: Dr. Ben Lee

Four residents of The University of Alabama Family Medicine Residency were named chief
residents for the 2019-2020 academic year. Drs. Larab Ahmad, Meghan Bonds, Ben Lee (not
pictured) and Anthony Johnson officially started in the chief resident role July 1. The three-year
residency is operated by the College of Community Health Sciences.

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