2020 Annual Report

College of Com m u n i t y H ealt h S c i e n c es

annual Report 2020

contents

13

Vital Signs:

College Updates

20

Leading the Charge: Caring for Campus and our Community

34

Spotlight: Dr. Gail Cassell

Catch up with the College of

Read about CCHS and UMC efforts

Eminent microbiologist partners

Community Health Sciences and

to keep campus and our communities

with CCHS to help improve health

University Medical Center.

safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

outcomes in Alabama’s Black Belt.

2

Dean’s Message

4

By the Numbers

38

Resident and Medical Student Spotlights

40

Advancement Updates

Annual Report is an annual publication of

DEAN

DESIGNERS

Dr. Richard Friend

Erin Tech Nicholas Jones

Relations Department and published through

Jennifer Phifer

University Printing at The University of

EDITOR Leslie Zganjar

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

PHOTOGRAPHERS Greg Randall

Erin Tech

Zachary Riggins

COVER ART

Mary Kathryn Carpenter

Nicholas Jones

UA Photography

the College of Community Health Sciences, created and produced by the CCHS External

Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

CCHS. UA.EDU

a message from the dean

Dr. Richard Friend IN 2020, everything changed.

The COVID-19 pandemic upended our world and in the year since has had an overwhelming impact – cutting short the lives of more than 500,000 Americans, throwing the economy into crisis and disproportionately hurting communities of color.

Face masks and social distancing became the norm, students had to learn remotely, and employees were told to work from home. University Medical Center physicians and clinic staff confronted a new, infectious disease as they cared for patients and instructed medical students and residents through their first pandemic.

The College of Community Health Sciences was asked to lead The University of Alabama’s response to COVID-19. We tested students, faculty and staff, conducted sentinel testing on campus and cared for symptomatic and exposed students in quarantine housing. UMC implemented protocols to safely care for patients, triaging at clinic entrances, in cars and over the phone, and ramping up telemedicine so patients could receive care without having to physically come to UMC. CCHS media interviews and UMC Town Halls kept the community informed about the virus with accurate and timely information. We prepared to receive vaccines and by mid-March 2021 had inoculated nearly 70% of UA faculty and staff.

Also in 2020, CCHS acquired Brewer-Porch Children’s Center from UA’s College of Arts and Sciences and work began to enhance and expand services.

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THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA

Brewer-Porch provides behavioral health care for Alabama children, adolescents and their families and, under CCHS, will also serve as a learning and research site for UA students and faculty.

CCHS partnered with UA’s Office of Research and Economic Development and Alabama Life Research Institute to recruit a team of pre-eminent biomedical sciences researchers to UA and the College. The team, with major National Institutes of Health grant funding and a solid track record in oral drug discovery, will propel basic sciences and translational research at CCHS. Plans were developed for UA’s MRI Research Center at UMC, which will allow researchers from psychology, health sciences, communicative disorders, education and engineering to collaborate on research about the human brain and its development.

We continue to fill our Primary Care Track class, a four-year MD program at CCHS for students interested in primary care careers and the only one of its kind at the UAB School

We accomplished a lot in 2020 but

of Medicine.

Though not new to us, the pandemic starkly revealed the disproportionate burden of disease on minority and rural populations. We opened UMC-Fayette in early 2021 to provide pre-natal care in an area with high infant mortality rates. UMC locations providing needed primary care are planned in Carrollton and Livingston, Alabama, in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

To give UA students access to expanded health care services, including gynecological

there is still much to do. We continue our work

and women’s health, neurology, sports medicine, endoscopy, endocrinology and hospitalbased care, the University’s Student Health Center merged with UMC in 2021.

And early this year we implemented an expanded and enhanced strategic plan to guide our efforts, and a new mission statement: We are dedicated to improving the health of individuals and communities in rural Alabama and the Southeast region through

as we eagerly await post-

leadership in medical and health-related education, primary care and population health; the provision of high-quality, accessible health-care services; and research and scholarship.

We accomplished a lot in 2020 but there is still much to do. We continue our work as we

pandemic life.

eagerly await post-pandemic life.

Dr. Richard Friend Dean, College of Community Health Sciences

C O L L E G E O F C O M M U N I T Y H E A LT H S C I E N C E S

3

20 by the 20 numbers C O L L E G E O F C O M M U N I T Y H E A LT H S C I E N C E S Faculty

Staff

Student Staff

85

332

29

GRAs

21

IN TRAINING

Medical Students

Resident Physicians

Fellows

62

49

7

Graduate Students

46

RURAL PROGRAMS

78

Physicians placed in rural Alabama since 1996

249 90% 58% 54% 4

THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA

Rural Medical Scholars Graduate with medical degrees Entered primary care residencies Entered rural practice

RESIDENCY

1 in 7

54%

Alabama family medicine physicians graduated from the Tuscaloosa Family Medicine Residency Program

275 of our alumni practice in 48 of the 67 Alabama counties 1

2

Practice in Alabama

3

1

3

2

7

90% 1

4

47%

3

2

4 4

3

3

3

1

8

2

1

2

4

Applicants

1

1

4

2

Practice in the Southeast

2

10

1,704

1 6

3

4

1

6 5

27 80

4 10

8

4 8

11

RECRUITMENT

1

4

1 4

3

277 Interviews

Practice in rural areas

F E L LO W S H I P S

Behavioral Health

Obstetrics

Geriatric Medicine

Hospital Medicine

Pediatrics

Emergency Medicine

Sports Medicine

C O L L E G E O F C O M M U N I T Y H E A LT H S C I E N C E S

5

M E D I C A L S T U D E N T M AT C H WA

OH TN LA

TX

AL

8

26

MI

CO

VA NC SC

Graduates matched in

12

States

UABSOM graduates matched to AL residencies

FL Residency specialties graduates matched into

Neurology

3

Surgery

1

Each Anesthesiology

Pediatrics Internal Medicine

2

Each

Each

4

Family Medicine

OB/GYN

Orthopaedic Surgery

Psychiatry

Transitional

SCHOLARSHIPS

$ 51 , 3 5 0

Scholarship and award dollars

6

THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA

16 40

Scholarships offered Recipients

I N T E R C O L L E G I AT E P A R T N E R S H I P S

37

University of Alabama graduate students from programs across campus had paid assistantships with and were mentored by College of Community Health Sciences faculty in 2020.

College of

College of

Arts and Sciences PhD, Clinical Psychology Master of Religion in Culture Master of Women’s Studies

12 1 1

Master of Rural Community Health School of

Social Work

Master of Social Work

Culverhouse College of Business Master of Business Administration

RESEARCH

$22,669,106 In grant submissions

PhD Educational Psychology

UA Graduate School PhD Interdisciplinary Studies

Community Health Sciences

College of

Master of Population Health Sciences

Education

9 1

Human and Environmental Sciences

1

1

College of

Master of Public Health

1

4 Library and Information Studies School of

3

Master of Library and Information Studies

1

PHILANTHROPY

$13,750

Donated to charity and non-profit

12

Organizations

C O L L E G E O F C O M M U N I T Y H E A LT H S C I E N C E S

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UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER

3

University Medical Center clinics serving West Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Northport and Demopolis.

UMC holds Patient-Centered Medical Home certifications at the Northport location and Family Medicine and Pediatrics clinics at the Tuscaloosa location.

PCMH Certified

P AT I E N T V I S I T S

158,761

Total patient visits in 2020

Total UMC visits

Tuscaloosa

Northport

Demopolis

91,609

73,804

11,205

6,600

54,693

12,459

810

Hospitalist patients at DCH Regional Medical Center

UMC physician visits at DCH

Babies delivered in 2020

F L U I M M U N I Z AT I O N S

8,335 Flu shots administered during the 2020 annual Flu Blast

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THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA

129 Flu shots administered during the 2020 annual Pediatric Flu Shot campaign

a new

strategic plan THE College of Community Health Sciences is implementing a new five-year strategic plan developed during 2019-2020 to guide its continued efforts to improve the health of Alabama communities through a strong foundation in primary care, the education of family medicine physicians, the provision of direct patient care and engagement in related research.

CCHS last embarked on a strategic planning process in 2012-2013, which led to a plan intended to direct the College for five years. In fall 2019, Dr. Richard Friend, dean of CCHS, appointed a Strategic Planning Committee comprised of faculty, staff and a Board of Visitor member to create a new plan. The diverse membership provided viewpoints of a large cross-section of CCHS stakeholders.

The committee met biweekly through 2019 and most of 2020. Members assessed current and desired states of the College and developed strategic plan drafts that were shared with CCHS faculty, staff and other constituents to garner feedback. The process paused briefly last year as the College and University Medical Center, which it operates, addressed the COVID-19 pandemic. The new strategic plan was approved at the conclusion of 2020 and implementation began Jan. 1, 2021.

M I S S I O N S TAT E M E N T The Strategic Planning Committee began its work with a review of the College’s existing mission statement.

After some adjustments, the following was approved:

We are dedicated to improving and promoting the health of individuals and communities in rural Alabama and the Southeast region through leadership in medical and health-related education, primary care and population health; the provision of high-quality, accessible health-care services; and research and scholarship.

C O L L E G E O F C O M M U N I T Y H E A LT H S C I E N C E S

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Our mission statement is all encompassing.

- Dr. Richard Friend

P L A N ST R U C T U R E The new CCHS Strategic Plan has three main elements: strategic priorities, goals and initiatives.

Five overarching strategic priorities serve as visioning statements for how the College will pursue its mission:

1 2 3

Shape globally capable, locally relevant and culturally competent physicians through learner-centered, innovative, community-based programs across the continuum of medical education.

Forge an international reputation as a health sciences academic research center.

Provide high-quality, patient-centered and accessible clinical services delivered by health-care professionals of all disciplines.

4

Foster a more diverse, equitable and inclusive CCHS.

5

Create a culture of employee wellness and growth.

S T R AT E G I C P R I O R I T I E S Each strategic priority has goals, metrics to assess progress, and initiatives to guide CCHS toward meeting the goals.

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THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA

1

Shape globally capable, locally relevant and culturally competent physicians through learner-centered, innovative, community-based programs across the continuum of medical education.

Goal 1: Address the physician workforce needs of Alabama and the Southeast region by being the standard of excellence in medical student education and family medicine residency and fellowship education.

Goal 2: Grow and strengthen the College’s undergraduate and graduate degree programs at The University of Alabama to develop a pipeline of students with training in health sciences, with an emphasis on primary care, rural health and population health.

2

Forge an international reputation as a health sciences academic research center.

Goal 1: Dramatically expand capabilities in biomedical and translational research.

Goal 2: Be a leader in health equity, outcomes and practice-based research by producing innovative, community-engaged research and scholarship to improve population health.

“We’ve already broken through this ceiling,” said Friend, noting the recent hiring of a preeminent biomedical sciences research team to propel basic sciences research at CCHS. The team has major grant funding and a solid track record in oral drug discovery, with a focus on diabetic cataracts, oral insulin therapy and lymphatic spread of Lupus.

We have built an enterprise of health-care professionals from all disciplines who are focused on high-quality care, with more opportunities to come. - Dr. Richard Friend

C O L L E G E O F C O M M U N I T Y H E A LT H S C I E N C E S

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3

Provide high-quality, patient-centered and accessible clinical services delivered by health-care professionals of all disciplines.

Goal 1: Establish CCHS as the core for health of the UA community.

Goal 2: Improve access to health care by developing clinical practice models that incorporate teaching and research in partnership with local communities.

Goal 3: Enhance the delivery of patient-centered, cost-effective and quality-focused health care.

4

Foster a more diverse, equitable and inclusive CCHS.

Goal 1: Increase recruitment and retention of world-class trainees, faculty and staff from diverse backgrounds.

Goal 2: Promote a culture of diversity, equity and inclusiveness.

5

Create a culture of employee wellness and growth.

Goal 1: Enhance CCHS faculty, staff, resident and student well-being across the six dimensions of wellness: emotional, spiritual, intellectual, social, physical and occupational.

Goal 2: Promote professional development opportunities.

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THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA

vital signs College Updates

education C O L L E G E G R A D U AT E S F I R S T S T U D E N T S TWO students graduated in 2020 from the first-ever degree program

from The University of Alabama Culverhouse College of

of the College of Community Health Sciences.

Business. The program has faculty with backgrounds in business, health policy, medicine, nursing, psychology,

Troupe Grimes and Derek Stallworth completed the College’s Master of Science in Population Health Sciences Degree in May of last

health promotion and public health.

Classes are offered both in the traditional in-person

year. The College began offering the graduate program in fall 2018.

“I chose this graduate program because I believe it best prepared me

setting or online, and the program is designed for both practicing and future health-care professionals.

for my future career as a physician,” Grimes said. “By examining the

Grimes is now a student at the University of South

health-care field from many different viewpoints – social behavioral, provider-based, administrative – I believe one will have a better

Alabama College of Medicine. He said as a medical student

understanding of how our system works and how and why it needs to

and eventually as a physician, he plans to apply what he

be improved.”

learned in the CCHS Master of Population Health degree

Population health is an interdisciplinary field that integrates clinical

program to more proactively address the health needs and concerns of Alabamians.

care and public health practices to prevent, reduce and manage human disease. Population health uses patient-centered approaches to

“Through my time in the program, I’ve gained a more

understand the needs of different population groups, with a particular

holistic view of medicine and have seen how complicated

focus on investigating health disparities.

and fragmented our healthcare system is,” he said. “As a result, I hope to be an advocate for continued improvement

The degree program is based in the College’s Department of Community Medicine and Population Health and incorporates faculty

and innovation that benefits all Americans.”

h ea l t h c a re C C H S A S S U M E S O P E R AT I O N S O F B R E W E R - P O R C H C H I L D R E N ’ S C E N T E R THE University of Alabama Brewer-Porch Children’s Center transitioned from the College of Arts and Sciences to the College of Community Health Sciences in 2020 and work quickly began to enhance and expand services at the center.

Brewer-Porch provides behavioral health care and educational services for children, adolescents and their families from across Alabama.

“CCHS is proud to serve Brewer-Porch Children’s Center,” said Dr. Richard Friend, dean of the College. “Our health-care

C O L L E G E O F C O M M U N I T Y H E A LT H S C I E N C E S

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team and health-related services will benefit this unique population

Northport, Demopolis and Fayette and more than 150,000 patient

of children. Brewer-Porch will become part of our Department of

visits last year.

“The decision of the Alabama Legislature in the 1970s to

Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, which has leaders in child and adolescent mental health care.”

embed a children’s center within the University to capitalize on

The College’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine

the University’s resources and to inform a service, teaching and

faculty include psychiatrists, psychologists and other providers with

research mission is extremely unique and holds great promise,”

experience and expertise in child and adolescent mental health care.

said Dr. Thad Ulzen, professor and chair of the Department of

In addition, primary-care health services are now being provided

Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at CCHS.

on-site at Brewer-Porch from CCHS faculty

Brewer-Porch has assisted thousands

physicians in family medicine and pediatrics,

of children and families with emotional

and the College plans to promote primary

and behavioral health issues, many with

prevention programs in the community to

histories of abuse or neglect. Many clients

complement the center’s existing programs.

have been able to graduate high school,

With the transition to CCHS, Brewer-

attend college or vocational programs,

Porch also stands to expand its role as a

obtain gainful employment and raise

teaching and research site for UA students

families, overcoming substantial barriers

and as a venue for innovative approaches to

and allowing them to lead successful lives.

clinical practice in children’s mental health,

Brewer-Porch services range from

with the potential of becoming a national

intensive outpatient to residential.

leader in the care of children with behavioral

Treatment is based on an interdisciplinary

health needs and their families.

CCHS provides clinical education to students at the UAB School

approach and the treatment team includes nurses, psychologists, teachers, social workers, therapists, mental health workers, and

of Medicine, as well as graduate medical education through its UA

consulting psychiatrists and dietitians. The center was established

Tuscaloosa Family Medicine Residency for new medical school

by the Alabama Legislature in 1970 to provide a model treatment

graduates pursing primary-care specialties. The College also operates

program for Alabama’s special-needs children, adolescents and

University Medical Center, the largest multi-specialty community

their families and is named for Albert Brewer, a former governor of

medical practice in West Alabama with locations in Tuscaloosa,

Alabama, and Ralph Porch, a former legislator.

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES ADDED TO FACULTY-STAFF WELLNESS CENTER THE College of Community Health Sciences in 2020 added the provision of behavioral health services to The University of Alabama Faculty-Staff Wellness Clinic.

The Faculty-Staff Wellness Clinic has long provided medical care to University employees and their families. The clinic is part of University Medical Center, which is operated by CCHS. Dr. James Reeves, director of the Faculty-Staff Wellness Clinic, said the goal of the clinic is to help create a healthier campus community by providing the care, support and resources that improve and maintain the physical and mental health and wellbeing of

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THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA

Dr. James Reeves

UA employees and their families.

Behavioral health services currently being provided include

families through the provision of medical care and behavioral health,” said Reeves, also associate professor of psychiatry and

counseling, grief and bereavement services, and stress

behavioral medicine at CCHS. He said future plans call for the

management counseling. Additional behavioral health services

addition of nutrition, fitness and other programs.

are planned for the future.

To contact the Faculty-Staff Wellness Clinic,

“The mission of the clinic is to provide a comprehensive

call (205) 348-1471 or

approach for ensuring the health of UA faculty, staff and their

email UMCbehavioralhealth@ua.edu.

U N I V E R S I T Y M E D I C A L C E N T E R : A P AT I E N T- C E N T E R E D M E D I C A L H O M E The NCQA is a national organization that works to improve the quality of U.S. health care.

NCQA recognition means medical practices are committed to providing care that is patient-centered, accessible, continuous, comprehensive and coordinated, and that focuses on quality. The PCMH model uses a care delivery team, led

UNIVERSITY Medical Center was recertified as a Patient-

by a primary care physician, that delivers coordinated and integrated care and is proactive in providing preventive,

Centered Medical Home in 2020 in recognition of its commitment

wellness and chronic illness care – all with the patient at the

to place patients at the forefront of care, and to advance quality in

center of the health care experience.

the health care it provides.

“Thank you for your dedication to sustaining your Patient-

Research shows that the PCMH model builds better relationships between patients and their clinical care teams,

Centered Medical Home recognition,” the National Committee

and helps patients be more compliant and successfully

for Quality Assurance wrote in announcing recertification of

manage chronic health conditions.

UMC, which is operated by The University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences.

The PCMH recertification was received by UMC’s Family

UMC is the largest community medical practice in West Alabama, with locations in Tuscaloosa, Northport, Demopolis and Fayette, and nearly 160,000 patient visits in 2020. UMC

Medicine Clinic in Tuscaloosa and by UMC-Northport. In

provides primary care-focused health services in family

addition, the Pediatrics Clinic at UMC in Tuscaloosa received

medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, women’s health,

certification as a PCMH in early 2021.

psychiatry, geriatrics, neurology and sports medicine.

UMC LEADS EFFORTS TO PROTECT UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY FROM THE FLU FOR the past decade, University Medical Center has led efforts by The University of Alabama to protect faculty, staff

University community from the flu.

“When enough people are vaccinated, it is more difficult for

and students from the flu. Last year’s flu shot campaign began

the flu virus to spread and that means everyone is less likely

Sept. 3, 2020, and continued through November. Free flu shots

to get the flu,” said Dr. Richard Friend, dean of UA’s College of

were offered at locations across campus; no health insurance

Community Health Sciences, which operates UMC.

was required. More than 8,000 flu shots were given.

The goal of the annual campaign is to make getting a flu shot as easy and convenient as possible, and to protect the

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, when a sufficient portion of a population is vaccinated from an infectious disease like the flu, it makes

C O L L E G E O F C O M M U N I T Y H E A LT H S C I E N C E S

15

the spread of the disease from person to person less likely. Even individuals not vaccinated, such as newborns, are offered protection because the disease has little opportunity to spread within the community. An annual flu vaccine is recommended for everyone 6 months of age and older and is particularly important for people who are at risk for serious complications from the flu.

The flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses. The flu can cause mild to severe illness, and serious consequences of flu infection can result in hospitalization and at times can even lead to death, according to the CDC. During the flu shot campaign, nurses from UMC and from UA’s Student Health Center and Capstone College of Nursing administer the vaccines on the UA Quad and at University buildings and other “Protect the herd” Flu Blast design

campus locations. WellBAMA is also a flu shot campaign partner.

research UMC TO HOUSE RESEARCH MRI THAT WILL EXPAND, STRENGTHEN UA RESEARCH CAPABILITIES UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER, which is operated by the College of Community Health Sciences, learned in 2020 that it will house a new research MRI, paving the way for University of Alabama researchers to expand the boundaries of knowledge of the human brain.

A $1.7 million research instrumentation grant from the National Science Foundation will assist in purchasing a state-of-the art MRI that will encourage interdisciplinary collaborations across campus and allow for leaps in neuroscience research.

An addition to UMC will create the UA MRI Center, which

Architectural rendering of the MRI building addition.

will house the MRI and support services. The MRI Center was developed in a collaborative grant proposal from faculty

“The research enabled through this MRI facility will boost

in six UA colleges, the UA Alabama Life Research Institute

our understanding of the neuroscience of learning and

and UMC that was awarded last year. Researchers from

neurodegenerative diseases, bringing benefits to our state

psychology, education, communicative disorders, health

as well as the broader society,” said Dr. Sharlene Newman,

sciences and engineering will use the MRI to continue novel

executive director of ALRI.

work in examining the human brain and its development.

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THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA

The grant allows UA to purchase a Siemens 3.0 Tesla

MAGNETOM Prisma MRI scanner, MRI compatible eye-tracker

of participants and perspectives to national research through the

and participant response system at UA for the study of brain

University’s location near economically depressed rural areas,

systems supporting various aspects

Newman said. Many research-based

of human behavior and cognitive

MRIs are located in large urban

function. UA researchers will be

centers, but UA already has a network

well equipped to address questions

of rural health-care research and

of how the brain works, which

outreach. “There are gaps in research

can lead to interventions that

because of the difficulty of reaching

help society, whether improving

rural populations,” Newman said.

the lives of people with autism

In addition, she said both graduate

spectrum disorder, assisting those

and undergraduate students will

with substance abuse or helping

benefit from the MRI Center by

children learn to read, according to faculty who collaborated on

gaining hands-on training and learning basic concepts of neuroscience

the grant proposal.

so they can consider and pursue careers in neuroscience.

The MRI Center will also position UA to bring a diversity

INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES TEAM JOINS CCHS

THREE professors specializing in biomedical sciences,

the Office for Academic Affairs partnered in support of

biochemistry and bioengineering joined the College of

the research group’s move to UA.

Community Health Sciences in 2020 with the goal of boosting

“The College of Community Health Sciences is

research and innovation in novel design and engineering of

committed to improving care and treatment for those

advanced drug delivery systems.

suffering medically, and this team’s ingenuity in targeting

Dr. M.N.V. Ravi Kumar is a professor in the College with

drug delivery furthers and expands our mission and

an adjunct appointment in UA’s College of Engineering, in

opportunity for collaboration that brings benefits to our

the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering.

faculty and clinical professionals,” said Dr. Richard Friend,

Internationally recognized for his contributions to nanomedicine

dean of CCHS.

research with applications for the treatment of human health and

The team came to CCHS from the Texas A&M

diseases, Kumar also leads the biomedical sciences initiative of

University College of Pharmacy, where Kumar led the

UA’s Alabama Life Research Institute.

world’s premier laboratory in nanotechnology-based oral

Two members of Kumar’s research team, Drs. Meenakshi

drug delivery systems. The team currently has more than

Arora and Raghu Ganugula, also joined CCHS, as associate

$6 million in sponsored research projects, including four

professor and assistant professor, respectively. Arora researches

Research Project Grants, also known as R01s, from the

the development of biomaterials for therapeutic applications,

National Institutes of Health.

specifically for autoimmune and inflammatory disease conditions.

Their lab and convergent biomedical sciences initiative

Ganugula has expertise in biotechnology and pharmacological

are being established in the AIME Building as part of

testing of novel bioactives and drug delivery systems.

ALRI, which brings together researchers from across

CCHS, the Office for Research and Economic Development and

campus to study problems that directly affect the health

C O L L E G E O F C O M M U N I T Y H E A LT H S C I E N C E S

17

and well-being of individuals and communities in Alabama, as well as across the nation and world.

“These three outstanding researchers bring a wealth of experience that will advance the University’s research enterprise through collaboration with our existing faculty while enriching the experience of our students,” said Dr. Russell J. Mumper, UA vice president for research and economic development.

Kumar’s team works with basic and clinical scientists in establishing novel drug delivery mechanisms and their application to inflammatory, infectious and vascular disease conditions. Their research is widely

Dr. Meenakshi Arora, Associate Professor

followed by other researchers in the field. The team has major grant funding and a solid track record in oral drug discovery, with a focus on diabetic cataracts, oral insulin therapy and lymphatic spread of Lupus.

Kumar was first to propose and demonstrate a non-competitive active targeting nano-system and its application to diseases. His work has advanced fundamental understanding of blood-intestine and other Dr. M.N.V. Ravi Kumar, Professor

biological barriers and has led to the development of two patents. These technologies have facilitated industry collaborations, as well as the formation of a spinoff company.

Kumar was recently inducted into the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences for his contributions to drug delivery. He is also a Foreign Fellow with the European Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Raghu Ganugula, Assistant Professor

CCHS RESEARCHER LEADS INSTITUTE WORK DR. M.N.V. RAVI KUMAR, professor in the College of

seeks to investigate the human condition at all levels, from the

Community Health Sciences, leads the biomedical sciences

molecular to the environmental, with the goal of improving the

work of the Alabama Life Research Institute at The University

lives of the people of Alabama and beyond. The ALRI collaborates

of Alabama. Researchers in this area are working to develop

with other UA centers, other institutions, health care corporations,

new therapeutics and delivery methods and translate them

governmental agencies and community-based organizations.

into clinical studies.

ALRI is a University-wide institute that serves as a focal point for interdisciplinary biopsychosocial research that

18

THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA

The ALRI’s core research breaks down into five themes: rural health and health disparities; neuroscience; biomedical sciences; environmental sciences and health; and implementation science.

CCHS FACULTY PART OF NATIONAL EFFORT TO STRENGTHEN COVID-19 VACCINE ROLLOUT

transmission and burden, but hard-hit communities must have an active role in the vaccination campaign.

“All the researchers on our local team, and in the larger project, have a strong commitment to community partnership in health promotion,” said Dr. Stephanie McClure, assistant professor of anthropology and CommuniVax Alabama principal investigator. “We believe our efforts to identify Dr. Pamela Payne-Foster FIVE faculty members from The University of Alabama, including one from UA’s College of Community Health Sciences, are part of a research coalition working to strengthen the community’s role and involvement in an equitable COVID-19 vaccine campaign.

Alabama is one of five sites of the CommuniVax initiative – a rapid

the concerns that foster vaccine hesitancy and to engage communities as partners in encouraging vaccine uptake will help bring the current health crisis and its accompanying restrictions on our daily lives to an end more quickly.”

Along with McClure, UA researchers involved include Dr. Pamela Payne-Foster, physician and professor of community medicine and population health at CCHS; Dr.

ethnographic research project examining facilitators and barriers to

Bronwen Lichtenstein, medical sociologist and professor

vaccine uptake in historically underserved communities of color in

of criminology and criminal justice; Dr. Kathryn Oths,

the United States.

professor emeritus of anthropology; and Dr. Levi Ross,

Local research teams will listen to community members and work with them to develop suggestions on how to strengthen COVID-19

associate professor of health sciences.

An initiative led by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health

vaccine delivery and communication strategies. The coalition will

Security at the Bloomberg School of Public Health and

synthesize and disseminate community viewpoints to national

the Texas State University Department of Anthropology,

stakeholders to develop a more equitable and effective vaccination

CommuniVax has received a $2 million grant from the Chan

effort, with an enduring impact on public trust.

Zuckerberg Initiative to fund this research. The two leading

The four other sites are: San Diego, California; Southeastern Idaho; Baltimore City, Maryland; and Prince George’s County, Maryland.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionally affected communities of color in the United States. Across the country, COVID-19 infection and mortality rates are highest in non-

institutions will work with the five local research teams, a national expert working group, and a network of national associations representing stakeholders on both sides of vaccination – system operators and beneficiaries.

“By understanding the concerns and desires of people of

white groups, particularly, Black, Indigenous and Latino/Latinx

color and the constraints they experience, and by supporting

populations. The pandemic continues to exacerbate systemic factors

them to take charge of their hometown’s vaccination

that drive longstanding health inequities among communities of

responses, this project has the potential to increase

color. This situation is compounded in states with substantial rural

vaccination rates and decrease the health, economic and

populations like Alabama, by issues of poverty, transportation and

social effects of the pandemic,” said Dr. Monica Schoch-

shrinking health-care infrastructure.

Spana, medical anthropologist and senior scholar at the Johns

The forthcoming vaccination efforts can help mitigate COVID-19

Hopkins Center for Health Security.

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LEADING the CHARGE CARING FOR FOR CAMPUS CAMPUS AND OUR COMMUNITY COMMUNITY

20

THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA

CCHS, UMC PLAY VITAL ROLE IN UA’S RESPONSE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

By Leslie Zganjar AS SPRING BREAK APPROACHED IN MARCH 2020, University of

Alabama officials closely tuned in to reports of a novel and deadly virus that appeared to be gaining a foothold in the United States. Little was known about COVID-19 at the time. University administrators quickly turned to UA’s College of Community Health Sciences for its expertise and guidance as the University began responding to a global pandemic that might soon threaten its campus.

CCHS provides education and training for family medicine resident physicians and UAB School of Medicine students, and operates the multispecialty University Medical Center, the largest community medical practice in West Alabama. With its medical and public health knowledge and resources, College leaders immediately began advising UA officials, collaborating with public health officials, and launching efforts to deliver accurate and up-to-date information about COVID-19 across campus and the community.

These preliminary steps were quickly followed by the College’s provision of COVID-19 testing to thousands of UA faculty and staff prior to the start of the fall 2020 semester, and thousands of UA students as they arrived on campus. Once virus vaccines became available in early 2021, UMC began vaccinating the campus community against COVID-19. Testing and vaccination efforts continue.

UMC, meanwhile, implemented protocols to protect patients at all of its locations – Tuscaloosa, Northport and Demopolis – and ramped up telemedicine capabilities to continue to provide patient care at a time when people were urged to stay home as much as possible and to social distance.

“We have worked very hard to respond to the pandemic from every aspect of our organization,” said CCHS Dean Dr. Richard Friend, a family medicine physician. “We decided we would do whatever it took to keep campus and the community safe.”

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PREPARING FOR A PANDEMIC AS THE SERIOUSNESS OF COVID-19 TOOK HOLD, CCHS WENT TO WORK. Friend and Dr. John C. Higginbotham,

professor and chair of the College’s Department of Community Medicine and Population Health, filled important advisory roles on the UA System Comprehensive Health and Safety Plan Task Force, providing critical medical insights and guidance on how to protect students, faculty and staff and keep campus safe from the virus. Friend is also a member of the UA Presidential Advisory Committee dealing with COVID-19.

In addition, CCHS leaders advised the Tuscaloosa Mayor’s Office and worked closely with local, state and national public health officials. UMC physicians were dispatched to UA’s colleges, schools and other units to meet regularly with faculty and staff to provide information about COVID-19 and to answer questions and address concerns.

“I am especially grateful for Dr. Richard Friend and the dedicated staff in the College of Community Health Sciences and University Medical Center for their ongoing leadership,” said UA President Dr. Stuart Bell.

At UMC locations, safety protocols were implemented to keep patients and employees safe from the virus. Masks and social distancing were required, patients were screened for COVID-19 symptoms at front entrances, adult patients were asked to come alone to their appointments while minor patients could have one parent or guardian with them – all in an effort to reduce the number of people in UMC facilities.

While UMC had provided some patient care via telemedicine for a number of years, those efforts accelerated

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THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA

Rapid testing units were acquired as soon as they were available for UMC to host large-scale test sites for the campus’s employees and students.

beginning in March 2020 so that patient care could be provided via Zoom, FaceTime and phone. The visits allowed for the care and treatment of basic, urgent and chronic health care needs without patients having to physically come to UMC to see their doctors,

I am especially grateful for

thus reducing possible risk of exposure to COVID-19. As a service

Dr. Richard Friend and the

to the community, UMC offered teletherapy at no charge for health-care professionals and first responders working on the front lines of the pandemic.

Dr. Jared Ellis, a UMC family medicine physician, cared for patients via telemedicine in 2020 and said the service worked well.

“Sometimes you’re limited a little bit and not able to read body language. Sometimes it’s easy to talk over one another. But, overall, it’s very similar to an office visit,” Ellis said.

dedicated staff in the College of Community Health Sciences and University Medical Center for their ongoing leadership.

Dr. Stuart Bell, President of The University of Alabama

While in-person patient visits have, for the most part, resumed at UMC, most mental health care and therapy is still being provided via telemedicine.

Making PPE for Health-Care Workers WHEN PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT WAS IN SHORT SUPPLY LAST YEAR, University Medical

Center and other members of The University of Alabama community came together to produce face shields for health-care workers locally and regionally.

Using 3D-printing, UA’s College of Engineering and Culverhouse College of Business fabricated hundreds of face shields for UMC, DCH Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa and UAB Hospital in Birmingham.

The face shields were manufactured at The Cube in the College of Engineering, which houses 3D printers and other equipment. Large sheets of plastic were cut using a waterjet to form the face shield, and printers were used to make the headbands. Students in Culverhouse’s STEM Path to the MBA program assembled the face shields.

“I was so encouraged by the ingenuity and resources of the University to make this happen,” said Dr. Richard Friend, dean of UA’s College of Community Health Sciences, which operates UMC.

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COVID TESTING AND CARE UMC LED THE UNIVERSITY’S COVID-19 TESTING PROGRAM IN 2020 WITH THE GOAL OF KEEPING CAMPUS OPEN AND FACULTY, STAFF AND STUDENTS SAFE. Beginning in July 2020,

a cadre of UMC health-care professionals reported almost daily to the University’s Coleman Coliseum to test approximately 7,000 UA faculty and staff for the virus.

“We want to do the best things we can to prevent spread of the virus on campus and be better prepared to start when students come back,” Higginbotham said at the time. He is also UA’s senior associate vice president for Research and Economic Development, one of the UA divisions that helped coordinate testing.

Added Friend: “The idea was to make sure that when students returned, that all of our faculty and staff had been tested. The University was committed to ensuring that campus was the safest it could be.”

As students filed onto campus in preparation for the fall 2020 semester, UMC health-care providers continued daily testing at Coleman Coliseum for this population, and later testing continued at the East Campus Storm Shelter.

UMC’s Sofia diagnostic testing machines were set up at Coleman Coliseum during the fall semester to rapid test specimens and provide results, often within 15 minutes. UMC has since retrofitted its in-house laboratory to do polymerase chain reaction tests, or PCR tests, the more rigorous of available tests for COVID-19.

Coupled with the ability to conduct rapid tests, UMC staff can more easily collect results and report them in a timely manner.

“We can turn PCR test results around in 24 hours because it’s being done on-site and doesn’t have to be sent to an outside lab,” said Dr. Tom Weida, UMC’s chief medical officer.

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THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA

Susan Tant monitors University Medical Center’s PCR testing machine, which can quickly detect whether patient samples are positive or negative for the virus.

25

We are the linchpin for keeping campus and the community Testing was conducted in four populations on campus: symptomatic individuals, individuals possibly exposed, individuals in a shared geographic area and those individuals

healthy.

Dr. Tom Weida, University Medical Center Chief Medical Officer

randomly selected for sentinel testing. Test results were entered into a system so that a group of CCHS employees could conduct testing notification and isolation and quarantine protocols.

Those employees are part of the UA COVID-19 Support Program, developed and staffed by CCHS to assist UA faculty, staff and students through COVID-19 testing, and contact, isolation and quarantine protocols. To aid in these efforts, a CV hotline was established – multiple phone lines manned by CCHS employees with backgrounds in medical care and public health – to deliver test results, answer questions about the virus and UA’s plans and protocols, and to guide those in the UA community who test positive for COVID-19 on what they need to do about work, housing and quarantine and isolation.

UMC doctors continued meeting with faculty and staff at UA’s colleges and schools, and physicians in the Tuscaloosa Family Medicine Residency Program, which is operated by CCHS, provided daily checks on UA students quarantined or isolated as a result of COVID-19.

As 2021 began, CCHS conducted back-to-campus testing for approximately 10,000 residential students. All told, UMC had administered 75,330 COVID-19 tests by mid-March 2021.

“Thank you CCHS for the work you’ve done testing students in the fall and for spring testing,” said Chad Tindol, UA’s chief administrative officer. “Vaccination will add more work for you, but it will see us to the end.”

Ongoing testing occurred for students, faculty and staff at Coleman Coliseum at The University of Alabama.

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THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA

Virtual Care TELEMEDICINE HELPED BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN PATIENTS AND PHYSICIANS DURING COVID-19.

University Medical Center began offering telemedicine visits for patients when the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020 via Zoom, FaceTime and phone. The visits allowed for the care and treatment of basic and urgent health needs without patients having to physically come to UMC to see their doctor.

And, to assist those in Tuscaloosa working on the front lines of the pandemic, UMC offered free virtual mental health services to health-care providers and first responders, including paramedics, police officers and firefighters, who continued to respond to emergencies often with the added stress of not knowing if the CCHS’s Mobile Outreach Unit performing COVID-19 testing outside of the Rose Administration building at The University of Alabama.

people they were assisting had the virus.

“Our hope was to provide first responders and health-care providers with strategies to cope more effectively with additional distress they confronted as a result of the COVID-19 crisis,” said Dr. Martha Crowther, a psychologist at UMC. While telemedicine has been around for a number of years, it became more widely used during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Jared Ellis, a family medicine physician at UMC, cared for patients via telemedicine and said the service worked well.

“Sometimes you’re limited a little bit and not able to read body language. Sometimes it’s easy to talk over one another. But, overall, it’s very similar to an office visit,” Ellis said.

Dr. John Burkhardt, a clinical psychologist at UMC, said teletherapy requires him to use other senses. UMC mental health care providers continue seeing most of their patients via teletherapy.

“Teletherapy forces you to use your other senses that you took for granted. Right now, I’m more aware of different inflections in people’s voices, even subtle ones.”

Mental health services for health care workers and first responders included individual and group therapy options.

Burkhardt hopes telemedicine will continue to be used after COVID-19 is over. He said the technology is a good way to reach people who lack transportation to clinics, as well as people in rural areas who lack access to health care.

COVID-19 test results were reported on-site at Coleman Coliseum, and patients were notified of their test results within a 15-minute window on average.

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Sentinal Testing THE COLLEGE OF COMMUNITY HEALTH SCIENCES WORKED CLOSELY IN 2020 WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA’S EFFORTS to mitigate

campus spread of COVID-19 by conducting sentinel testing of faculty, staff and students.

The College, which operates University Medical Center, is leading this work in 2021, managing sentinel testing as well as the collection, testing and reporting of random samples of the campus community.

Sentinel testing is one of several important measures for preventing the spread of COVID-19 and keeping campus safe.

Naomi Shepard processes COVID-19 tests in UMC’s lab.

Through sentinel testing, random samples of students and employees are selected for COVID-19 testing. The testing is

“We feel good about our efforts,” said Friend. “We listened to

voluntary, and the data helps UA understand the prevalence

feedback from faculty, staff and students from the fall semester

of COVID-19 on campus and allows for prompt response to

and set out to take a proactive approach to mitigate concerns and

changes in infection rates.

provide accessible testing with reliable, rapid results.”

Dr. Richard Friend, dean of CCHS, said the College will

While voluntary for most, sentinel testing is required for:

continue sentinel testing every other week in 2021, following

students living on campus; students participating in clinical

weekly testing that was done at the start of the spring 2021

activities; students who will have a presence on campus at any

semester. Sentinel testing is currently being conducted through

time during the semester; and other individuals participating in

UA medical facilities. In addition, UA invested in setting up a

University-sponsored programs.

lab at UMC in 2020 that performs polymerase chain reaction

“The sentinel program is a bridge to for-cause testing,” Friend

tests, or PCR tests, the more rigorous of available tests for

said. He said the testing will allow the University to “make good,

COVID-19. Coupled with the ability to conduct rapid tests,

scientific calls on where we need to go and what we need to do

UMC staff can more easily collect results and report them

with for-cause testing.”

in a timely manner. “We can turn PCR test results around in

For-cause testing occurs when there is a geographic cluster

24 hours because it’s being done on-site and doesn’t have to

of positive test results, such as a section of a residence hall or a

be sent to an outside lab,” said Dr. Tom Weida, UMC’s chief

classroom. Working alongside symptomatic and exposure testing,

medical officer.

sentinel testing is designed to find these clusters early.

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THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA

VIRUS VACCINES IN JANUARY 2021, UMC RECEIVED ITS FIRST DOSES OF THE MODERNA COVID-19 VACCINE and began

vaccinating UA’s highest priority groups – University healthcare workers, law enforcement and security personnel, and UA employees and retirees aged 75 and older. Following Alabama Department of Public Health guidelines, UMC soon expanded that pool to include more UA faculty and staff.

Vaccinations were by appointment on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and approximately 30 minutes in length, including the required 15-minute observation to ensure there were no adverse reactions. So far, reactions have been rare and mild, Friend said. Vaccination is continuing.

“We are seeing few, if any, side effects from the first dose but are seeing some body aches and low-grade fevers from the second dose. This is a good thing because it means your immune system is reminded that it has been exposed to the virus and is mounting antibodies, which is what you want to happen,” Friend said.

Pictured from top: CCHS faculty member Dr. Ann Halli-Tierney receives her COVID-19 vaccine.

Middle: UA Tuscaloosa Family Medicine resident physicians Dr. Morgan Benefield and Dr. Nathan Boles display their vaccine cards after receiving their first dose in December 2020.

Bottom: Donna Owens, OB/GYN nurse at University Medical Center, shows off her bandaid after getting a COVID-19 vaccine shot.

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It was my turn to have my first COVID-19 vaccination today. I commend the staff at University Medical Center for the job they are doing and how efficient the process is.

The Moderna vaccine, which has been shown in clinical trials

Greg Byrne, UA Athletic Director

to be approximately 95% effective, requires two doses 28 days apart. Everyone is given a follow-up appointment at their first dose appointment. By mid-March 2021, UMC had administered nearly 10,000 COVID-19 vaccines.

“Thank you for a speedy, organized and compassionate vaccine today,” Dr. Elizabeth Tavares, a UA faculty member, said after receiving her first Moderna vaccine dose. “The stab didn’t hurt anything more than a flu shot and I am set for my second dose.”

“Taking care of the community is what we do,” Friend said. “There is nothing more impactful we can do now than put shots in arms.”

CAMPUS TO COMMUNITY RECOGNITION OF THE DISPROPORTIONATE BURDEN OF DISEASE ON MINORITY POPULATIONS, and higher

rates of COVID-19 infection and mortality in persons of color, prompted CCHS to offer virus screening and testing in a number of Alabama Black Belt communities in 2020.

“Providing screenings in the Black Belt region is important because there is limited access to health care in these communities,” Friend said. “We believed it was important to put some of our resources there.”

CCHS collaborated with UA’s Office for Research and Economic Development, Alabama Power and the Livingston’s Mayor’s Office, as well as community organizations that included the Black Belt Community Foundation, Rural Alabama Prevention Center and Go2Foundation for Lung Cancer, to provide screening and testing.

Using UA’s Mobile Outreach vehicle, virus screening and testing was conducted by UMC nurses and physicians in Aliceville, Cuba, Epes, Eutaw, Halsell, Lisman, Livingston, Uniontown and York. Health insurance was not required for testing. Everyone tested was contacted within several days by a member of the testing team and informed of their results.

“We greatly appreciate the partnership with The University of Alabama to provide COVID-19 screenings to our community,” said Livingston Mayor Tom Tartt. “Because of

Molly Gwin, RN, nursing supervisor at UMC, prepares a COVID-19 shot.

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THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA

partnerships like this, we will get through these tough times and continue to meet the needs of our residents.”

UMC and the WVUA-23 television in Tuscaloosa partnered to launch weekly Town Halls to continuously provide information about COVID-19 from UMC doctors and health experts. The Town Halls, which started April 10, 2020, and continue today, take place live on the Facebook pages of UMC and WVUA. “The UMC Town Halls provide important updates about the COVID-19 pandemic and what we are doing at University Medical Center to care for those impacted, either directly or indirectly, by the COVID-19 outbreak,” said Weida, who hosts the Town Halls. He added that it’s important for patients and the community to receive accurate information on a regular basis from friendly faces and familiar voices.

CCHS and UMC also began regular media briefings in March 2020 to further inform the UA campus community and the local community about COVID-19, and to keep

Dr. Tom Weida (center), chief medical officer at University Medical Center, pictured with Steve Diorio (back right) and Mike Royer (front right) behind the scenes of the UMC COVID-19 Virtual Town Hall at the WVUA-23 Studio at The University of Alabama.

television, and quoted in major media outlets around Alabama and the U.S. “Watching a global pandemic unfold, to protocols and

people abreast on virus developments. UMC physicians and

precautions, to testing and to a vaccine that is among the most

College faculty have been regular fixtures on local and regional

effective of vaccines, it’s been quite a process,” Friend said.

Bringing COVID-19 Screening, Testing to Areas of Need Community Health Sciences, UA’s Office for Research and Economic Development, Alabama Power and the Livingston Mayor’s office launched a collaborative program to provide COVID-19 screening and testing in Black Belt communities.

Community organizations, including the Black Belt Community Foundation, Rural Alabama Prevention Center and Go2Foundation for Lung Cancer, also partnered in the initiative.

Using UA’s Mobile Outreach Unit, nurses from University Medical Center and resident physicians from the College’s Tuscaloosa Family Medicine Residency began COVID-19 screening and testing in Livingston. In the ensuing weeks and UNDERSERVED COUNTIES THROUGHOUT ALABAMA,

throughout the summer, virus screening and testing was held in

PARTICULARLY THOSE IN THE STATE’S BLACK BELT

Aliceville, Eutaw, Livingston, York, Cuba, Lisman, Uniontown,

REGION, ALREADY SUFFER from limited availability of health

Epes and Halsell.

care, which made access to COVID-19 screening and testing there especially difficult.

In spring 2020, The University of Alabama College of

The screening process included questions about symptoms being experienced, such as coughing, fever and shortness of breath.

Insurance was not required for people to be screened or tested.

Continued on next page

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“Providing screening and testing in the Black Belt region is

determinants of health are conditions in the places where people

important because there is limited access to health care in these

live, learn, work and play. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and

communities,” said Dr. Richard Friend, dean of CCHS, which

Prevention has stated that poor social determinants of health, such

operates UMC. “It was critical that we get resources to residents.”

as poverty and lack of access to healthy food, stable housing, safe

Data from 2020 revealed that residents in Alabama Black Belt counties experience higher rates of COVID-19. The region, historically named for its rich, dark soil, is today burdened with

neighborhoods and good education systems, can impact a wide range of health risks and outcomes.

In addition, social determinants of health can worsen health

poverty, high unemployment, lack of access to health care and

outcomes for people diagnosed with COVID-19. While the virus

with that associated problems like high blood pressure, heart

can cause mild or moderate symptoms for many people, others,

disease, cancer and diabetes.

especially those with existing health conditions, can experience

There is a well-recognized link between social determinants of

more severe illness.

health and health status, according to public health experts. Social

To our faculty and staff...THANK YOU! YOU CAME TO WORK EVERY SINGLE DAY, at a time when most of the public was advised to stay home.

You labored tirelessly, and with determination and compassion, to keep our University Medical Center patients and our University of Alabama community safe from COVID-19.

Throughout 2020, you tested UA students, faculty and staff for the virus, then traveled to rural and Black Belt communities in the state to provide much-needed testing there. You traveled across the UA campus to meet in person with administrators, faculty and staff to provide important information and answer questions about COVID-19. You checked daily on students in quarantine and isolation. As 2021 began, you continued and expanded COVID-19 testing – and began vaccinating the UA campus community.

All of which added considerably to your workload. There have been long hours, long work weeks, weekend work – and missed time with family. There have been no complaints. I am grateful for your commitment to our patients and learners, our community and to each other.

You are my inspiration, the finest examples of selflessness, resilience, ingenuity and kindness. Watching you work so hard to keep people safe makes me proud.

We could never get through COVID-19 without you, so never forget how important and vital your work is.

Thank you for everything you have done, and continue to do, to keep us all safe. Know that I am grateful, and that I am privileged to work with you.

Sincerely,

Dr. Richard Friend

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THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA

C OV I D - 1 9 numbers By the

SCREENING AND TESTING

34,50 5 TOTA L C O V I D - 1 9 T E ST S AT U A

26,29 6 TOTAL TESTS AT COLEMAN COLISEUM

8, 2 09 TOTAL UMC PATIENT TESTS

MOBILE OUTREACH UNIT

5 BLACK BELT COUNTIES

637

4 10

SCREENINGS IN BLACK BELT

COVID-19 TESTS IN BLACK BELT

Chocktaw Greene Perry Pickens Sumter

16 EVENTS IN BLACK BELT

8

75, 330

UA CAMPUS TEST SITES

UA CAMPUS TESTS GIVEN

COVID-19 VACCINATIONS

9, 372 1 5,39 1

FIRST DOSES

TOTAL VACCINES GIVEN AS OF MARCH 2021

2 3,39 1

SECOND DOSES

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spotlight

H

er path to microbiology and a distinguished career in academics and public health began in Coosa County with, of all things, an old textbook and some chickens.

The textbook came from a doctor in the central Alabama town

where Gail Cassell grew up, and it contained material about naturally occurring cancer caused by a virus in chickens. The information

Dr. Gail Cassell

sparked an idea, and with supportive parents who allowed her to conduct experiments in the pantry closet, Cassell worked to create a vaccine to protect chickens from the cancer.

She entered the vaccine project in her school’s science fair, the first stop on its way to becoming the winning project at the Alabama

Eminent microbiologist partners with CCHS to help improve health outcomes in Alabama’s Black Belt

Regional Science Fair and ultimately a First Place Award at the International Science Fair. The following year, with additional work, she again represented the state at the International Science Fair and was selected as one of two students to win an award from the American Medical Association and exhibit her project at their annual meeting. These awards led to Cassell being named a

By Leslie Zganjar

Westinghouse Science Talent Honors Scholar, which came with many opportunities for scholarships to out-of-state universities and a Gorgas Scholarship, which was restricted to use within the state.

With these prestigious awards, Cassell was encouraged by Thomas Martin, founder of Alabama Power Company and the Southern Research Institute, to meet with Dr. Frank Rose, then president of The University of Alabama. She did, and when it was time, enrolled as an undergraduate student at UA. She received a bachelor’s degree at the Capstone and earned a PhD in microbiology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

What followed was a remarkable career and tremendous commitment to the field of infectious diseases and to global health, as well as success in progressing novel tuberculosis therapeutic drug candidates. Today, Cassell is shifting focus to her home state and partnering with UA’s College of Community Health Sciences to bring attention to and help improve health outcomes in Alabama’s impoverished and medically underserved Black Belt region.

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THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA

Academics to Therapeutics

A

cademics was the starting point. Cassell moved through the Department of Microbiology at the UA Schools of Medicine and Dentistry, eventually

becoming chair and Charles H. McCauley Professor. She enhanced the department’s national and international stature by significantly improving research, graduate studies and grant funding. In addition, the department ranked first in the nation in research funding from the National Institutes of Health during the decade of her leadership.

In 1997, Cassell was recruited to Eli Lilly and Company in Indianapolis, Indiana, as Vice President of Infectious Diseases Drug Discovery and Clinical Investigation. She was also responsible for initiating and co-leading the not-for-profit Lilly MDR-TB Partnership in its fight against multidrugresistant tuberculosis–a disease that disproportionately affects developing countries. In 2007, by establishing the not-for-profit Lilly TB Drug Discovery Initiative, she led the expansion of the original duration and scope for the partnership to focus on early drug discovery efforts. Today, she continues work on a TB drug in late stage, pre-clinical development as part of this philanthropic effort.

“We decided to make these efforts a philanthropic program and now, exceeding over $200 million, they are one of Lilly’s largest philanthropic efforts for a single disease in its 145year history,” Cassell said. “Prior to COVID, TB remained the

pursue her efforts related to MDR-TB. She founded the Forum on Drug Discovery, Development, and Translation at the National Academy of Medicine (formerly Institute of Medicine), where she led a five-country effort to assess the realities of the burden of MDR-TB. She has been involved in the development of science and policy legislation related to biomedical research and public health. Cassell is a past president of the American Society for Microbiology, which is one of the oldest and largest scientific organizations. Among other national and international awards, Cassell has received two honorary doctorate degrees, was selected

by UA in 1993 as one of the top 31 female graduates of the 20th Century and, in 2003, was given the Distinguished Alumna Award of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Today, she is a senior lecturer in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School and focuses on establishment of international policies to improve access to medicines for MDR-TB.

deadliest infectious disease, killing more than HIV and malaria combined. The world needs to be prepared for infectious diseases. It’s very expensive to stay prepared, you need funding and stockpiles. It’s a hard sell but one we’ve been making for a

It’s very expensive to stay prepared,

long time.”

Along the way, Cassell established a distinguished record

you need funding and stockpiles.

of leadership and service with the National Academy of Sciences, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Food and Drug

It’s a hard sell but one we’ve been

Administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where she twice garnered a spot on a short list of candidates to lead the agency, but declined in order to

making for a long time. time -Dr. Gail Cassell

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Global health and Alabama

C

assell’s interest in, and knowledge of, global health is how she first connected with Dr. Richard Friend, dean of the College of Community Health Sciences. The next time, it

was about COVID-19.

Friend leads the UA college that educates and trains medical students and family medicine physicians. The College operates the largest community medical practice in West Alabama, with four locations and more than 150,000 annual patient visits. Early in 2020, CCHS was tasked by UA to lead the University’s efforts to keep campus open and its faculty, staff and students safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. He reached out to Cassell.

“I’m a family medicine physician with emergency medicine experience. My experience with pandemics is zero. But I know how to ask for help,” Friend said. “Gail really helped me.

Through her work with the COVID-19 START Coalition and the

The Black Belt is a crescent-shaped region that stretches across the middle of Alabama and includes the 18 counties pictured above.

COVID-19 Healthcare Coalition, she guided me to domestic and international groups and to data that helped keep campus safe. She

curriculum of the UA Tuscaloosa Family Medicine Residency,

has been invaluable as a resource, a friend and an advisor to me.”

which is operated by CCHS and is one of the oldest and largest

Cassell said she is impressed with how UA has navigated COVID-19. “That’s a real credit to UA and to Dr. Friend.”

But their initial association came when Friend asked Cassell

family medicine residencies in the U.S. While there is an obvious academic and clinical benefit to studying and practicing in other countries, particularly

to serve on a Global Health Advisory Board CCHS was creating

developing countries, such care also aligns with the College’s

to develop an exchange program with The University of Global

mission of improving health outcomes in underserved

Health Equity in Rwanda. Global health is an important part of the

communities. “It helps residents learn how to take care of people by listening and touching instead of relying on technology,” a resource often lacking in rural areas, said Dr. Jane Weida, an associate residency director who developed the Global Health Curriculum. She said residents can take lessons learned in underdeveloped parts of the world and use that knowledge to improve health conditions at home, particularly in Alabama’s Black Belt.

The crescent-shaped region stretches across the middle of Alabama and is named for its once rich, dark topsoil that made cotton the state’s primary source of wealth before the Civil War. Today, jobs and health care are scarce in the Black Belt, which has

The College’s Mobile Outreach Unit visited five Black Belt counties and held 16 COVID-19 screening and testing events during the summer of 2020.

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THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA

some of the worst health outcomes in the state and nation.

Magazine and wastewater

A

n article published in the New Yorker in 2020 got Cassell

be expanded to other health programs in the region and that

thinking about the Black Belt. The article focused on the

the same ingenuity that CCHS used to keep UA’s campus and its

region’s wastewater crisis, quoting experts who called the

students, faculty and staff safe during COVID-19 can be used to

situation a public-health disaster.

improve health conditions and outcomes in the Black Belt.

The article reported that many Black Belt households are not on

“The health challenges in the Black Belt are not unsimilar to

municipal sewer lines and have inadequate septic systems or none

those in low-income countries. There are lessons to be learned

at all, leaving them reliant on a practice known as straight piping.

both ways,” Cassell said. “There’s more we can think about doing

With straight piping, not uncommon in rural America, sewage is

in the Black Belt. It deserves special attention.”

piped from homes directly outside.

But heavy rains and floods can carry sewage back across people’s lawns and into their homes, “bringing with it the risk of viruses, bacteria, and parasites that thrive in feces. Studies have found E. coli and fecal coliform throughout the Black Belt, in wells and in public waters,” according to the New Yorker article.

In 2017, a United Nations rapporteur on extreme poverty visited the Black Belt and said the sewage problem was unlike anything he

There’s more we

had encountered in the developed world. “This is a wake-up call for all of us,” Cassell said.

Because wastewater can play a role in transmitting illness and

can think about

disease and can even be used to monitor disease spread within communities, such as polio (historically) and COVID-19, the wastewater issue resonated with Cassell. As a microbiologist, she naturally has a strong interest in infectious diseases, which remain a leading cause of death worldwide and contribute significantly

doing in the Black Belt. It deserves

to escalating costs of health care. Also a cause for concern are more recent emerging pathogens and resulting infectious diseases, among them SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), MERS

special attention.

(Middle East Respiratory Syndrome), West Nile and Zika viruses and even deliberately disseminated infectious diseases like anthrax.

During conversations with Friend, he provided Cassell with

-Dr. Gail Cassell

health-related information and data about the Black Belt. That information led her and the COVID-19 START Coalition, led in part by Christian Kanady of Oklahoma City, to provide generous gifts to CCHS for a support fund focused on Black Belt health initiatives. The money was initially used to provide COVID-19 screening and testing in the Black Belt. Cassell hopes funding can

C O L L E G E O F C O M M U N I T Y H E A LT H S C I E N C E S

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spotlight

Dr. Tameka Hairston Resident physician at The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa Family Medicine Residency Program

R

By Erin Tech

esident physician Dr. Tameka Hairston was recording doctor notes as a scribe in college when she decided, “Why scribe for a physician when I can scribe for myself as a physician.”

Now entering her third and final year at The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa Family Medicine Residency Program, operated by the College of Community Health Sciences, Hairston is doing just that.

Hairston hails from Mississippi – born in Pachuta and graduated from Quitman High School, where she first became interested in medicine. With two biochemistry scholarships in tow, she graduated Magna Cum Laude from Mississippi State University in Starkville with a bachelors in biochemistry in 2013. Hairston then took a position as a traveling scribe for two years before entering medical school at the University of Mississippi in Jackson, where she earned her medical degree in 2019.

When considering her next moves after medical school, Hairston admits to being a “late bloomer” when it came to choosing family medicine as her residency specialty. “Early on in medical school, I was a part of the family medicine group, which allowed me to attend family medicine conferences, listen to different lectures in the field and ultimately get more exposure to the specialty in general,” Hairston said. These opportunities peaked her interest, but Hairston credits a

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THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA

physician shadowing experience as the deciding factor. “One person who had a big role on me choosing family medicine was a physician I shadowed and considered as a mentor that showed me a different side of family medicine I was not accustomed to,” Hairston said.

“Knowing that I could possibly make my practice the way I want was very intriguing.”

Once Hairston was fully committed to a family medicine residency, she began considering programs that reflected her values and work ethic. After a dinner with residents of the Tuscaloosa Family Medicine Residency, an interview with faculty and attending a second look, Hairston was convinced that UA would be her new family. “The idea of being a part of a large ‘family’ in an unopposed residency setting that offered multiple fellowships felt like the right place to groom me into a great physician,” she said. “Everyone seemed so happy and it truly felt genuine.”

Hairston moved from Mississippi to Alabama with ease stating an already established feeling of familiarity. As a first-year resident, she enjoyed each rotation equally but found that her favorite was the ectocardiogram unit with CCHS faculty and surgeon Dr. Robert Shephard. Now in her upper level rotations, Hairston most enjoys sports medicine and inpatient medicine. “I love sports, so having the opportunity to be around it is truly rewarding,” she said. “And I never thought I would choose inpatient medicine as a favorite rotation but I can honestly say it’s one where I feel challenged and eager to learn.”

Hairston has also established relationships with and found new mentors in CCHS faculty along the way, mentioning a strong connection with Dr. Brittney Anderson that began with a rural rotation in Demopolis, Alabama. “I can say it was both rewarding and refreshing to see someone who looks like you and with a similar upbringing who is currently accomplishing some of the same goals I’ve set for myself,” Hairston said. Just like Anderson, a former CCHS Rural Medical Scholar and chief resident of the Tuscaloosa Family Medicine Residency, Hairston was also elected by colleagues and faculty as one of four chief residents for 2021, which she claims is her proudest moment so far.

From her beginnings as a scribe to now preparing to complete her residency training, Hairston admits to some uncertainty of what is next in her journey. Although undecided, Hairston’s ultimate goals as a physician promise to echo throughout her career. “Day-by-day, month-by-month and year-by-year I have a mission to close the disparity gap that is heavily noted in the field of medicine and to always be a physician who cares for the well-being of each and every one of my patients,” Hairston said.

spotlight

Ala’a Abu-Spetani UAB School of Medicine student at the College of Community Health Sciences

By Erin Tech

R

arely can a person begin training for the job they are passionate about at the age of four. Ala’a Abu-Spetani, a third-year UAB School of Medicine student at the College of Community Health Sciences, couldn’t identify the origin of her inspiration at such a young age, but she clearly understood that doctors exist to “help people.” As her interest in medicine grew over the years, helping others has remained fervent at her core.

Ala’a Abu-Spetani was born and raised in Huntsville, Alabama, and graduated from James Clemens High School in 2014. While in high school, she became more confident in her abilities to become a physician after participating in a biomedical program designed to introduce high school students to the medical field.

The desire to practice medicine both enhanced and firmed as she worked through her undergraduate degree program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Abu-Spetani received the UAB Presidential Scholarship and Housing Award, along with a Huntsville-Madison County Hospitality Association Scholarship, and graduated from UAB with a Bachelor of Science degree in neuroscience in 2018. “It wasn’t until high school and college that I started developing a true passion for it, particularly in the way of caring for the underserved and

underprivileged,” Abu-Spetani said. “I started getting interested and invested in human rights and found a heart for humanitarianism.”

Abu-Spetani credits her Palestinian roots when speaking about her ingrained motivation to help vulnerable populations. “I grew up watching the humanitarian crisis across the Middle East and found myself wishing I could do something useful to help preserve the sanctity of life,” she said. “I wished I could provide the type of medical aid they required and it made me realize I could contribute to bettering the world through medicine.” When considering medical school, Abu-Spetani found her goals most aligned with the Primary Care Track offered through The University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences, stating that it “was advertised as a program that sought to build and maintain empathy within every physician…my Palestinian blood has made me resilient and hardworking, and I plan to pay it forward by caring for people who are suffering the most in the world.”

Along with classwork and rotations, Abu-Spetani participates in and is recognized by several UAB organizations focused on both health and humanitarianism, including the Admissions Committee as a student host and application reviewer, Diversity Ambassadors, Health Equity Scholars, Global Health Interest Group, as well as the Alabama Interfaith Refugee Partnership. On being recognized as a Health Equity Scholar, Abu-Spetani states, “I was selected from a group of applicants for my passion and dedication to health equity…through this organization I have found many like-minded individuals that have helped me learn more about the inequities they face or witness.”

Abu-Spatani has narrowed her sights for future training with postgraduation plans to pursue a residency specializing in emergency medicine, social emergency medicine and global health. “As someone who has viewed herself as a global citizen, I feel a responsibility to engage in health care, and our individual health relies on our collective welfare,” she said. “I am proud of the strides I’ve made in advocacy and feel like I have developed my voice here in Tuscaloosa.”

Abu-Spetani is now entering her final year of medical school and knows her four-year-old self would also be proud. “I want to be the best doctor I can be and administer equitable and just care to any patient who walks in the door, something that is absolutely possible as an emergency physician,” she said. “I hope that one day, as a physician, I can make my family and all of the communities I am a part of proud. I feel like I have a responsibility to a lot more people than myself, and I hope that my values, heritage and upbringing will contribute to becoming the best physician I can be.”

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advancement update ®

B

2020

ecause of your generosity and the support of the Capstone Health Services Foundation, University Medical Center exceeded its goal of $5,000 during The University of

Alabama’s 2020 Bama Blitz online fundraising campaign. A total of $9,470 was raised from 50 individual gifts and a 1:1 match from the foundation, enabling University Medical Center to qualify to become a Reach Out and Read Alabama site. Every dollar received for our Reach Out and Read program allowed us to purchase more than 3,000 new, developmentally appropriate books for our youngest patients, children between the ages of 6 months to 5 years, at their well-child visits.

Like so many things last year, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our medical practice delayed our efforts to launch our Reach Out and Read program in fall of 2020 as originally planned. In March 2021, we officially launched the program in our Pediatric Clinic at our Tuscaloosa University Medical Center location and the program will soon be implemented in our Family Medicine Clinic at the same location. UMC’s Reach Out and Read program was again our passion project for Bama Blitz in 2021.

We look forward to bringing you along as we sustain and expand University Medical Center’s Reach out and Read Alabama program, and we welcome your continued support.

A special Thank You to our Bama Blitz Donors!

Dr. Brittney T. Anderson

Mr. Nick J. Foster

Ms. Kellie Lee

Mrs. Traci R. Swann

Dr. John G. Bell

Mrs. Milla W. Green

Dr. Connie C. Leeper

Dr. Heather M. Taylor

Dr. and Mrs. Stuart R. Bell

Mr. Billy W. Hamilton

Dr. James D. Leeper

Ms. Lisa Taylor

Mrs. Jennifer H. Booth

Mrs. Angela B. Hammond

Dr. Edward J.

Mr. Eric W. Towles

Dr. Caroline Boxmeyer

Dr. Randi J.

Dr. Hawken T. Brackett

Henderson-Mitchell

Markushewski Jr.

Dr. Jane A. Weida

Mrs. Olivia W. May

Dr. Thomas J. Weida

Ms. Alicia R. Browne

Mr. Scott Hicks

Mrs. Vicki G. Miller

Mrs. Nelle T. Williams

Dr. Karen B. Burgess

Mrs. Sara A. Hulsey

Dr. Russell J. Mumper

Mr. Jonathan P. Worrell

Ms. Jamie R. Burke

Dr. Robert B. Ireland Jr.

Ms. Jennie Naylor

Mrs. Andrea L. Wright

Dr. Shawn P. Cecil

Mr. Walter Kellar

Mr. Jacob D. Paul

Ms. Jennifer K. Wright

Ms. Eliana Costantino Burgazzi

Ms. Elizabeth A. Lary

Dr. James J. Reeves

Mrs. Laurie A. Wright

Dr. Amelia E. De Los Reyes

Mr. Randy Latta

Mr. Eddie Sherwood

Dr. Lea G. Yerby

Dr. Tamer Elsayed

Ms. Casey M. Lee

Ms. Alli H. Swann

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THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA

Dr. Earnest Cole Brock Jr. Sports Medicine Support Fund

G

regory Brock, Rita Phifer and Rebecca Sillers, children of the late Dr. Earnest Cole Brock Jr., generously established a scholarship at the College of Community Health Sciences in their father’s memory, honoring his legacy and love for The University of Alabama.

Brock was one of the first orthopedic doctors in Tuscaloosa. A highlight of his career was the

opportunity to work with UA head football coaches Paul “Bear” Bryant, Ray Perkins and Bill Curry as team physician from 1960-1988.

Other work that was particularly meaningful to Brock included being elected to the Alabama Board of Examiners (10 years) and being a member of the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine. He also, with much enjoyment, served on the selection committee for the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame for 25 years.

The Dr. Earnest Cole Brock Jr. Sports Medicine Support fund will provide new funding for the College’s resident physicians and fellows to attend national educational conferences and to purchase learning equipment used for teaching, practice and training.

I

The Jovita M. Taylor Endowed Scholarship n 2017, the Jovita M. Taylor Endowed Scholarship was established by former College of Community Health Sciences faculty member and Department of Pediatrics Chair, Dr. Michael Taylor, and his daughter, Dr. Heather Taylor, current faculty member at CCHS and pediatrician at University Medical Center, which is operated by CCHS. The scholarship became fully endowed in December

2020, and will be awarded to medical students at the College, which also serves as the Tuscaloosa Regional Campus of the UAB School of Medicine, with priority given to fourth-year students pursuing pediatrics.

The award fund bears the name of Michael Taylor’s wife and Heather Taylor’s mother, Mrs. Jovita Taylor. The Taylor family is almost exclusively made up of pediatricians, with Jovita Taylor being the only exception. Michael Taylor is a professor of pediatrics at the UAB School of Medicine in Birmingham, Alabama, and both daughters–Heather Taylor in Tuscaloosa and Dr. Brook Haynes in Opelika, Alabama–practice pediatrics as well.

After years of keeping the scholarship a secret, Michael and Heather Taylor were excited to finally see Jovita Taylor’s reaction when presented with a commemorative plaque by CCHS in December 2020. “She was very humbled and honored,” Michael Taylor said of the big reveal. “She has sacrificed an awful lot over the years to enable us all to pursue our passions.”

Heather Taylor credits her mother as having raised all three pediatricians when

Mrs. Jovita Taylor receiving her commemorative plaque.

considering the support she has provided for Michael Taylor over the years. “My mom has always been passionate about medicine and health care...and has always been supportive of us,” she said. “It’s pretty unique–she has really raised three pediatricians. Education is very important to her and she doesn’t want people to have the same financial burdens that my dad had. With the scholarship being a way to help others pursue their passion in pediatrics, she is, in a sense, raising even more pediatricians. That is really her legacy.”

An additional plaque was created and hangs in the UMC Pediatric Clinic, where medical students will be continuously encouraged to pursue their passions, too.

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board of visitors The CCHS Board of Visitors is made up of 35 volunteers, including alumni, donors, community physicians, business people, community activists and other friends of the College of Community Health Sciences. The board’s purpose is to help the College develop relationships and partnerships with communities in Alabama and organizations at the state and national levels.

The Board meets biannually and advises the College on long-range planning, assists the College in securing financial resources and helps to develop opportunities for medical students and residents.

our members Mr. Eddie Sherwood, Chair

Dr. Craig Fairburn

Mrs. Cindy Markushewski

Dr. James Robinson

Dr. Thomas Alford

Dr. Roland Ficken

Dr. John Markushewski

Dr. Edgar Shotts

Dr. Jennifer Bolton

Dr. Samual Gaskins

Dr. Chris McGee

Dr. Rodney Snead

Mr. Brad Cork

Dr. Guillermo Godoy

Mrs. Voncile Pearce

Dr. Vijaya Sundar

Mr. James Cowan, Jr.

Mrs. Heike Harris

Mrs. Dorothy Pieroni

Mr. Mike Williams

Dr. Leisa DeVenny

Ms. Madeleine Hill

Dr. Robert Pieroni

Dr. Mark Williams

Dr. Michael DeVenny

Dr. William Hill, Jr.

Dr. Robert Posey

Dr. Mark Woods

Dr. Frank Dozier

Dr. Robert Ireland, Jr.

Dr. Terrence Pugh

Dr. Fred Yerby

The Honorable Mark Ezell

Dr. Beverly Jordan

Dr. Elizabeth Rand

new members

42

Welcome!

Dr. Terrence Pugh is associate director

Dr. Elizabeth Rand was a long-time

of Oncology Rehabilitation at Atrium Health-Carolinas

faculty member at the College of Community Health

Rehabilitation. He is also assistant professor for the

Sciences before her retirement in 2005. She joined the

Carolinas Rehabilitation residency and clerkship director

College in 1986, eventually becoming professor and chair

for rehabilitation medicine at The University of North

of the Department of Psychiatry and Neurology (now

Carolina School of Medicine. He specializes in rehabilitation

the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine),

medicine with a subspecialty in oncology rehabilitation, and

with board certifications in Psychiatry and Internal

cares for patients who have functional decline from or who

Medicine/Pediatrics. She is a fellow of the American

are still receiving cancer treatment. Pugh is a 2010 graduate

Psychiatry Association and was active in the leadership

of the UAB School of Medicine in Birmingham, Alabama,

of the Association for Academic Psychiatry, serving as

and completed his clinical education at The University of

regional coordinator for the Southern Region, editor of the

Alabama College of Community Health Sciences.

association’s quarterly Bulletin, treasurer and president.

THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA

scholarships and awards Thanks to the generous support of donors, the College of Community Health Sciences annually awards scholarships and awards to medical students, students in the College’s Rural Health Leaders Pipeline and Tuscaloosa Family Medicine residents.

medical students The Dr. Sandral Hullett Endowed Scholarship Recipient: Renita Daniels

The Larry Mayes Endowed Scholarship Recipient: Brittany Johnson Amount: $4,200

Amount: $1,000

Frank Fitz, Jr. Endowed Scholarship Recipients: Ala’a Abu-Spetani $3,000 Peyton Curtis $3,000 Brittany Johnson $3,000 Cole Marshall $5,000 Mallory Marshall $5,000 Claire Petit $2,000 Daniel Sarraf $1,000

medical student

banquet awards James H. Akers Memorial Award

Joshua Graham, Austin Kidd, Eva Kurtts, Shelby McClellan, Kalissa Means, Jeffrey Price, Mykel Shiver, Ashley Spears, Cooper Wright

Johnson Dallas Pounders $1,000

The Dr. Benjamin Collins Maxwell Endowed Scholarship

Amount: $1,000

Amount: $1,000

Interprofessional Excellence Award

Robert E. Pieroni, MD, and Family Endowed Scholarship

Recipient: Alysha Mirza Lakhani

Miller Sisson $500

Recipients: William Davis,

Perella Klein $1,000

Recipient: Sean Johnston McCarthy

Mallory Marshall $1,000

Rural Medical Scholars were awarded $1,000 each, with $295 of that amount awarded from the Houston and Voncile Pearce Endowed Scholarship Fund, and $705 from the Rural Medicine Programs Endowed Discretionary Scholarship.

Gregory Stidham and

William R. Willard Award

Recipients: Cole Marshall $500

pipeline scholarships

Recipients: Carson Elaine $1,000

Jenna Stanford $3,000

Recipients: Storm McWhorter

rural health leaders

Amount: $1,000

William W. Winternitz Geriatric Award Recipient: Taylor Rhea Holmes

residency

graduation awards 360 Award Recipient: Dr. Tony Johnson Amount: $1,000

William R. Willard Family Medicine Award Recipient: Dr. Hannah Zahedi Amount: $1,000

Reese Phifer, Jr., Memorial Foundation Endowed Scholarship

Neurology Award

William W. Winternitz Geriatric Award

Recipients: Sarah Fleischman $750

Recipient: Barrie Lane Schmitt

Recipient: Dr. Ben Lee

Matt McCay $750

Amount: $1,000

Amount: $500

Amount: $1,000

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supporters Thank You! Thank You to all of our donors and friends who gave to the College of Community Health Sciences in 2020 through cash donations, in-kind gifts, estate gifts and matching funds. The gifts benefit faculty, residents and medical students– and ultimately communities throughout Alabama–by providing resources for scholarships, classrooms, clinics and research opportunities for future primary care physicians. We also had several new donors give to the College in 2020, who we sincerely appreciate and welcome as friends of CCHS. Dr. Thomas J. Alford and

Dr. Craig J. Frederick

Dr. David O. Parrish

Dr. Samuel E. Gaskins

Dr. Terrence M. Pugh

Dr. Thomas A. Bartlett

Dr. Guillermo Godoy

Dr. Elizabeth H. Rand

Dr. Ben G. Bostick

Dr. Abbey and Mr. Caleb M. Gregg

Dr. James J. Reeves

Dr. Raymond N. Brignac and

Reverend Norman W. Hibbard, Sr.

Dr. Levi Ross

Ms. Madeleine M. Hill

Richards Family Foundation

Mr. Dexter S. Campbell, Jr.

Mr. and Mrs. Jonathon Howell

Schwab Charitable Fund

Dr. Vicki P. Carlisle

Dr. Robert B. Ireland, Jr.

Dr. Catherine A. Skinner

Reverend James Carstensen

Dr. Edward J. Markushewski, Jr.

START Coalition

The Honorable and

Dr. Jeffrey W. Mathis

Dr. Karen E. Stone

Dr. and Mrs. David H. Maxwell

Dr. William Douglas Sudduth and

Mrs. Kelley S. Alford

Mrs. Camille R. Brignac

Mrs. Joseph A. Colquitt Mr. D. Bradley Cork

Mrs. Linda P. McCullough

Mrs. Gail Fanning

Mr. Patrick D. McWhorter, Sr.

Dr. Thomas Weida

Mr. and Mrs. Nick J. Foster

Mrs. Anne M. Moman

Mr. Michael J. Williams, Jr.

Dr. Pamela and Mr. William Foster

Mrs. Catharine J. Parker

Mrs. Laurie A. Wright

Mrs. Michelle Barnett-Sudduth

ways to give More than ever, philanthropy is vital for our future.

The College of Community Health Sciences welcomes your partnership and your generosity in support of our work in shaping medical education, providing high-quality health care, fostering research and expanding our community outreach. Together we can further the College’s mission and significantly improve and promote the health of individuals and communities in Alabama and the region.

Consider a gift today to the Friends of CCHS, the College’s annual fund, or any of our other initiatives.

check

contact

PAYABLE TO: The University of Alabama MAIL TO: The University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences Box 870326 Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0326

LAURIE WRIGHT Associate Director of Development

online CCHS.UA.EDU/GIVE

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THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA

laurie.wright@ua.edu (205) 348-7109

Nonprofit Organizations U.S. Postage

BOX 870 3 2 6 T U S C A LO O S A , A L 3 5 4 8 7- 0 3 2 6 C H A N G E S E R V I C E R E Q U E ST E D

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