TUSCALOOSA, AlabamaWBRC) – People living in rural areas of Alabama face many more challenges than those in urban communities.

A group met recently at Stillman College to discuss these issues and ways that people across the country could achieve better health outcomes, similar to those in larger cities.

Stillman College recently hosted a town hall meeting on rural health, inviting people concerned about the quality of health care in west Alabama to attend.

Panelists spoke about the barriers some people in Tuscaloosa and surrounding rural areas face to obtain adequate health care.

Members of the Alabama Department of Public Health were also in attendance.

One cited statistics that 7 percent of the state’s counties do not have a hospital. Additionally, 28% of women living in rural areas do not live within 30 minutes of a hospital offering childbirth services.

Advocates from local organizations like the Longevity Project and Creating Healthier Communities have offered suggestions for people needing help with better access to health care.

“There really needs to be an emphasis on the importance of partnerships and the role that colleges like Stillman can play in bringing together different stakeholders – whether they be suppliers, business leaders, industry leaders, nonprofit or local government organizations – to really think about how we can collaborate collectively to really meet the needs of our communities in a meaningful way,” said Jean Accius, president and CEO of Creating Communities Plus healthy.

Strengthening the workforce in rural areas and better use of telehealth services are some of the ways discussed to narrow the gap between rural and urban health care disparities.

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