$1.4 Million Grant To UAB School Of Nursing Breaks Down Barriers To Healthcare

By Adam Pope

In a continuing effort to serve the health care needs of medically underserved populations across Birmingham and the state of Alabama, the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing has long partnered with community agencies and facilities to identify and assist those who struggle most to receive proper health care by providing care through the school’s nurse-managed clinics.

Since 2013, one of those important endeavors has been the UAB School of Nursing Foundry Clinic at The Foundry Rescue Mission and Recovery Center in Bessemer, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham. More recently, the school and its nurse practitioners from The Foundry Medical Clinic have also partnered with Cooper Green Mercy Health Services and Aletheia House, one of Alabama’s largest providers of substance abuse treatment, substance abuse/HIV prevention, employment and housing to low-income individuals, to provide staffing and medical services at the Bessemer Neighborhood Health Center. Now that partnership will be expanded with the selection of the Bessemer Neighborhood Health Center as a New Access Point Federally Qualified Health Center by the Health Resources and Services Administration. The two-year, $1.4 million grant was one of 75 awarded nationally by HRSA and one of only four awarded in Alabama.

The purpose of the NAP funding is to improve the health of the nation’s underserved communities and vulnerable populations by increasing access to comprehensive, culturally competent, quality primary health care services, something that fits well with the school’s mission to provide primary and urgent care to populations that might otherwise have no access to such care.“This is wonderful news, particularly for our area’s homeless population, as it is the primary focus of the New Access Point funding,” said Professor and Associate Dean for Clinical and Global Partnerships Cynthia S. Selleck, Ph.D. “Congratulations go to all the partners involved and to Chris Retan, CEO of Aletheia House, for his leadership in this effort.”

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