The University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System is working to launch a resource center to provide support for the state's nonprofit, rural, public hospitals facing economic pressures, according to AL.com.
The Alabama Legislature approved a bill that creates the Alabama Rural Hospital Resource Center, which would be staffed and managed by the UAB Health System. The center will assist rural hospitals in purchasing and supply chain management, strategic planning, insurance and cost reporting, coding, recruitment and compliance. The plan calls for the UAB Health System to add staff to provide expertise, advice and resources to hospitals requesting assistance with these issues.
"I believe that increasing access to quality healthcare for Alabamians in rural areas is essential," said Sen. Greg Reed, R-Ala., who sponsored the bill. "The physicians and researchers at UAB are among the best in the world, and this new center will give Alabama's rural hospitals direct access to game-changing innovations in medicine and healthcare management."
Although the bill was passed, it has not yet received funding. The UAB Health System will work to determine interim funding prior to the 2019 legislative session to start providing support to eligible hospitals.
Once it is funded, the center will also create two rural administrative residency positions through UAB's graduate program in health administration to provide an incentive for graduates to consider administrative careers in rural areas.
"Many rural hospitals are in crisis," said William Ferniany, PhD, CEO of the UAB Health System. "The resource center is designed to help keep those nonprofit, public hospitals operational so that Alabamians can get medical care close to home when appropriate."