FSU and FAMU are receiving nearly $30 million through the Rural Health Transformation Program to expand rural healthcare access, grow the workforce, and improve digital health connectivity across North Florida over the next five years.
WATCH FULL REPORT BELOW:
FSU and FAMU receive nearly $30 million to improve rural health care in North Florida
Florida State University and Florida A&M University are receiving nearly $30 million to improve health care access in rural communities across North Florida.
The funding comes through the Rural Health Transformation Program. FSU received more than $19 million, and FAMU received more than $10 million. Both universities are now moving from receiving the money to putting projects into action over the next five years.
The funding will support projects focused on improving access to care, strengthening the health care workforce and expanding services in rural communities.
Heather A. Flynn, professor and chair of the FSU College of Medicine, said the investment is aimed at closing real gaps in rural healthcare.
“We know from listening to folks who work closely in the rural areas and who live in the rural areas, there’s some real gaps in access to quality healthcare and we want to really take advantage of this opportunity to set up what we need to set up in the rural communities to improve that access and quality for families.”
That need stretches across much of North Florida. Donald E. Palm III, FAMU executive vice president for Health Sciences Enterprise and Research Innovation, pointed to specific counties where the challenges are most acute.
“When we take a look at Gadsden County, where 19.1% of adults have diabetes, if we take a look at Jefferson County, where there’s no health facility there, and then also Madison County, where they’re number 65 out of 67 when we talk about health outcomes.”
FAMU’s projects include expanding satellite clinics, supporting care at home, developing the rural health care workforce and helping prevent chronic diseases before they become a crisis.
Palm said access is at the center of the effort.
“What we do know when we talk about satellite clinics as well as health clinics, we do know that it provides an opportunity for access. And we do know in the areas of these rural communities access is one of the biggest issues.”
FSU says improving access also means improving communication between providers so patients receive the right care no matter where they enter the health care system. Flynn said digital connectivity is a key part of that strategy.
“There should be no wrong door to getting access to the healthcare people needSo we really have a huge focus on interoperability of different digital health systems and really things like monitoring patients from home, using wearables and have that data be instantly connected to what the doctor sees at the hospital. So this connectivity of health information is a really vital tool that we’re trying to build as part of this program.”
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Want to see more local news? Visit the WTXL ABC 27 Website.
Stay in touch with us anywhere, anytime.