From the Alabama Public Television Statehous Studio in downtown Montgomery.

I'm Randy Scott.

Welcome to Capital Journal.

Todd Stacey has the day off.

Coming up, we'll have guests to discuss health care issues from cities to rural areas in Alabama.

And we'll also chat with a lawmaker about items slated for debate in the next regular session of the legislature.

But first, today's Alabama news.

The Alabama Senate is busy getting ready for the 2025 regular session by deciding its leadership.

When they return in a few months.

Senator Garlin Gudger and Senator Steve Livingston were vyin for the post of speaker pro-tem This after previous speaker, Senator Greg Reed resigned from his position to take a role in the governor's office.

In a closed door meeting.

Senate members chose Garland Gudger as the new Senate president pro tem.

Livingston will once again serve as the majority leader in the upper chamber.

I'm honored that the Caucus has chosen me to be the next Alabama State Senate Pro-Tem.

There's a lot that we're going to hav to accomplish in going forward, and we're going to do that as a team.

And I'm thankful for our majority leader, Steve Livingston and I have already kind of been working on things together that are putting our minds together of what we're going to do, what we're how we're going to function and operate as we go forward.

So I'm thankful for the team and I'm honored to be able to be the nex Alabama State Senator.

Pro-Tem.

I think that this is what the caucus has stated that we wanted.

And it wasn't a young guard versus an old guard.

And I kno some people have written that.

I don't like that at all.

I think that we're all Alabama senators.

We're all influential in our particular districts.

We were elected and we're going to work together, as I keep saying, as a team.

And I believe that.

But we're going to come together in unity and we're not going to be fractured.

And as we're we're standing right here together.

We're going to continue that same teamwork approach as we go forward.

Working with him a few minutes ago to have a conversation about how we move forward and make sure that we stay united as a caucus.

And I'm proud of Son of Graduate.

He's a friend and has been a long term friend of mine.

And I want to congratulate Senator Gudger, as well as Majority Leade Livingston for an extraordinary race and an opportunity to focus on unity for the Alabama Senate.

The Joint Legislative Committe on School Funding got together at the State House for a meeting which included conversations about new guidelines for school funding, basically charting a path to make sure resources for Alabama's classrooms and personnel get to the right areas.

Lawmakers wanted to take advantage of working on this issue ahead of the start of the next regular session.

Well, the formula that we have today is really not a proper school foundation formula.

There's no really strategy and methodology behind it.

We haven't changed it in 30 years.

Education has changed.

Our state demographic has changed, Our systems have changed.

So the reason for doing this is doing what 45 other state have passed to move to a model that's based upon student resources.

Right now we do a lot of a centralized decision making summary.

We earmark money out of the system to say you have to use this money in this way.

This would give systems more flexibility, but also would give them more money based upon their specific student needs.

Districts with higher povert rates, with higher ESL students, with higher special needs, students would get some more state support.

We get that.

Now, that wasn't the only join legislative meeting this week.

Lawmakers from both chambers also gathered to continue their talks on handling the opioid drug issue in Alabama.

Representative Rex Reynolds of Huntsville is a former policeman and knows firsthand there needs to be a fight on opioid drug use statewide.

Well, I think this commission is charged with the oversight and the expenditure of those opioid funds.

And I think when we start out, that's what we did today.

Oversight and accountability.

Applauded for mental health, holding those agencies accountable that they're passing grant money to.

And there's a lot of people in Alabama doing a lot of great work toward this this just open for abuse and you've heard a lot about education today and I just think that's going to continue to grow as we have more funding.

We suspect we'll have another opioi supplemental in the 2025 session and hopefully we'll put another 30 or 35 million out there for that, for the preventio and the treatment and recovery of opioid use.

Earlier this week, Alabama State of Innovation Day highlighted efforts to support entrepreneurship while attracting new investment and business opportunities.

There were announcements about funding prospects and initiatives aimed at fostering innovation and retaining talent.

Capital Journal's Geoff Sanders reports.

In the shadow of downtown Birmingham, the annual State of Innovation Day brought together leaders in government, business and education to discuss the state's role in fostering innovation.

Our job isn't just to optimize conditions for their company to thrive, but optimize conditions for the founder to thrive.

So that means connecting them to community.

That means giving them places where they can go and decompress, place where they can go and feel small and put things back into perspective.

One of the event's major announcements came from venture capitalist Jesse Draper, who shared details about a significant new investment in Alabama businesses.

Innovate Alabama has made their first investment in our firm, and we're the first outside venture capital firm that Innovate Alabama has ever invested in.

So I'm excited to announc that today we will be investing $10 million into female founders in the state of Alabama.

Draper also highlighted Alabama's potential as a growing hub for technology and entrepreneurs.

Shipp.

We really believe that Alabama has an incredibly burgeoning tech scene.

There's incredible universities here, so many where we can find great tech talent.

I just saw a whole bunch of pitches, great health care pitches, agtech pitches, clean water pitches.

There's so much opportunity here.

I can't even believe it.

The event also address efforts to retain young talent through initiatives like the Student Retention Council which connects college students with professional opportunities in the state.

Our two goals are to serve as a voice of our peers to community and state leaders, and then to bring all of these assets of Alabama back to our peers.

State finance Director Bill Poole stressed the importance of partnerships betwee the public and private sectors to support business growth and job creation.

To have the governor's leadership the support of the legislature.

That's how you make a public private partnership work.

And that's what this is.

This is trying to get the public sector to help incentiviz the private sector be involved in a dynamic private sector setting to bring resources, to bring capital in the context of venture capitalists, to bring that capital into our economy, to spend, to create jobs, to start companies, to scale and grow those companies, but to keep them here in Alabama.

Event organizers stressed the focus now shifts to how these investments and initiatives will shape the state's future.

Reporting from Birmingham, I'm Jeff Sanders for Capital Journal.

The country observed peace across America Day.

On Tuesday, Governor Ka Ivey met with citizens to honor veterans, active duty military and their families to dedicate a wreath in their honor at the state capitol.

This large, beautiful balsa wreath presented by the Alabama wing of the Civil Air Patrol the Blue Star Salute Foundation, and the Gold Star Wive is decorated with flags of all the branches of military service and those missing in action.

It embodies a profound love and respect for all who have worn America's uniform in times of battle and in peace.

It renews a commitment to those who lost their lives defending our freedom.

But their ultimate sacrifice will never be forgotten.

Furthermore, it rekindles our nation's deep gratitude for all of our military veterans that their devoted service and love of country will be remembered long after they have answered their final call.

Tis the season and Alabam is feeling the Christmas vibes that was punctuated when the official state Christmas tree was set up in front of the Capitol in Montgomery.

Governor Kay Ivey was also on hand for its dedication and unveiling it to the people of Alabama for the better part of 60 years.

It's been our tradition to officially gather here on the steps of the Alabama state Capitol to light a Christmas tree.

Just like in most Alabama homes.

A Capitol tree is different each year.

According to the Alabama Department of Archives and History, the first state Capitol Christmas tree was a cedar spray painted in 12 gallons of white paint.

Today, we have a 38 foot Easton red cedar adorned splendid as a Christmas nighttime sky.

Its large branches hold 6 to 7 stars, one for each county and our state, surrounded by a galaxy of some 40,000 lights.

Tonight, we pray for Alabama and our country that we all have the opportunity to live in peace.

And may we do all we can to uplift our fellow man.

I wish you each and every one a very merry Christmas.

May God continue to bless each of you and the great state of Alabama.

503.

Coming up, we'll be joined by Dr. Amanda Williams and Dr. Brittany Anderson, both from the Medical Association of Alabama.

They will each talk about health care issues, includin closing of medical facilities, shortages of medical employees, and addressing mental health.

Topics Ebony Evans of Health Services, Inc. will also join in on that conversation.

And State Senator Robert Stewart will be here to talk about health care and other possible issues for the upcoming regular session.

We'll be right back.

You can watch past episodes of Capito Journal online at Video Dot AP.

Tbe Dawg Capital Journal episodes are also available on app TV's Free Mobile App.

You can also connect with Capitol Journal and link to past episodes on Capitol Journal's Facebook page, and you can listen to past episodes of Capitol Journal when you're driving or on the G with Capitol Journal podcasts.

Health care i a big topic across this country and right here in Alabama, from the recent elections to what's going on with that Alabama state government.

People are talking about health care, both from a mental health standpoint and a physical standpoint.

Joining me now to talk abou this from her perspective is Dr. Amanda Williams, the current president of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama.

Dr. Williams, by people joining us.

I'm so happy to be here.

Thanks for having me.

Thank you for being here.

Now, for those who may not know you, could you give us a little brief summation of who you are, where you're from and what do you do?

Yes.

So I am a psychiatrist here in Montgomery, Alabama.

I have a private practice guardian of mental health.

We treat adults primarily, but with all types of mental health struggles.

We do a lot of therapy and some medication management.

And I'm currently serving as the president of Medical Association.

For those who may not kno what the medical association is.

What is it exactly?

Yes.

So it's the association for the Physicians in the state of Alabama.

And so we work to support the physicians in taking care of patients, making sure that health care is as good as it can be across the state and and making sure that the practice of medicine stays viable for physicians of the future, for all over the state, which is an issue that people have been addressing a lot lately because there have been, I guess, disparities across Alabama from metropolitan areas to rural areas to make sure everyone gets that coverage that they need.

Has a physician.

Yes, we've had a huge physician shortage nationally, but particularly in Alabama, and there's lots of reasons for that.

But it causes a lot of stress on physicians and, you know, I guess the reason I' doing this, I love physicians.

I feel like I've spent a decad of my life training with them.

You know, you go to medical school, you spend four years with them.

You get a residency for four years, and they ar you know, you live and breathe physicians and nurses and hospitals, and they're very special people to me.

They're, you know, a lot of times when you you're a patient and you see a physician, you see them when they're on, you know, they're thinking they're working, they're juggling all of these things.

But behind the curtain, I mean, physicians are some of the most funny and outgoing and compassionate and hardworking people.

And and the workforce shortage can really burn somebody out.

I mean, you're juggling people's lives and you're trying to do it while staying calm and not worrying them, but also making sure they they get how serious the situation is.

And you're you know, you're trying to make sure it doesn't take forever to get somebody in, but also making sur you're not turning people away.

And so anything that we can do at the medical association to make sure practicing medicine allows people to stay in it, you know, we've had a lot of physicians retiring earlier or changing careers.

And for people who hav dedicated a significant portion of their life and spent a lot of money to be trained to go to medical school, to then decide they don't want to do it anymore is really, really sad.

And so anything that we can do to prevent that, to keep more physicians in our state and in medicine, we're trying really hard to d because if you think about it, it's not exactly yesterday's news, but we recently came out of what was COVID and that had a tol not only on citizens themselves, but you mentioned the doctors in the hospital shortage and workforce of doctors and hospitals.

That was something that no one had ever encountered before.

Yes.

And I mean, this is a group of people who are perfectionists in a lot of ways.

You know, you want to do things right.

You want to do it efficiently.

There's very little room for error.

And so, you know, working, say, in an ER setting when, you know, the wait time for a patien walking in is going to be a day it depending on the severity of their illness that does not feel good and over time that will burn you out just feeling like you can't help in the wa you know you should be able to.

And you're being a psychiatr risk in the inpatient unit.

So a lot of times when you don' have the outpatient resources, you can feel like you're just this revolving door that patients are coming in to get help.

You're helping them the most you can, but when the rest of the resources aren't there, you kno they're going to be right back.

And it can start to feel like, you know, what am I doing?

Am I really being efficient and helpful?

And so I thin a lot of physicians, regardless of their specialty, can feel that, you know, you wan if a patient calls and says, I'm not feeling well you want to see them that day, but then does that mean then who do you not see?

You know and when you're trying to juggle the needs of your community, they're tough decisions to make.

And it will weigh on someone.

And so we're trying to figure out how we can get more physicians in our state, how we can make it where we have the resources available that we need.

And so we can support the physician so that they can do their job and take care of patients like they want to be taking care of them.

Correct me if I'm wrong, one way of attracting them and keeping the here is getting to them early.

Alabama has started a new school in West Alabama.

For those who may be in high school who are interested in becoming a doctor, and they're trying to keep peopl who maybe graduate from schools such as the University of Alabama, Auburn, etcetera, etcetera, to stay here after they practice.

Yes.

Yes.

We'r trying in all different ways to create a pipeline for new physicians coming in to retain the physicians.

We have the physicians who are currently in medical schools here in Alabama making sure they have residency spots here in Alabama, encouraging them to stay.

Physicians who move here for one reason or anothe that they love practicing here.

We actually recently did a survey of physicians in Alabam through the medical association.

And one of the, I thought, kind of remarkable things that came out of it.

One of the questions asked, you know, have you considered leaving the state?

And if so, why?

You know, what would be your reasons for wanting to practice in a different state?

And like two thirds of the physicians said they had not even considered leaving.

I mean, a lot of physicians they love their community there.

They love being here.

They're just burning out.

And we have a lot of retiring physicians.

So how do we how do we keep people now?

Because while the pipeline programs are grea and we have to do those things, we have a problem now.

Yeah.

And so medical education takes a long time.

You have to go to undergrad and then do four years medical school and then you do, you know, 3 to 7 years of residency before you're even, you know, an attending.

And so we've got to come up with ways to to keep physicians here next year and the year after and do something quickly.

Now, you said something a short time ago, your specialist, and correct me if I'm wrong, a psychiatrist.

Yes, sir.

A lot of people, when they think about medical and health care, they think about, well, I got to go to the hospital for a broken bone or I got to go to the hospital to get stitches or I got to go to the hospital because I have a fever.

But menta health care is just as important as that side of health care as well, and sometimes even more so.

I think a lot of people I mean, I always say there's no health without mental health.

You know, I mean, you could be th healthiest person in the world.

And if you're absolutely miserable from depression, who cares?

You know, And physical health is very important, too, obviously.

But there's a lot of studies that will show, you know, 50% of people who go to a GI doctor are there for a primary mental health reason.

30% of people who see a dermatologist are there for primary mental health reason, most for it, not most but a significant number of E.R.

visits or for mental health reasons.

And I'll be the first to admit when I went to medical school, I was going to be an OB and help women get pregnant and take care of babies.

And that was kind of my goal as a naive medical student.

And I don't even think I knew psychiatry was in the medical field and I was do on an inpatient rotation my third year and was like, wow, you know, nobody bring flowers to the psych hospital, Nobody talks about it.

You know, if, if, if my child's diagnosed with cancer, I'm going to have a walk and a fundraiser and I'm going to tell everybod if my child has schizophrenia.

Mum's the word.

Know we don't talk about it.

Even though 1% of the population has schizophrenia, that's not a small number.

And so I just found a passio for helping people and realize, you know, when you help someon with a mental health struggle, you're not only helping that individual, you're helping their whole family.

I mean, it's very distressing for everyone involved.

When you have someone going through depressio or severe anxiety or psychosis.

And so I just fell in love with it.

And and I think more and more honestly, this is probably a gift of COVID.

We're talking a lot more about mental health and its importance, but we just still need to work on getting all the resources there.

I recently read numbers where they said the numbers of people who are affected by mental health issues is much larger than many people expect because a lot of people, as you said, don't want to talk about it don't know how to talk about it.

So I'm guessing education is a big plus or even realize that that's what's going on because our mind and our body work together.

So much and in ways that we don't even in medicine understand.

And so a lot of times I may be struggling from a mental health perspective, but my body is showing that in a physical way.

And so so sometimes we don't even recognize what's happening because because there is just such a disconnect and there's not a lot of, like you said, conversations around it.

And there can be a lot of stigma attached to seeking mental health care that we have.

Thank you for joining us and we'll be watching.

And please let us know anything else develops with this and we'll definitely talk about it some more.

Yes.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And Capital Journal will return.

You can watch past episodes of Capital Journal Online anytime at Alabama Public television's website app TV Dawg.

Click on the online video tab on the main page.

You can also connect with Capital Journal and link to past episodes on Capital Journal's Facebook page.

Alabama is home to a diverse and widespread variety of minerals.

Chalk a soft, extremely fin textured variety of limestone, occurs in the coastal plai section of West central Alabama.

Originally formed as a floor of an ancient sea, the chalk can be seen along prominent bluffs on the Tom Bigby river.

White Bluff is a historic sit located in Demopolis, Alabama, which owes its character and natural beauty to the underlying chalk rocks.

You're watching Alabama Public Television and health care is a big topic in the state of Alabama.

From rural areas to metropolitan areas, people have concerns when it comes to health care, especially with a number of hospitals across the state closing and people in rural areas reaching out for more help.

Joining us now to have another discussion about that and her perspective on this issue is Dr. Brittney Anderson, a member of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama, who is joining us now to talk about that.

Hi.

Happy to be here.

Thank you.

Thank you.

So nice to meet you.

This is our first time meeting.

Yes.

So if you don't mind, could you give us a little background of yourself?

Tell us who you are, where you're from?

Yeah.

Okay.

Well, like you said, my name's Brittney Anderson.

I'm a family medicine physician.

I'm from Prattville, and it's Holly County.

I'm originally I did grade school high school there in Prattville.

I did my undergrad at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

I have always known that I wanted to practice medicine and also have always known deep down, I believe, that I wanted to have a private practice and wanted to do, you know, a type of medicine that allowed me to care for a broad range of people.

I, after doing undergraduate, do came back to Tuscaloosa and did a rural medical scholars program at the University of Alabama.

It was a wonderful program because it really immersed me in some of the needs and concerns of rural people in the state, particularly their health care needs.

So I did that for a year and went on to UAB for medical school, then my four years of medical school there and then did residency back i Tuscaloosa and family medicine.

I practice now in Demopolis.

I've got a solo private family medicine practice there and I'm loving it.

I love seeing patients as a family physician.

I take care of my youngest patient.

It will be a three day old.

My oldest patient is 96, 97 years old.

So we see the full spectru of patients and family medicine in my practice.

We'll go back because you started this discussion about sayin you knew what you wanted to do and you have a person who is convinced that's what they want to do.

That's the path they want to take, especially when it comes to health care, right?

That's a very valuable commodity, a very valuable perso to have in the state, is it not?

Right, Absolutely.

My parents say that I've been saying since I was five or six years ol that I wanted to be a physician and I stuck with it, you know, throughout my undergraduate training, through my medical training, and really leaned hard on the advice and mentorship of family docs that I knew who were doin private practice and in practice in medicine the way I want it to.

And so I take that a lot into my mentorship of students today, right?

I think when we find, you know, young kids, adolescents who say they want to be a physician, I think it's important to nurture that right.

And if I was able to say at five or six that it's what I wanted to do, there's no reason that we should say, you know, a six year old can't say that they want to be a doctor and they're not actually be able to become one.

And so that is really spirit, my desire to mentor, you know, young kids, adolescence, high school college students and certainly medical students who have an interest and in practice, in medicine and particularly in practice and family medicine.

Now, I know I've been to the University of Alabama to do a story about the medical program and dealing with their students from a vantage point of once they go through and they are educated and they finish getting them to realize the importance of actually staying in Alabama and not going elsewhere.

Absolutely.

And so I did a graduate program at the University of Alabama.

There's one there.

Auburn in Huntsville have a similar program.

The one I did was the Rural Medical Scholars Program.

It's a wonderful program.

Take students who are fro rural areas who have an interest in going into medicine, but who particularly will commit to going back to a rural place to practice.

Right.

And so the the program, both the Tuscaloosa arm of it and the arm at Auburn have been wonderful in the state of producing physicians who will go into rural areas and practice in Alabama.

We also have a wonderfu scholarship that pays for here four years of medical service in return for four years of service to a rural, underserved area in the state, with the ide that if you can get so hopefully if you can get someone into a rural area of the state for four years to practice, they're going to stay there for their entire career.

And so scholarship programs like the one we have here in in certainly th rural programs that are in place have a big part in helping to train, recruit and recruit students to to practice in rural areas in the state, because it's so important to have medical services, medical professionals, medical personnel in areas because people live there.

Absolutely.

And sometimes they don't have the wherewithal to travel 30, 40, 50 miles for some kind of care.

Right?

Absolutely.

And so access to health care in the state, throughou the state is a problem, right?

So it's a problem throughout the state.

It's certainly a problem in our rural areas, even though there are program like the ones that I mentioned that that train and try to recruit physicians into their area, those areas, there are still significant shortages of physicians practicin in rural parts of our state in and those are places where we see patients who have higher incidences of diabetes and hypertension and heart disease.

And in issues that if we had you know, wonderful primary care in those areas, access to specialty care in those areas, it would really make a big difference to improve the overall health of our state.

It's no secret to any of us that Alabama unfortunately, ranks fairly low in many of the health car statistics that are out there.

And a lot of that is attributed to the numbers that we see in our rural areas.

And so it is still incumbent upon us as a as a as a state, as physicians who are here practicing in this state to really recrui more physicians who are willing to go into rural places in the state, to practice in state there.

Right.

Very important, because talking with people Alabama in the south, these is a state that's surrounded by other states.

Right.

And a lot of times they will feed off each other from people from a medical standpoint, from business education.

You may have the best and brightest from the state going to Georgia, goin to Tennessee, going to Florida, going to Mississippi, etc., etc., etc..

So it's important to do what you can to get them out in.

Exactly.

It's important to get them wanting and then also important to make the the climate her such that they'll want to stay.

Right.

And so when we think about reimbursement, we want to make sure that, you know, new physicians, young physicians or even physicians who have been in practice for some time, that they're being appropriately reimbursed, reimbursed similar to what our neighboring states are reimbursed so that they don't leave and decide.

You know it makes more sense for me to go over to the next state to practice medicine because I can make enough there to truly be able to do the things that I nee to do for myself and my family and the things that that make me or that make them happy.

And so one of the things that we really push for when we think about what does it take to recruit a physician to Alabama and then what does it tak to get them to stay in Alabama.

One of the big things is reimbursement, right?

And so, you know, we've got to be able to pay physicians well enough that they wan to stay in the state to practice when they could have the option to go truly anywhere else to practice medicine.

And unfortunately, Alabama will stick with Alabama, of course, this is where we are, but we've had a rash of facilities, hospitals, medical facilities closing.

Right.

Making it tougher for people to get the care they need.

But also for, as we were just talking about, people to have their jobs, their income coming in.

From your vantage point, does that make it tougher to get people to come and commit to this profession?

I think it does.

And in not only to commit to the profession but to want to stay in an area that may not reimburse them like some other areas do.

When we think about hospital closures, I mean, that is a significant problem that we're seeing across the state.

But especially in our rural areas, when we see whole hospitals closing or hospitals closing, you know, they are inpatien psychiatric units or hospitals that are having to close their OB areas, their labor and delivery units.

It has the the very rea possibility of being devastating to our state.

We think about the patient who is having chest pain in the middle of the night and, you know, needs to get that quick care.

But they don't have a hospital.

1015 even 20 minutes down the road.

But they've got to rely on ambulance transport.

And a lot of times in our rural areas, ambulanc transport is an issue in itself.

But then also are having to travel, you know, upwards of an hour to get to a close hospital because hospitals are closing.

And so that's a patient with chest pain or who, you know, may be having a heart attack then, or a patient who may be having a stroke then.

But also think about the woman who is in labor.

Right.

And so a woman who is in labor and in unfortunately has to travel an hour, hour and a half, 2 hours to get to a facility that has a labor and delivery unit.

Those are things that a really real issue that we've got to be mindful of in this state.

And we've got to slow down these closures of hospital in our state that are affecting patients all over the state, but especially in our rural, rural areas.

I've heard this phrase so many times over the years.

It's a matter of life and death.

And it literally it literall is a matter of life and death.

You know, when we look at again, again, as we just said, towns that once had thriving hospitals, they are who no longer have a hospital.

And now you're asking patient to go again upwards of an hour to get the care they need.

Peopl are unfortunately going to die.

People are going to die because they do not have that close access to care that they need.

Now, I know we talked about as I like to call it, and please correct me if I'm wrong, what I'm looking at from this standpoint of when you talk about health care, you talk about from the going to the hospital because I broke my arm, he'd had that fixed.

But also mental health issues are a big to do in helping to take care o people in rural areas as well.

Right And so that is across the board.

So whether that's the nee for inpatient psychiatric care, which again unfortunately we're seeing close when some of these hospital in our rural areas are closing, but also the outpatient psychiatric care and just that access to care in general.

We have so many folks in our state, you know, hundreds of thousands of people in our state who still fall within that coverage gap.

Right.

And so they fall within this coverage gap and then aren't able to get those those preventive care, get that preventive care that they need, but also that very real access to mental health care, which we see leads to tons of other problems, not just for that particular person but for us society in general.

She's not the Brittney Anderson we really appreciate your time and helping us to have another perspective on this issue in the state of Alabama.

Absolutely.

Thank you so much.

I appreciate your time.

Thank you so much.

And good luck to you.

Thank you so much.

Thanks.

And Capital-Journal will return.

Alabama Public television is your place for free Professional development curriculum, maligned videos, lesson plans and more.

Explore resources at AP TV.

The Oregon Education.

The 1961 Freedom Rides were a protest against segregation on interstate busses and i terminals in the American South.

They began on May 4th an continue throughout the summer.

The Freedom Rider small, racially integrated teams were met with violence in a number of states, and they encountered some of the worst violence In Alabama and Anniston.

A bus was attacked by a white mob and firebombed and Birmingham riders were beaten badly.

In Montgomery, police stood as a mob of more than 200 gathered outside the bus terminal and attacked the riders.

Reporters and others.

Federal marshals were sent to restore order.

Four days later, the Freedom Riders departed for Jackson, Mississippi, escorted by the National Guard, a direct action led to a 1961 order by the Interstate Commerce Commission prohibiting segregation in bus, transportation and stations nationwide dedicated to providing quality health care service to the area's underserved population is the motto of health services, Inc..

Joining us now to talk about Health Services Inc. and their work in the medical fiel in the state of Alabama is Ebony Evans, their marketing directo here in the city of Montgomery.

Ebony, nice to see you.

Thank you for joining us.

Thank you for having me.

We are talking about health care in the state of Alabama.

Of course, when people think health care, they think about hospitals.

But HCI has been a big to d with health care in Montgomery and this area in central Alabama for a number of years, has it not?

Yes, sir.

So over 55 years HCA has been a staple of health care for the medically underserved in this area.

So we have a six county service area.

But Montgomery is home.

We began as the free clinic in the basement of Montgomery City Hall back in 1968.

So Health Services has see many changes within the health field as we have see many changes ourselves as well.

Absolutely.

So we began a federally qualified community health center.

That means we get a small grant from the government to cover the cost of providing uncompensated care to those underserved individuals that you discuss.

So that's the uninsured, the underinsured and the homeless population.

And when we talk about that health care, of course, many people tend to think of health care, meaning you got to go to the hospita because you have a broken bone or you have to get stitche or you have to get some kind of immediate treatment like that.

Health Service is involved with that.

Exactly.

And so what we saw a lot of is a part we have a partnership with a lot of our area hospitals, and that's to keep those non-emergent patients out of the emergency rooms.

They're coming in.

They need their blood pressure checked or their diabetes medicine refilled or their insulin, and they want to come into th hospital or the emergency room.

But they can be seen at Health Services Inc. and get that quality care from a provider that they can hav throughout their time of life.

Now, like hospitals, you also too, have to deal with making sure you have the numbers on your staff to take care of those who need services or who need treatment.

Exactly.

You've seen what a lot of hospitals are seeing nowadays in terms of staff shortages, are you not?

Yes.

And so we do have a hard time recruiting and retaining our medical providers.

You're trying to get a provider fresh out of school to come down to a rural part of Alabama.

So we do have a the federal government has the National health Service Corps, which gives to the loan forgiveness program and the tuition forgiveness and reimbursement programs.

And so we're able to help with that and recruit providers to our rural areas.

We have areas and it's available in Clanton, in Raymer, in Haynesville, in Eclectic, those rural areas and rural sites that if they didn't have health services in that area, they'd have to trave over an hour, well over an hour to see a provider.

And you don't want to travel well over an hour if you're pregnant, if you're having a medical emergency.

They don't have the ambulance care there to rush them in an emergent basis.

And so we're there to give them that baseline of care.

And without us, they would have to travel a substantial amount just to get quality care, medication refills and things of that nature.

And something else you mentioned earlier about reaching out and reaching to colleges and universities here in the state of Alabama to get those students, once they finish with their schooling, stay in the area, get your experience, stay in the area.

You probably will find something that appeals to you that will make you want to stay.

Exactly.

And so that's a partnership that we do have with a lot of not just local colleges, but nationwide colleges to try to have rotations coming through Alabama just to see what it's like.

You know, you have a lot of students that never been to the state don't have family in the state, but they'll come.

They'll see the state.

They'll fall in love with just different things, just about even if it's just patient care, doesn't fall in love with the city, fall in love with the area, and fall in love with a tangle.

Or a South Montgomery County Raymer or an eclectic or in a tog will fall in love with that are where you can make a difference.

You can do what you went to school and learned every day about coming in and providing that quality care for every patient.

And as I goes by, the notion we provid quality care for every patient, every time they walk in those doors, it doesn't their income status, it doesn't matter their insurance.

That is all that matters that they're coming in.

They're going to be greeted, treated, welcome, treated like a human being, treated like an individual.

And we care about your health.

It's a priority.

Speaking of caring about your health, of course, we started off the conversatio talking about those emergencies that you go to the hospital for fixing broken bones, stitches and things of that nature.

But there's also another aspect to health care, and that is a mental health aspect.

Yes.

Besides involvement that we do have a behavioral health program, we are actually looking to open up a whole behavioral health entity, a building set aside by itself because there's a stigma around receiving behavioral health care.

You don't want to be doing the C-word, the crazy word.

And it's not that everybody needs to check on their mental health.

It's a part of everyday life.

You can be stressed, you can have anxiety, you can have relationship and marital problems.

You can have problems with the children in development.

So we have a couple of partnerships for behavioral health.

We have one with Montgomery Public Schools.

See those children who have issues with their behavioral health and their mental health, and they're able to come in and be seen by our provider.

We have a tell aside option because a lot of psychiatrists don't live in the state.

We're losing them one by one.

They're going to sta in their own private practices in larger cities and bigger cities, which is where the money is.

But in Alabama, it's a need it and necessary service.

And so we have a telephone service where individual can come in to our river region health center and be seen at our specialty clinic, which is where we have behavioral health.

But we're looking to move that and have its own entity, its own building, where you can receive your counseling and services o have your medications refilled.

Just so everybody is aware of their mental health, you're not going to take care of your physical health if your mental health is in drift.

Someone said that recently at a groundbreaking ceremony we attended in Brantley, Alabama, a new mental health facility.

It all goes into each other to help the wellbeing of the person, the total health of a person.

And so we have case managers at Health Services Incorporate that go out into the community for our mental health patients and they're able to do wellness checks They're able to go in and see, are you taking care of yourself, are you taking your meds, Do you have food in your refrigerator?

Just those amenities that that are needed that a lot of people don't think about.

Are you eating?

Are you eating healthy?

If not, let's change this.

And then when you come back and there's a information about from the case manager about the patient's well-being at home, if they're even safe at home, safe by themselves they're able to go through that.

The provider is able to go through that, both that behavioral health provider and their wellness provider are able to go through that in healt services is just a unique entity where we're all able to work together.

It's a patient centered medical hom providing primary care services.

And so we have discussions from the case manager to the behavioral health provider to the wellness provider, to the pharmacies.

It's a team that works together for that patient and the patient is adequately educated about their care.

And what are the next steps and why you're taking this and why you need to be here on time.

And and if you're not able to even come in, we're able to come and get you for your behavioral health services and so you can receive that treatment.

And so it's just a well needed entity that works togethe for the benefit of the patient.

Now, as you said, you're doing a lot to reach out to the people, to help the people.

You also mentioned something a short time ago to about possible expansion physically with your organization.

Can share a little bi more of that because I'm quite sure you have a big area to serve already.

We do.

We already have a six county service area, so we cover a target Chilton, Elmore Louth, Montgomery and Shelby Counties in central Alabama, and we meet the needs of the patients there.

We have about 37 to 38000 and duplicate a patient.

That's one patient coming in one time, and we count them.

Now that one patient may come in five or six different times to receive different cares like wellness, behaviora health, dentistry or optometry.

But we do count those 37 to 38000 patients a year, and they're unique, identified individual needs.

And so we are able to expand we're looking to expand into different counties that need our services.

We acquired Montevallo because there was only one provider there and he did not see Medicai patients and uninsured patients.

And so we were able to acquire that new location through a new access point grant from the Federal Government.

And we opened that location in 2019 to see those patients, especially those students at the Minor Valley University, the University of Montevallo, that needed a health car provider and needed to be seen.

And so we're adequately just looking at different areas where they need our services.

And if not, they don't have our services, they just don't have access to care.

We talked about the mileage and the travel.

We look to cut that down because we know that you're not going to go take of work and go an hour and a half or almost 2 hours to be seen by a provider.

If you're feeling okay in your mind, you think you're fine and everything's good, you're not going to go out of your way to get that check or you might not be able to take off work or you don't have the transportation.

So we see those needs and we try to meet those needs and eliminate those barriers of access to care, because health care plays a big role.

And there are a lot of things for the state of Alabama, economically speaking, from a development standpoint, meaning because a lot times people, businesses, when they come to the state, they're looking to make sure that you have a healthy workforce.

When colleges are also recruiting students, they're looking to make sure that they're healthy as well, too.

Absolutely.

And so we try to meet those needs.

We want to work with all those businesses that come in to the state and say, hey, we're able to see if you have a space for us.

We're able to see your your individuals and your employees and provide them with the primary care that they need.

That's how we got the partnership with Montgomery Public School.

We saw the need and opened up school based health centers.

We see the need for students to be seen by a primary care physician or a nurse practitioner, because we do employ both.

We have physicians and nurse practitioners available at all of our locations.

And so we see the need for a student mayb not to be checked out of school, so that help with absenteeism, that help parents with not having to take off work they can call in and be a part of their child's visit, but they don't have to necessarily miss work and come in an they can get their medications, they get the labs drawn, they get the X done and all that without having to disrupt their day.

Speaking of calling in, is there a number that people can reach you or websit that people would want to go to?

Possibly.

Thank you for asking.

So we have Health Services Inc that or is the website for more information an our phone number is 3344205001.

Okay.

Ebony Evans from Health Staff, thank you for joining us.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

An In Capital Journal will continue.

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Before you know it, the halls of the Statehouse will be filled with lawmakers as another regular session gets started, this time for 2025.

Lawmakers still busy, even though they're not here in this building at this moment.

And joining us to talk about some of the things that's keeping him busy is State Senator Robert Stewart, representing District 23, mostly from Selma, but covering a good bit of the black belt area.

Senator Stewart, thank you for joining us.

It's great to be back.

Good to see you.

Really, you all will be back here pretty soon handling the business of the people.

Yes, for sure.

Very excited about 2025.

And you yourself, I'm sure you have some item that you're looking at working on putting together because that is the essence o what legislative sessions are.

You bring items to the chamber for you and your your your your members of the Senat to talk about and get worked on.

And I know that is still coming out of 2024, coming out of what were the elections and things are still kind of bubbling with electricity.

But you have to say that there are some things tha you're looking at getting done and working with lawmakers o for the state, aren't you, sir?

Yes.

And I can't believe this is my third legislative session.

Almost nearly 75% done with my first term.

So this is very exciting on what we've been able to accomplish together as a deliberative assembly.

I just want to just share some things that I have coming prioritizing for this upcoming legislative session.

And so we as a stat are facing a retirement crisis and so I plan on introducing legislation I've been working outside o session with business leaders, Business Council of Alabama, Small Business Organizations and trade Associations, just doing roundtables to sort of get some feedback on a bill that.

Our legislation I plan on introducing, and it's a bill to support small businesses and their workers plan and say for retirement.

So I'm very excited that we can combat the retirement crisis and allow Alabamians to really exert some self-determination and plan and go over their lives and their financial future.

And you mentioned a ver important segment of the state, small businesses, small businesses owners, small business workers because many times people say, if you want to talk about addressing economic concerns in a state in Alabama, start with small businesses.

And that would take you down the path of helping to improve things for ensurin small businesses are the engine of economic development in our state.

And so, so many times they ge left out of the conversations.

And so we'r talking about your coffee shops, your small factories who are doing production in our communities, our suppor for our agriculture community.

And so we just want to make sure that their voices are amplified.

And as I said, as we were coming into this discussion, you represent a good bit or mostly of the black Belt region of the state.

So this in many ways is triple when you talk about doing this and doing it for black belt areas.

Yes, for sure.

And so when you talk about saving for retirement, many people, if you're not saving for retirement at work and you're not having it take out of your check automatically, lots of times you won't be able to save for retirement.

And so we know how important it is.

We know the key.

A lot of time it affects the social safety net and being able to us the social safety net as well.

And so we want to make sure that people are able to retire in dignity and how can we support those workers?

So very excited about th prospects of that legislation.

So to say education about this topic is variable.

Yes.

And so that's what I'm doing righ now, is informing constituencies and making sure that we get buy in from a lo of your special interest groups.

Now, there are other issues, too.

We were talking before we started this interview about things that you're looking at touching as we get into this session.

One deals with the Reentry Commission, which is dealing with the Justice system and issues dealing with parole parolees.

Am I correct?

Yes.

So I'm so excited to be serving on the reentry Commission.

I want to commend Director Kamworo for his leadership over Pardons and Paroles and how it brings all the stakeholders together in state government.

When you talk about your local judges bringing the legal community, your community college to, your college system, and other state government agencies, labor, the Department of Corrections, Veteran Affairs, just bringing everybody at the table to work with solutions and prioritize and cutting recidivism in half by 50%.

And I think that we're well on our way.

Is that our state, as we prioritize workforce development, as we prioritize and once people leave the formerly incarcerated leave.

Our Department of Corrections system, that they're able to enjoy the dignity of work and good paying jobs.

And we're looking at legislation.

When you talk about how we're our occupational boards and how we can support workers, you know, some people, they might have committed a crime, but it has nothing to do with occupation that they may be skilled for.

And so they shouldn't b prohibited from working and work opportunities, being able to take care of themselves and their families.

And so we're just looking at ways to sort of streamline the process and making things more fair and equitable so they won't have that quote unquote, scarlet letter once they leave the system that they have the support and treatment that they deserve.

Great work with.

We had a very great conversation with the incoming chief of the Supreme Court and he power is that our prioritization of supporting veterans and and supporting treatment and support, you know overall the wraparound services for and incorporate that into the system, I'm very excited and amplifying the process is to support our legal community that we already have.

And so I'm very excited about that.

And just want to just share as well.

Last year I introduced legislation dealing with post-conviction DNA evidence.

It is my belief that we have one person in our prison system that is innocent.

That's one too many.

And so we need to expand the parameters in our state for Alabamians to be able to prove their innocence with DNA evidence.

And so I introduced the bill and it deals with support.

This deals with court costs as well, is deals with how do we support our indigent defendants and who don't have acces to high paying lawyers as well.

And so I will be introducin that legislation, that bill, and I hope it gets further than it did last year.

Senator Stewart, thank you for joining us.

We appreciate it.

Honor to be here.

Thank you, sir.

We'll be watching it.

And Capital-Journal will be right back.

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That would do it for this edition of Capital Journal.

Tom Stacy will be back here next week with more guest and more Alabama news.

As we leave you tonight.

We like to leave yo with a little holiday scenery.

Some scenes from the holidays of the magic of Christmas under the Warrior, which is back at Rookwood Caverns State Park, bringing more festive cheer to the heart of Alabama for all of us here at Alabama Public Television, thank you for joining us.

I'm Randi Scott.

Be safe and we will see you soon.