The Greene County Democrat

Category: Health

  • Dollarhide Health Fair reminds us “Health is Wealth”

    Dollarhide Health Fair reminds us “Health is Wealth”

    Above, Wille Esther Austin and Dollarhide Community Health Fair Presenters

    by Maya Quinn, managing editor

    On Saturday, April 18th, Dollarhide Community Center was full of vendors and city representatives who gathered to address a myriad of concerns in the community for their Annual Health Fair. The event was hosted by Pine Grove CME Church, Macedonia CME Church, and the Dollarhide Volunteer Fire Department. The invited presenters focused on the well-being and safety of its citizens as well as the need for higher community engagement from constituents. 

    Dollarhide’s community is upheld by its citizens’ dedication to one another, as many initiatives are operated on a volunteer basis. From storm relief to community resources, the citizens of Dollarhide and neighboring cities such as Boligee and Forkland strive to meet the needs of their community through benevolent commitments to one another. By working with organizations such as Greene County Community in Action Coalition, Greene County Sheriff’s Department, and the Rural Alabama Prevention Center, citizens collaborate to create programs that address concerns ranging from underage drinking to high blood pressure management. This health fair is only one of many events hosted within Greene County to better the everyday lives of all those who reside within. 

    A group of diverse individuals, including adults and children, gathered on a stage in a community center. They are wearing matching yellow t-shirts with a church logo, posing for a photo with smiles.
    Pine Grove CME and Macedonia CME church members at the event

    The event’s program was led by Mrs. Willie Esther Austin, a member of Dollarhide’s Volunteer Fire Department and Pine Grove CME Church. Mrs. Austin welcomed guests and gave a quick summary regarding the purpose of the fair, to supply the community with health and safety resources. The program listed presenters from local governments, health organizations, and the Red Cross disaster relief. Prayers and scripture were intertwined with the program, reminding attendees that physical fitness and spiritual maturity are worth more than gold. “We do this every year,” Mrs. Austin told The Democrat. 

    After a prayer for good health, the fire department began the presentations with a demonstration on how to properly use an extinguisher and the importance of smoke detectors in the home. Fire Chief Keith Young reminded attendees that home fires often begin in the kitchen, so having a fire extinguisher nearby could prevent the loss of life or a home. Attendees were given the acronym PASS: Pull the pin, Aim the hose, Squeeze the trigger, Sweep the flames side to side. 

    Two men posing beside a mounted fire extinguisher in a room with beige walls.
    Dollarhide Volunteer Fire Department Fire Chief and Assistant Fire Chief

    The fire safety demonstration was followed by the EMS Board Director and CEO of Hills Hospital, Mrs. Loretta Wilson, giving a call to action for community members to support the ambulance services. Due to the financial and operational negligence of the previous administration, the EMS services of Greene County are threatened with closure. Wilson explained that there is only one operational emergency vehicle that serves the entire 647 square miles of the county. “We all own the emergency services,” she stated before asking for community members to offer assistance in reaching out to their commissioners and mayors. The EMS services are a nonprofit organization, meaning all proceeds and donations go directly to operating its services.

    Shawn Jackson, born and raised in Forkland, AL, gave a presentation on oncology, the branch of medicine that specializes in researching and treating cancer. Jackson graduated from UAB and has been working in radiation therapy for the last 25 years. “We used to equate cancer with death,” Jackson stated before explaining that medicine has advanced in such a way that early detection is a critical factor in treatment outcomes. “The most important thing is to get your screenings,” he explained. Jackson also encouraged attendees to support members of their communities with reminders for screenings and organizing carpools so appointments are not missed or delayed. “When you hear cancer, there is no need to be afraid…remember hope.”

    Special guest US Marshall and Officer Jeremy Rancher encouraged community elders to be watchful of vaping paraphernalia, as it is often masked by sweet scents that target teens and children, and underage drinking. Officer Rancher implored citizens to use him as a resource in their schools and gatherings. “Invite us out,” he began, “You never know whose life you’re gonna save.” Rancher states that his team can provide demonstrations on the dangers of drunk driving by letting teens wear impaired vision goggles while riding in ATVs. Greene County’s Sheriff Department and the Greene County Children’s Policy Council echoed the sentiment of using them as a resource as well. 

    Transitioning to health and wellness, Mr. Nathaniel Jones gave a testimony on the horrors of addiction. Jones explained that he was a first-generation college graduate and had a loving family, with children who excelled in school, but addiction “cares nothing about demographics” and is mind-altering. “I was in a prison mentally,” he began, “You do not want to mess with this…” Jones is now 7 years clean and talks to the youth in his community about the dangers of addiction to illegal and prescription drugs, alcohol, and smoking. Jones received roaring applause for his stories and reminded attendees to seek help from God and the church.

    An elderly woman with glasses standing alongside a man, both smiling and posing for a photo in a community center setting. The woman is using a cane and wears a light-colored blouse, while the man is dressed in a 'Proud Dad' t-shirt.
    Legendary Dollarhide Volunteer Fire Department member Ms. Quinnie and Mayor Jeff Quinnie (son)

    Dollarhide invites community members and friends to attend the community meeting every third Monday of the month at Dollarhide Community Center, located next to the fire department.

  • Judge proclaims April 2026 as “Child Abuse Prevention Month”

    Judge proclaims April 2026 as “Child Abuse Prevention Month”

    Judge Rolonda Wedgeworth signing a proclamation for Child Abuse Prevention Month

    PROCLAMATION

    Child Abuse Prevention Month 2026

    Whereas, National Child Abuse Prevention Month will be recognized throughout the United States as well in the Commonwealth of Alabama during April 2026; and

    Whereas, Child Abuse Prevention Month is a time to acknowledge the importance of families and communities working to prevent child abuse and neglect, and to promote the social and emotional wellbeing of children and families; and

    Whereas, preventing child abuse and neglect is a community problem that depends on involement among people through the community; and

    Whereas, child abuse is consdiered to be one of our nation’s most serious public health problems withscienctific tides documenting the link between the abuse and neglect of children and wide range of medical, emotional, psychological andbehavioral disorders; and

    Whereas, effective child abuse prevention programs succeed because of partnership among agencies, schools, religious organizations, law enforcement, and the business community; and

    Whereas, during April and throughout the year; our communities are encouraged to share child abuse and neglect preveniton awarness stratgies and activies and promote prevention across the county.

    Therefore, I, Honorable Judge Ronland Wedgwothby, by virtue of the authority vested in me as Probate Judge of Greene County, do here proclaim the Month of April in the year 2026 to be Child Abuse Prevention Month.”

    In Greene County, we encourage all residents to engage in making a difference in the lives of children in Greene County by promoting safety and awareness to prevent abuse from happening.

    • Judge Rolonda Wedgeworth, Probate Judge of Green County, Alabama

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  • Newswire: RFK Jr. set to face Bill Cassidy in back-to-back Senate hearings

    Newswire: RFK Jr. set to face Bill Cassidy in back-to-back Senate hearings

    RFK Jr. talking with Senator Bill Cassidy

    by Berkeley Lovelace Jr., NBC News

    Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. heads to Capitol Hill on Wednesday on a potential collision course with the Republican who helped put him in the job: Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.

    It will be Kennedy’s first appearance in nearly a year before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, which Cassidy chairs. The senator, who is up for re-election, cast the key vote to confirm Kennedy last year after securing a series of promises from Kennedy, including that he would preserve federal vaccine recommendations and regularly appear before the committee.

    Kennedy has not kept those promises; Cassidy has limited his criticism of the health secretary to posts on social media and press statements.

    Cassidy, however, has been vocal in his support of vaccines, including during the March confirmation hearing for Dr. Casey Means, President Donald Trump’s pick for surgeon general. Means is a Kennedy ally who has questioned vaccines. Cassidy has not yet scheduled a vote to advance Means’ nomination.

    Wednesday’s hearing will mark Kennedy’s first appearance before Cassidy since a confrontational Senate Finance Committee hearing in September and could offer the clearest sign yet of how the senator plans to handle those concerns. A spokesperson for Cassidy declined to comment on what the senator plans to ask Kennedy.

    Kennedy is also expected to face questions from Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who is retiring next year and has said he plans to speak more freely about his views, including on members of Trump’s Cabinet. (Tillis voted to confirm all members of Trump’s Cabinet in 2025.)

    Kennedy will appear before the Finance Committee in the morning and the HELP Committee in the afternoon.

    In January, Kennedy overhauled the childhood vaccine schedule, reducing the number of recommended diseases for children to be vaccinated against from 18 to 11 — a move Cassidy later said in a post on X would “make America sicker.” The changes removed recommendations that all babies should be protected against hepatitis A, hepatitis B, RSV, dengue, and two types of bacterial meningitis.

    In March, a federal judge blocked those changes and put on hold the new members Kennedy appointed to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee. The administration hasn’t yet appealed the ruling. But Kennedy signed off on new rules for the committee that could make it easier to work around the court’s decision.

    Dorit Reiss, a vaccine policy expert at the University of California Law School, San Francisco, said she hopes that Cassidy will hold Kennedy accountable.

    “There’s a raging measles outbreak,” Reiss said. “Kennedy may have given lukewarm endorsements to the MMR vaccine but, as far as I know, hasn’t made any efforts to call on people to vaccinate or to do anything practical to reduce the risk.”

    Kennedy has already testified at five congressional hearings over the last week. He has faced blistering criticism from Democrats over his vaccine policy and overhaul of federal health agencies. At one hearing, Kennedy said the U.S. has “done better” at preventing measles than any other country.

    “Judging by Secretary Kennedy’s recent testimony to Congress, he is likely to continue to gaslight the Senate Finance and HELP committees,” said Lawrence Gostin, director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University. “He continues using terms like ‘world-class science,’ ‘rigorous evidence,’ and ‘radical transparency,’ when in fact he has done the opposite.”

    In an emailed statement, Andrew Nixon, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, called what Gostin said “a baseless accusation that doesn’t match reality.”

    Another potential wild card for Kennedy is Tillis, a Republican who is not seeking re-election, Reiss said.

    During the September hearing, she noted, Tillis suggested that Kennedy had broken his promises on vaccines, saying, “I do also believe that some of your statements seem to contradict what you said in the prior hearing.”

    “The fact that you’re a Republican doesn’t mean that you need to blindly accept [Kennedy’s actions],” Reiss said.

    A spokesperson for Tillis did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    Kennedy could also face questions about his recent comments to overhaul the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a federal panel that makes recommendations on preventive services, including cancer screenings, as well as on Trump’s executive order meant to spur research into psychedelics.

  • Newswire: How can we solve the Black maternal health crisis if we can’t say ‘Black’?

    Newswire: How can we solve the Black maternal health crisis if we can’t say ‘Black’?

    U.S. Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) speaks during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing in the U.S. Capitol Building on March 04, 2026, in Washington, DC. Photo by: Anna Moneymaker

    by Kay Wicker

    That question went from rhetorical to real on Friday, April 17, when Rep. Summer Lee asked it outright during a committee hearing with the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

    “Your agency told programs to remove a list of nearly 200 words and phrases from their funding applications, including the word ‘Black.’ Do you have an idea of how we could solve the Black maternal mortality crisis if we can’t say ‘Black’?” she asked as she grilled him intensely on the matter.

    During the exchange, which came at the close of another annual Black Maternal Health Week, the Democratic congresswoman laid out the stakes. She explained that Black women are at least three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women and that most of those deaths are preventable, while also sounding the alarm about proposed cuts to key maternal health programs and how the rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts is impacting Black maternal health.

    Kennedy attempted to push back, but when pressed on disparities, he largely pivoted to general maternal health, citing overall improvements and claiming the administration had done more than its predecessors. He downplayed his past claims about Tylenol during pregnancy, saying he “doubted” avoiding it would significantly affect Black maternal deaths.

    In addition to facing mortality rates three to four times higher than any other demographic, Black women in the United States also face disproportionately high rates of complications like preeclampsia and emergency C-sections. Those disparities are all the result of longstanding gaps in access to care, medical bias, and systemic inequities—and in recent years, the landscape has only grown more precarious.

    The fallout from Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in 2022, which saw an end to Roe v. Wade and protections for abortions in this country, has complicated pregnancy care nationwide, while the rollback of DEI initiatives has put funding for targeted programs at risk. Doulas, often cited as critical support for improving outcomes, are also navigating increasingly restrictive policies.

    Since the Pennsylvania representative’s remarks began circulating online, many responses, including those from non-Black content creators, have highlighted that addressing the needs of those most at risk improves outcomes across the board. The idea that targeted solutions exclude others misunderstands how public health works.

    If a table is wobbly, you can adjust everything around it, but it won’t be steady until you fix the leg that’s most off balance.

    During the hearing, Lee ultimately said, “We can improve healthcare for everybody at the same time as helping the people who are most likely to die.”

  • Newswire: Trump nominates Dr. Erica Schwartz, former deputy surgeon general, for CDC director

    Newswire: Trump nominates Dr. Erica Schwartz, former deputy surgeon general, for CDC director

    Rear Adm. Erica G. Schwartz was deputy surgeon general during President Donald Trump’s first term. 

    by Berkeley Lovelace Jr., Erika Edwards, and Sara G. Miller, NBC News

    President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he was nominating Dr. Erica Schwartz to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    Schwartz served as deputy U.S. surgeon general during Trump’s first term.
    “Erica graduated from Brown University for College and Medical School, and served a distinguished career as a Doctor of Medicine in the United States Military, the Greatest and Most Powerful Force in the World, and then served as my Deputy Surgeon General during my First Term,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding, “She is a STAR!”

    Trump also announced his picks for three top health positions: Sean Slovenski, a health care industry executive, as the CDC’s chief operating officer; Dr. Jennifer Shuford, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, as the agency’s chief medical director; and Dr. Sara Brenner, principal deputy commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, as senior counselor for public health for Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

    “This is a team with great potential if political interference and the self interest of the secretary of health doesn’t hamper their ability to deliver for the health of the country,” said Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, former head of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. Daskalakis resigned from the agency in August in protest of Kennedy’s firing of former CDC director Susan Monarez.
    In a post on X, Kennedy thanked Trump for nominating Schwartz and said he looked forward “to working together to restore trust, accountability, and scientific integrity.”

    The CDC has been without a permanent director since August.

    The Trump administration’s first pick, former Rep. Dave Weldon of Florida, was pulled in March 2025 after Republican senators signaled he wouldn’t be confirmed. Officials then turned to Monarez, a career scientist who had already been serving as acting director. She led the agency for just one month last summer before she was dismissed in August after clashing with Kennedy over vaccine policy.

    Jim O’Neill then served as the agency’s acting director for several months. O’Neill signed off on a major overhaul of the childhood vaccination schedule in January that has since been blocked by a federal judge. He was replaced by National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya in February, who has since been overseeing the agency in an unusual dual role.

    Health Service Commissioned Corps and the U.S. Coast Guard. She left as deputy surgeon general in 2021.

    Schwartz, a physician, earned a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering and a medical degree from Brown University. She also holds a master’s degree in public health from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and a law degree from the University of Maryland.

    If confirmed, Schwartz would step into the role as the agency grapples with controversial policy changes under Kennedy.

    Last month, a Massachusetts federal judge, in a lawsuit brought by the American Academy of Pediatrics and several other medical organizations, halted many of the vaccine policy changes made under Kennedy’s handpicked CDC vaccine advisory panel, also known as the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP. That ruling also blocked the overhaul of the vaccination schedule. The agency has yet to appeal the ruling.

    This month, Kennedy signed off on a new charter for ACIP — a move that was seen by health policy experts as a way to sidestep the judge’s ruling.

  • Newswire: Black women in rural areas grapple with stark decline in obstetric care

    Newswire: Black women in rural areas grapple with stark decline in obstetric care

    by Ashleigh Fields, Special to the AFRO

    Black women in rural areas are facing the brunt of declining medical services, including access to obstetric care as new policies threaten clinic and hospital closure.

    Under the current White House administration’s summer spending package, federal reimbursement for services covered through Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act severely declined leaving rural healthcare providers to fend for themselves amid pressing patient concerns.

    “The risks facing women in rural communities is due to hardship in receiving routine screenings and also access for treatment if conditions/diseases arise. Also, in rural areas there are few specialists,” Dr. Sonya Buchanan, a preventative medicine physician and Meharry Medical College graduate, told the AFRO.

    “Most specialists practice in larger cities with larger populations. Commuting to and from for treatment of chronic illnesses or cancer may not be possible for a number of reasons including financial, logistics or missing time from work,” she added.

    In response to the 47th president’s spending bill, Georgia Rep. Nikema Williams (D) introduced the Maternal Health Equity Under Medicaid Act to raise federal matching rates to 90 percent for Medicaid expenditures on maternal healthcare.

    Nearly 1 in 5 or 20 percent of rural adults and 40 percent of rural children rely on Medicaid or Children Health Insurance Program. Amid cost concerns, rural Americans also face geographic challenges that present threats to healthcare.
    Most live an average of 10.5 miles from the nearest hospital, versus just 4.4 miles for their urban counterparts, according to the National Rural Health Association.

    “Medicaid is the largest payer of maternity care in this country and must be part of the solution to the maternal health crisis. Too many people are still falling through cracks in our healthcare system, especially Black mamas who continue to face a worsening maternal health crisis,” Williams said in a statement noting that 42 percent of births are financed by Medicaid.

    Still, women who enroll in Medicaid in their third trimester have a 4.7 times higher likelihood of experiencing maternal mortality and a 1.5 times higher risk for infant mortality, according to her office.
    “Raising the federal match for maternal care will give states the resources they need to expand care and save lives. As Republicans threaten devastating Medicaid cuts, this legislation is a clear statement: we must invest in care, not cruelty,” the Georgia lawmaker said.

    As of 2022, more than two-thirds of rural hospitals in eight states were without obstetric services, according to a Health Affairs study. From 2010- 2022, 12 states also reported the loss of 25 percent or more obstetric services in rural hospitals.

    “The mass closures of obstetric wings in rural hospitals have been a major issue for years now. In North Carolina, 40 percent of our counties have no facilities at all for maternity care. The passage of the Big Beautiful Bill—I like to call it the Big Ugly Bill—is only going to make these issues so much worse. Labor and delivery units are often the first to get cut when hospital budgets get low,” Rep. Alma Adams (D-N.C.) told the AFRO.

    “This bill made major cuts to Medicaid dollars, which hospitals rely on to stay afloat. It also created new restrictions making it more difficult to remain eligible for Medicaid,” she added.
    The United States remains the only developed country with a rising maternal mortality rate, according to UNICEF, with deaths skewed towards women of color.

    Black women are three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications and twice as likely to lose an infant to premature death. Women in rural communities are threatened the most.

    All 50 states were given access to the federal Rural Health Transformation Fund, which provides over $100,000 to strengthen and modernize health care in rural communities across the country.

    “While it won’t fully alleviate the burden of these Medicaid cuts, our state will be using some of these dollars to keep rural hospitals in business and expand maternity care access in our state, focusing on non-medical barriers to care, too,” Rep. Adams said.

    “Let’s be honest, though—this is a band-aid to our country’s Black maternal health crisis. We need comprehensive legislation to address it, like the Momnibus Act, which we’re reintroducing soon with Rep. Underwood and Sen. Booker. We need major action soon, because our country is reaching a boiling point, and our moms deserve better,” Adams continued.

    The Momnibus Act is a package of 13-bill acts that address social determinants, mental health, workforce diversification, and data collection, with over $1 billion in proposed investments dedicated to solving the maternal mortality crisis.

    While lawmakers address issues through policy, doulas have also been stepping in to bridge the gap by providing travel services to address the lack of care in rural communities.

    “Historically, doulas were responsible for assisting those giving birth and midwives, and were often among the few enslaved individuals who were allowed to travel due to the indispensability of their services. However, as births moved into hospitals, the non-clinical support system declined — removing an invaluable service for expectant mothers, particularly those within communities disproportionately affected by maternal mortality rates and limited access to medical care and birthing services,” according to Valerie Rochester, chief health equity officer at Creating Healthier Communities (CHC).

  • Newswire: Advocates revitalize push for Medicaid Expansion in Alabama

    Newswire: Advocates revitalize push for Medicaid Expansion in Alabama

    MONTGOMERY, Ala. – More than 50 advocates with the Cover Alabama coalition came to the Alabama State House on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, to urge their lawmakers to expand Medicaid. The advocates highlighted a new analysis from Families USA, a nationwide nonprofit consumer health advocacy and policy organization.

    Alabama is losing $181.6 million in 2026 by covering millions in state health care spending that otherwise could be paid for by the federal government under Medicaid expansion, according to the new Families USA report. Medicaid expansion would generate $71.8 million in net savings for Alabama this year, the report estimated. And that amount would not include additional revenue from economic activity resulting from expansion.

    The report points to numerous potential funding sources that could help the state address our health care crisis. These include increasing the state cigarette tax and closing an income tax loophole that overwhelmingly benefits the wealthiest households.

    “Alabama can’t afford not to expand Medicaid,” said Debbie Smith, Alabama Arise’s Cover Alabama campaign director. “The most costly option is doing nothing.”

    160,000+ Alabamians are in state’s health coverage gap

    Tens of thousands of Alabamians have seen soaring costs this year for Marketplace health coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). These price increases came after Congress failed to renew enhanced Premium Tax Credits (ePTCs) that make plans more affordable. The increases also came on the heels of other significant federal cuts to health care in HR 1, the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

    Many Alabamians have elected to drop health insurance altogether after losing the ePTCs. An estimated 161,000 adults statewide fall into the “coverage gap,” meaning they earn too much to qualify for Alabama Medicaid but not enough to afford private insurance on their own. Expanding Medicaid could ensure coverage for more than 150,000 of these Alabamians. That is roughly equivalent to the combined capacities of Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa and Protective Stadium in Birmingham.

    “In states that have expanded Medicaid, we’ve seen a 6% to 9% increase in the workforce. Just because people can make choices to support themselves and their families,” said Mary-Beth Malcarney, Families USA’s senior adviser on Medicaid policy.

    Presenters at Tuesday’s event included Smith, Malcarney and Formeeca Tripp, Alabama Arise’s senior regional organizer. Many attendees also described their own health care experiences and explained why they support Medicaid expansion in Alabama.

    “No one should have to decide between rent or medicine,” one advocate shared.

    Cover Alabama is a nonpartisan alliance of more than 130 advocacy groups, businesses, community organizations, consumer groups, health care providers and religious congregations advocating for Alabama to provide quality, affordable health coverage to its residents and implement a sustainable health care system.

  • Greene County Health Systems launches Career Tech Program

    Greene County Health Systems launches Career Tech Program

    by Maya Quinn
    Managing Editor

    Lakisha Gill, Nicole Henley, Rodgerick Williams standing in the nursing home waiting area
    Lakisha Gill, Nicole Henley, and Rodgerick Williams standing in the nursing home waiting area

    Thursday, March 5th, Greene County Hospital launched its career tech program for Eutaw High School students with the induction of seven students. Hospital Administrator Rodgerick Williams welcomed students, along with Chief Nursing Officer Lakisha Gill and Nicole Henley, director of nursing at the Greene County Nursing Home. The goal of the program is to prepare students for employment opportunities and address the ongoing rural healthcare crisis in the community.

    Retention of students is essential to reshaping the culture of Greene County Health Systems. Each summer, students may experience a phenomenon known as “brain drain”: a lack of academic stimulation that leads to learning loss. Greene County Health Systems aims to combat that with the career tech program. Henley stated that the program aims to provide students with invaluable work experience to equip them for positions here in Greene County. Students practiced completing applications, drafting resumes, and handling other daily tasks for introductory positions across disciplines. The program’s staff and teachers are bridging a gap by ensuring that students have the necessary soft skills to be employed in college or immediately after graduation.

    hospital staff showing students the CT scan machine
    hospital staff showing career tech students a CT scan machine

    Lakisha Gill highlighted the importance of programs like these in preparing students for clinical and professional schools. Alongside patient care tech training, students are developing key employability skills, including communication, self-management, digital literacy, teamwork, and problem-solving. The program will partner with Wallace Community College’s LPN (licensed practical nurse) program and Workforce Alabama to procure stipends for students. “These kids need to be involved in something,” Gill stated, “we need to give back as a unit to the students here.” Upon completion of CNA (certified nursing assistant) training, students will be offered CNA positions in the Greene County Health System.

    UAB Alabama Rural Health Collaborative team with Hospital Administrator Rodgerick Williams
    UAB Alabama Rural Health Collaborative team with Rodgerick Williams

    Williams is also working closely with the UAB Alabama Rural Health Collaborative to decrease rural hospital bypass, the tendency of residents to seek care beyond their closest hospital. The collaborative will help the hospital procure funds for new imaging equipment and a surgery suite. Williams asserted that these improvements are imperative to serve Greene County’s residents better. A study from the University of North Carolina’s Rural Health Research Program found that traveling beyond the local hospital for care in rural areas is associated with higher inpatient mortality rates. In emergencies such as sepsis, rural hospital bypass can lead to patients missing a critical period of care that means the difference between life and death.

    Rural bypass behaviors result in a significant loss of revenue for the hospital. Revenue loss leads to a detrimental cascading effect, leaving hospitals understaffed. Understaffing means the hospital will lack key services such as critical illness care and obstetrics. Greene County Health Systems is not a for-profit institution and relies on county members to keep its doors open. Williams urges community members to use the hospital for all their care needs and not just emergencies, “to make sure that in this rural environment they can get service in their golden hour of need.”

  • Newswire : On 61st Anniversary of Bloody Sunday, worries about the future of voting rights and calls to action

    Newswire : On 61st Anniversary of Bloody Sunday, worries about the future of voting rights and calls to action

    A diverse group of people, including several public figures, gathered on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, singing and celebrating while holding signs advocating for voting rights.

    People crossing the Edmund Pettus bridge on Sunday and  Spiver Gordon, Greene County civil rights veteran and foot soldier next to Congresswoman Sewell on bridge

    By Kim Chandler, Associated Press and other sources

    SELMA, Ala. (AP) — Sixty-one years after state troopers attacked Civil Rights marchers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, thousands gathered in the Alabama city this weekend amid new concerns about the future of the Voting Rights Act.
    The March 7, 1965, violence that became known as Bloody Sunday shocked the nation and helped spur passage of the landmark legislation that dismantled barriers to voting for Black Americans in the Jim Crow South.
    The anniversary was celebrated in this city that served as crucible for the voting rights movement, with events through the weekend ending with a commemorative march across the bridge Sunday. But the commemoration came as the U.S. Supreme Court considers a case that could limit a provision of the Voting Rights Act that has helped ensure some congressional and local districts are drawn so minority voters have a chance to elect their candidate of choice.
    “I’m concerned that all of the advances that we made for the last 61 years are going to be eradicated,” said Charles Mauldin, 78, one of the marchers beaten on Bloody Sunday.
    Former and current Democratic officeholders, civil rights leaders and tourists descended on Selma to pay homage to the pivotal moment of the Civil Rights Movement and to issue calls to action. Speakers warned of the looming court decision and criticized the Trump administration’s actions on immigration and efforts to roll back diversity, equity, and inclusion.
    Standing at the pulpit of the historic Tabernacle Baptist Church, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, said that like the marchers on Bloody Sunday, they must press forward.
    “Years after Bloody Sunday, the progress that stemmed from that sacrifice is now being rolled back right in our faces,” the governor said. Moore is the nation’s only Black governor currently in office.
    “We are choosing this fight because those who marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge deserve better than us cowering while the freedoms that we inherited and they fought for, are being ripped away,” Moore said.
    Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, speaking at a rally at the foot of the bridge, said racism is on the rise in America and “Trump’s Supreme Court is gutting the Voting Rights Act.”
    “Let’s march forward today with the knowledge that we are the inheritors of the faith that brought marchers to the bridge 61 years ago. It is now on us to bend the arc of the moral universe toward justice,” Pritzker said.
    The annual commemoration in Selma is a mix of a civil rights remembrances, church services and a street festival filled with vendors and food trucks. It is also part political rally with an eye on November’s midterm elections and a longer view to the 2028 presidential race.
    The commemoration included a tribute to the late Rev. Jesse Jackson, the civil rights leader and two-time presidential candidate who regularly attended the annual Selma march. He died on Feb. 17 at age 84.
    Yusef Jackson said his father’s legacy will be carried forward. “In November, we will go back to the polls and take our government back, setting our country on the right path,” Jackson said.
    The looming court decision cast a shadow over the festivities. Justices are expected to rule soon on a Louisiana case , Calais vs Louisiana, about the role of race in drawing congressional districts. A ruling prohibiting or limiting that role could have sweeping consequences, potentially opening the door for Republican-controlled states to redistrict and roll back majority Black and Latino districts that tend to favor Democrats.
    U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures won election in 2024 to an Alabama district that was redrawn by a federal court to give Black voters a greater voice. His district will likely be targeted if the state gets the opportunity to redraw lines. He said what happened in Selma and the subsequent passage of the Voting Rights Act “was monumental in shaping what America looks like and how America is represented in Congress.”
    In 1965, the Bloody Sunday marchers led by John Lewis and Hosea Williams walked in pairs across the Selma bridge headed toward the state capital of Montgomery. Mauldin, then 17, was part of the third pair behind Williams and Lewis.
    At the apex of the bridge, they could see the sea of law enforcement officers, including some on horseback, waiting for them. But they kept going.
    “It wasn’t that we didn’t have fear, it’s that we chose courage over fear,” Mauldin recalled.
    Spiver Gordon, Greene County civil rights leader said this anniversary was a little bitter-sweet, since three close friends, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Joanne Bland and Rev. Bernard Lafayette, had all passed in the three weeks leading up to this 61st anniversary of Bloody Sunday.
    A crowd of several thousand filed behind elected officials on this Sunday for the march across the bridge, this time protected by state law enforcement officers.

  • Newswire : After a president-filled celebration, Rev. Jesse Jackson’s family gathers for an intimate homegoing

    Newswire : After a president-filled celebration, Rev. Jesse Jackson’s family gathers for an intimate homegoing

    Private family funeral for Rev. Jesse Jackson

    By The Associated Press

    CHICAGO — A day after former presidents, sitting governors and local Chicago residents alike attended a vibrant, televised celebration for the late Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., the family and friends who knew him best hosted a more intimate gathering Saturday to grieve the civil rights leader at his organization’s headquarters.

    The private memorial service at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition’s headquarters on the South Side of Chicago includes only a few hundred attendees, most of whom are family members, allies and confidants. The homegoing is meant as a capstone to a week of services held across the country

    “I foresee tomorrow will represent everything that Rev. Jackson stood for,” the Rev. Chauncey D. Brown, a pastor to a Chicago-area church and mentee of Jackson’s, said Friday.. “It will include dignitaries and icons, as well as many from where the true power lies, with the people in the streets.”
    Some members of the public who gathered outside the PUSH headquarters were allowed to enter the chamber.
    “Over the last two weeks, we’ve been focusing on connecting to people that Reverend worked with across the years,” said Rev. Janette Wilson, a longtime senior advisor to Jackson and executive director at Rainbow PUSH Coalition. “When you look at his work, it is so vast in the economic and political arenas.”
    Since his death last month, Jackson’s family and allies have honored the late reverend with commemorations, community service and demonstrations they say continue his work.
    Mourners were first allowed public visitations at the Rainbow PUSH headquarters in February, giving Jackson’s longtime neighbors a chance to say goodbye to the civil rights leader.
    The late reverend then lay in state at the South Carolina Capitol. Jackson grew up in segregated Greenville, South Carolina. As a high schooler, he led fellow students into a protest that desegregated a local library, starting a lifetime of civil rights activism.
    Services honoring Jackson in Washington, D.C., were postponed after a request for him to lie in honor at the U.S. Capitol was denied. House Republican leadership cited the precedent that only former presidents and senior generals regularly receive the privilege.
    Jackson’s mentees also honored his legacy by organizing on issues such as voting rights, economic inequality and political organizing in the weeks after his passing. Rainbow PUSH hosted a forum for community organizers and clergy whom Jackson mentored to discuss his impact on their careers.
    Wilson said that the best way to honor Jackson is to continue advocating for progressive, inclusive solutions to the pressing economic and political challenges of the day. She cited policies that addressed the impending socioeconomic effects of artificial intelligence, improved public schools and a focus on youth mental health as areas he was contemplative on at the end of his life.
    She also said that Jackson never shied away from being political.
    “We’re in a global moment where peace in the world is in jeopardy, where we just have bombs being dropped carelessly, killing children, innocent victims of political actions,” said Wilson of the ongoing war in the Middle East. “When the government cuts SNAP benefits and you have millions of children and families who will be food insecure, I think you have to tell them that we’re fighting for you.”
    Services honoring Jackson in Washington, D.C., were postponed after a request for him to lie in honor at the U.S. Capitol was denied. House Republican leadership cited the precedent that only former presidents and senior generals regularly receive the privilege.
    Jackson’s mentees also honored his legacy by organizing on issues such as voting rights, economic inequality and political organizing in the weeks after his passing. Rainbow PUSH hosted a forum for community organizers and clergy whom Jackson mentored to discuss his impact on their careers.
    Wilson said that the best way to honor Jackson is to continue advocating for progressive, inclusive solutions to the pressing economic and political challenges of the day. She cited policies that addressed the impending socioeconomic effects of artificial intelligence, improved public schools and a focus on youth mental health as areas he was contemplative on at the end of his life.
    She also said that Jackson never shied away from being political.
    “We’re in a global moment where peace in the world is in jeopardy, where we just have bombs being dropped carelessly, killing children, innocent victims of political actions,” said Wilson of the ongoing war in the Middle East. “When the government cuts SNAP benefits and you have millions of children and families who will be food insecure, I think you have to tell them that we’re fighting for you.”
    The headquarters also greeted nearly 100 progressive activists from Minnesota. The assembled groups represented civil, labor and immigrants’ rights groups who were recently thrust into the national spotlight after President Donald Trump’s administration’s enhanced immigration enforcement operation in the state sparked protests.
    “It’s really empowering, at least for me, to see the coalition coming together and to understand the history of civil rights and human rights and immigrants’ rights,” said Yeng Her, the organizing director at the Immigrant Defense Network, one of the organizations that has protested the Trump administration in Minnesota.
    The Jackson family invited the activists to Chicago to learn more about Jackson’s strategies and find resources for their own organizations. Organizers met Rainbow PUSH alumni and some of Jackson’s children.
    The gathering was a prelude to both the private service for Jackson’s family and another commemoration.
    On Sunday, members of the Jackson family and many of Jackson’s mentees will travel to Selma, Alabama, to commemorate the “Bloody Sunday” protest marches when civil rights activists were beaten by police on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965.
    Jackson himself often attended the same anniversary march.
    “Reverend always thought three-dimensionally,” said Jimmy Coleman, a longtime aide to Jackson and native of Selma.
    “Selma has always stood for the basics of what civil rights is, what we are debating in policy. He was always focused on what we needed in terms of policy in any given political moment, and that’s what the march represents,” said Coleman.