Rural Health Connect crosses county lines

BY KADIE TAYLOR

THE LAFAYETTE SUN

CHAMBERS COUNTY — Bridging Auburn University students and Chambers County residents, Rural Health Connect aims to intervene with health concerns for residents in need of medical support that might not normally fit in their budget.

“The Rural Health Connect is a new student-led organization at Auburn,” said Rural Health Connect Vice President of Public Relations, Corinne Dumond. “We’re aiming to improve health outcomes in Chambers County, not far from Auburn University, but there are some serious health deficits and disparities there.”

One of the targets for the Rural Health Connect is reducing cervical cancer cases through early detection.

“Chambers County has got really high rates of cervical cancer, and it’s bad because it’s, I think it’s 100% curable if detected early,” Dumond said. “So that’s definitely something we’re hoping to help with.”

Rural Health Connect Marketing Coordinator, Jessica Stanhouse, said that through treating the health concerns in Chambers County and improving health education in the community, Rural Health Connect aims to impact the health of Chambers County across generations.

“We’re definitely trying to target multi-generational, like helping to explain certain technologies or things like that where residents can call college-age or graduate-age students who can help bridge that gap and almost help in terms of explaining everything,” she said.

There are many Chambers County residents who might qualify for a Rural Health Connect partnership.

“It’s mostly going to be elderly people, people who maybe need help,” Dumond said. “They’re going to work on a health goal, essentially, so they might need help eating healthier, or they want to quit getting something. So we’re hoping to pair them up, and then the student, the partner and the community, will sort of work on a health goal. So the student will go out there once a month, and then check in via phone once a week.”

Through the communication and connection between student partners and Chambers County residents, Stanhouse said the Rural Health Connect aims to foster a stronger relationship between the two communities.

“Just pursuing that relationship and helping develop trust, and like developing those deeper relationships, which I feel like is very unique to our organization,” she said. “We’re really trying to develop those one-on-one connections, and with those monthly visits that happen through the Health Partners. But really, I feel like our big thing with pursuing this area is deepening that relationship that we already have.”

Dumond said the response from Auburn University students wanting to become Rural Health Connect Partners has been overwhelming.

“We just got 64 applications for students to be Health partners with people in the Chambers County community,” she said. “It’s wonderful that there are many people that have a desire to go out into the community and actually improve rural health outcomes that people were wanting.”

There are a variety of ways that Rural Health Partners can assist Chambers County community members, from connecting them to resources to assisting with nutritional access.

“We really do have to vet everyone, because we’re not going to send our students in blind,” Dumond said. “We want to know what they’re getting into with their health partners. We’re really hoping that we can help community members who need this, whether they live alone, are unable to access resources, they are struggling, whether it’s a technology thing, whether it’s going to take them to doctors’ appointments or take them to the grocery store.”

Dumond said she is excited to work with the Rural Health Connect to improve the health of Chambers County Residents.

“I volunteered at the AUMC Food Bank food pantry in Auburn, and I think that was the first time I understood just how many people were coming to this food pantry,” she said. “How many people really need food and are suffering from lack of proper nutrition, and just food scarcity. It was just really eye-opening, and I wanted to continue getting involved.”

Stanhouse expressed similar feelings about working with the Rural Health Connect.

“I want to be a part of helping bridge any disconnect and bringing resources to people, because that’s something that’s so important and could transform the path their life is on,” she said. “So if there’s any way like that, I can be a part of that, or any way that we as a university can help change that trajectory, is just such an incredible opportunity.”

For more information, visit Rural Health Connect at Auburn University on Facebook or www.auburn.edu/outreach/ruralhealth.