The Auburn University Rural Health Initiative, conceived within University Outreach, is making a desperately needed difference in addressing healthcare disparities in rural Alabama.

RHI provides access to high-quality and affordable health and wellness care using innovative technologies and hands-on services provided by university faculty and students. Partnering with local communities, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, the Colleges of Pharmacy, Nursing, Human Sciences, and the Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences Program, the initiative has already established 5 sites with funding secured and plans established for 9 more in Alabama’s most medically underserved areas

The Rural Health Initiative embodies the principles of sustainability, acknowledging the interconnectedness of environmental, social, and economic systems to achieve individual and collective wellbeing, and by actively contributing to the transformational behaviors and systems that promote sustainable healthcare in underserved areas of our state.

In 2024, Auburn University Rural Health Initiative held 187 community events and 3 nutrition events serving 1,379 participants.

RHI leadership collaborates with other educational institutions such as Tuskegee University and the University of West Alabama to support healthcare services. Over the past two years, RHI leadership has engaged with organizations across the country who are interested in creating similar models (Oregon, North Carolina, Georgia, Arkansas).

All of this has been accomplished through the hard work, expertise, and engagement of 552 Auburn University faculty, staff, and students.