From Investment to Transformation: Perspectives From Around the State and Across the Nation
Alabama’s rural communities face some of the nation’s steepest primary care challenges — from shrinking workforces and hospital closures to fragile EMS coverage and financial pressures that threaten everyday access to care. As organizations around the state invest in solutions, we are gathering experts from around the state and across the country to discuss long-term change. Join national, state, and local healthcare leaders at the Rural Primary Care Summit for a forward-looking discussion on transforming rural health through innovative care models, workforce development, regional partnerships, and sustainable healthcare infrastructure.
Date: January 11, 2027
Time: 9 am-3 pm
Location: Hilton Birmingham Downtown at UAB, 808 20th Street South, Birmingham, Alabama, 35205
Summit Agenda
8:30–9 am: Registration, coffee & networking
9–9:15 am: Welcome & Objective Setting
- Anupam Agarwal, MD, Dean, UAB Heersink School of Medicine
- Irfan Asif, MD, UAB Associate Dean of Primary Care and Rural Health
9:15–9:45 am: Keynote - check back soon for additional details
9:45–11 am: Panel 1: Four States, Different Bets — What Can Alabama Learn?
Panelists:
- Jade Stellmon, Rural GME Development & Support Manager, University of Washington
- Emily Hawes, PharmD, BCPS, CPP, Professor, UNC Department of Family Medicine, Director, Sheps Graduate Medical Education – Technical Assistance Centers
- Joe Kingsbury, MPA, BSBA, Assistant Director, Office of Health Outreach, Policy, & Education (HOPE), University of Missouri
- Jennifer Taylor, DHEd, MPH, MCHES, Executive Director, Indiana Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Network
11:15 am–12:15 pm: Panel 2: Building Alabama’s Rural Health Workforce: From Pipeline to Practice
Panelists:
- Irfan Asif, M.D., Chair, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Associate Dean of Primary Care and Rural Health, UAB
- Leigh Ann Ross, PharmD, Dean and Bell Endowed Chair, Auburn University Harrison College of Pharmacy
- Kenneth Kirkland, Ph.D, RN, Chief Health Care Officer, Alabama Community College System
- Allen Perkins, M.D., Chief, Ambulatory CMO and Population Health, University of South Alabama Health
12:15–1 pm: Networking Lunch
1–2 pm: Panel 3: From Projects to Transformation: What Is Alabama Building?
Panelists
- Joseph Marchant, NHA, Executive Vice President and Chief Integration and Network, Development Officer, East Alabama Health
- Ashley Moore, MPA, Director of Women’s Program Development and OB Hospitalists at Mobile Infirmary, Infirmary Health System
- Allen Perkins, M.D., Chief, Ambulatory CMO and Population Health, University of South Alabama Health
- Rodgerick Williams, MSHA, CEO, Greene County Health System
- Richard D. Friend, M.D., Dean and Professor of Family Medicine, University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences
2–2:45 pm: Synthesis & Next Steps