A new rural emergency medical services system led by The University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences will help EMS providers treat eligible patients on site, expanding access to care while reducing unnecessary and costly trips to hospital emergency rooms.

Through $1.76 million in funding from the Alabama Rural Health Transformation Grant Program, the College will provide participating rural EMS agencies with telemedicine and other resources to support the safe care of patients at the scene.

In addition to telemedicine equipment, the CCHS project will also provide agencies with connectivity, training, clinical protocols, documentation tools, referral workflows and quality monitoring.

The College’s EMS Treat-in-Place project covers 13 rural Alabama counties, including Bibb, Choctaw, Dallas, Fayette, Greene, Hale, Lamar, Marengo, Marion, Perry, Pickens, Sumter and Wilcox.

The project will also establish a physician-consultation demonstration in Lamar, Perry and Pickens counties, connecting EMS personnel with physicians during eligible field encounters to guide treatment, referrals, follow-up care and transport decisions.

“We are honored to receive this award to establish a rural EMS Treat-in-Place infrastructure that will expand access to high-quality healthcare for underserved communities across Alabama,” said Dr. Martha Crowther, the project’s principal investigator and the College’s associate dean for research and health policy.

“By connecting EMS providers, telehealth resources and local healthcare services, we hope to create a sustainable model that improves outcomes, lowers costs and strengthens rural healthcare systems for the future.”

Model care

Dr. Richard Friend, dean of CCHS, said the College hopes “to operationalize an innovative model of EMS care that focuses not only on excellent quality of care, but also on the cost of care to patients by decreasing unnecessary emergency room visits.” Friend said the project will also seek to demonstrate a significant cost savings to the healthcare system.

The grant for CCHS was part of the second round of funding, awarded in October, which seeks to improve healthcare access, quality and outcomes in the state’s rural communities.

The College brings extensive experience in emergency medical services to its EMS Treat-in-Place initiative. CCHS received a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grants Program in 2024 to equip four hub sites and four end-user sites in rural West Alabama with interactive telehealth and distance learning video equipment.

Clinicians with University Medical Center in Tuscaloosa, which CCHS operates, deliver telemedicine services to the end-user sites in Marengo, Fayette, Pickens and Sumter counties, benefiting approximately 1,600 rural residents.

The College previously partnered with Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue Services to provide a first-of-its-kind program in Alabama to meet less critical medical needs of the community and reduce costly hospital emergency room transports by offering care at the scene. In addition, the College is the EMS provider for UA Athletics and public events at the University.

“This (EMS Treat-in-Place) initiative builds on years of work by the College of Community Health Sciences and our partners to develop innovative approaches that improve patient care while reducing unnecessary emergency department utilization,” Crowther said.

The Alabama Rural Health Transformation Program is a five-year initiative funded through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and administered by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs.