Jones is part of the University of Louisville School of Medicine’s , based at Baptist Health Deaconess Madisonville, which offers students the opportunity to complete medical school in a small community.

It has been a perfect fit for Jones, who will receive her medical degree on May 11 from the and hopes to practice in a rural community.

“I want to practice wide-spectrum family medicine in Western Kentucky. I like the community clinics and small towns,” Jones said. “My husband is from Owensboro and we both like our families, so we want to stay in Western Kentucky.”

Physicians are badly needed in rural areas of the commonwealth, where many communities are medically underserved.

“If you look on a map of health professional shortage areas, almost all of Western Kentucky is blocked out. They don’t have enough of anything,” Jones said.

Jones, who grew up on a farm with her three siblings, is grateful for her down-to-earth upbringing.

“I was raised by a great set of parents. My dad has made an impressive career in the coal mines, runs the family farm and in his little spare time he is a volunteer firefighter,” Jones said. “I am outgoing and talkative just like my dad, but I don’t think I could ever be as hardworking. My mom works as a bookkeeper,��taught us about Jesus and was very involved in our education.”

She also is inspired by her parents’ generosity in the community.

“Seeing how hard my parents worked and how involved they were in communities was enough for me to say I want to come back somewhere similar to home and be involved in that same way.”

Jones sees medicine as a perfect way for her to be involved.

“I like that it’s challenging, I’m always reading and learning and problem solving,” she said. “I also think there is a gap in medicine. I have a really strong faith and I think you miss that a lot in the medical community—doctors that pray and believe in healing and the other side that so many patients also do. So, filling that gap is a big part of why I am in medicine. I want to love others.”

After being introduced to Trover as an undergraduate at Murray State University, Jones spent a summer participating in the Trover Campus Rural Scholars Program. That experience sealed her decision to practice rural medicine.

“I was offered acceptance at four medical school programs, but I chose UofL largely because of the great experience I had in undergrad at the Trover Campus,” Jones said.

Although she did part of her training in Louisville, Jones likes the environment in Madisonville, which provided more one-on-one time with attending physicians.

“I see people all the time I know. It’s different to be somewhere you know people but also, it’s a different feeling from a big university hospital,” Jones said. “People know my parents or I know people’s parents, so it’s a different level of connection.”��

Jones will reach her goal a year sooner than most medical students thanks to Trover’s Rural Medicine Accelerated Track (RMAT), a program allowing students who intend to practice in a rural Kentucky community to finish medical school in three years rather than the typical four.

Jones and Bradley Watson, the 2024 graduates of the RMAT, are completing the program a decade after the first graduate finished in 2014. Jones and Watson also both were awarded the 2023 , which supports RMAT students.

In July, Jones will begin residency training at the UofL .

“It doesn’t really feel real,” she said. “I am finishing a year early so it doesn’t feel like I’ve been doing it that long. But I’m really excited to see what comes next.”

Watch the video:

Geographic and economic conditions create limited access to oral health care — the next closest dentist is a 45- to- 90-minute drive.

“Without Red Bird, most people here would simply have no dental care. It’s extremely important to this community,” said Revelle Berry, a long-time patient of the clinic.

More than a year ago, the began a collaboration with the Red Bird Dental Clinic, offering a new clinical site rotation for students, while expanding Red Bird’s ability to serve more people.

“Generations of poverty have greatly exacerbated health conditions that need extensive, late-stage treatment, follow-up and support,” said Kari Collins, executive director of the Red Bird Clinic Inc., and Red Bird Mission Inc. “Our vision is of one of a stronger, sustainable community and UofL is an important partner in carrying out this vision.”

The Red Bird Clinic Inc., includes both dental and medical components. It grew out of the , which started in 1921 with a private school, and expanded to include job training, clothes closet, food pantry, adult education and senior citizen services.

“The services offered through Red Bird are so important for the people of this region, and we are pleased to have UofL reach across the state to engage with us as we strive to become a healthier community,” said Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers.

“The clinical experience at Red Bird enhances the education of our students with enriching cultural and clinical practice experiences that will make them compassionate, exceptional dental health care providers,” said the dean of the UofL School of Dentistry, Gerry Bradley, BDS, MS, Dr.Med.Dent.

Fourth-year dental student Sarah Jestel spent much of July at the Red Bird Dental Clinic for an Area Health ����ֱ�� Centers program requirement.

“The patients were so appreciative of the work we completed, especially those individuals requiring extractions,” she said. “Many came in with elevated blood pressure and had been in pain a long time.”

The students learn under the supervision of Bill Collins, DMD, dental director for the Red Bird Dental Clinic. Two other UofL alumni, Susan King, DMD, and Bob McGuinn, DMD, along with former dean of the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry, Sharon Turner, DDS, JD, also serve on rotation as gratis faculty to oversee the UofL students.

“Students encounter varying levels of difficulty, including emergency situations and medically compromised patients. They work out of their comfort zones and increase their confidence levels and speed. They also learn practice management skills,” Collins said.

Since the collaboration started, dental students have helped provide care for almost 600 patients, and completed nearly 700 procedures for many who are uninsured or under-insured.

Individual donors like McGuinn, along with the and help make it possible.

“We fully support the Red Bird Dental Clinic mission and look forward to the continued oral health benefits it will bring southeastern Kentucky,” said Delta Dental of Kentucky’s CEO Jude Thompson. “Without the University of Louisville, access to care would be extremely difficult, and we’re proud Louisville is represented by such an esteemed group of students.”

The use of a mobile dental unit funded by increases the clinic’s ability to serve those without access to care. This includes a new outreach to individuals who are actively engaged in substance use treatment. Adding oral health care helps support their efforts to achieve and maintain recovery.��

“As a Kentucky Medicaid dental benefits administrator serving approximately 1.1 million children and adults, ����ŧ������ endeavors to support new and innovative opportunities that increase access to quality dental health care across the state,” said Jerry Caudill, DMD, State Dental Director for ����ŧ������.

“It takes many partners and donors to help us address the numerous challenges facing the underserved here in Appalachia, and we are thankful to all those who give and serve here,” Collins said.

“Some of these kids are three or four, so if we intervene at this level we will be able to save their vision. Otherwise they would have gotten picked up in their teenage years or adulthood, and at that point we can’t do anything,” said Aparna Ramasubramanian, MD, assistant professor of ophthalmology.

Of the children screened, 73 were recommended for more comprehensive eye exams. The physicians are following up with their families to ensure they get the needed exams.

More than 20 medical residents, faculty members and medical students helped with the screenings.

“We have such an enthusiastic group of residents that are dedicated to community service. That’s why we are here to help out the community and help the kids in need,” said Sidharth Puri, MD, an ophthalmology resident at UofL.

The event also served as a learning opportunity for the medical residents.

“It’s trying to pick up when they need to do a full exam and when not, which they can’t learn in a clinic,” said Ramasubramanian. “It’s very important for the residents to learn that.”

See a video from the event below.��

Kentucky AHEC has been awarded $4.12 million in continued funding from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration to continue that mission through August 2022.

Administered by the University of Louisville School of Medicine in collaboration with the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Kentucky AHEC has worked to improve Kentuckians’ access to health care since 1985. Kentucky AHEC is composed of eight centers that promote healthy communities and health care delivery in the state’s regional service areas by increasing the number of health care workers of all disciplines, particularly in underserved areas.

“The AHEC centers contribute to the education of health professionals at UofL and at other institutions throughout Kentucky. Having an adequate number of well-trained, dedicated health professionals is a vital component to reducing health disparities, increasing access to health care and improving the health of all Kentuckians,” said Gregory Postel, MD, interim president of the University of Louisville. “This renewed funding is assurance that these programs will continue to support health education in the Commonwealth.”

Since its inception, Kentucky AHECs have facilitated the training of medical students in primary care, in many cases, introducing the students to issues faced by patients in underserved communities. All third-year students in the UofL School of Medicine complete a four-week clinical rotation in family medicine in rural or urban underserved communities throughout the state. The Kentucky AHEC program also provides education and rotations for nursing and dental students.

“Students gain a deeper understanding of the needs of the patients by working in these communities. It encourages them to consider practicing primary care in rural or urban underserved communities,” said Kelli Bullard Dunn, MD, vice dean for community engagement and diversity at UofL, Kentucky AHEC program director and the principal investigator of this HRSA award.

To facilitate training, AHEC staff work with the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing to identify physicians and other professionals to coordinate students’ rotations in their communities. This provides a framework for the students to complete rotations in clinics, medical offices and community hospitals across the Commonwealth.

“This is a way for health professions students to come out and serve in rural and underserved communities where they are exposed to different cultures and the practice of medicine without the innovative technologies available at the health sciences campuses. They get to see real medicine, real people,” said Brenda Fitzpatrick, director of the Northwest AHEC, based at the Family Health Center in Louisville’s Portland neighborhood.

In addition to educating health professional students, AHECs in each region develop programs that further their mission in ways best suited to their communities.

For Fitzpatrick, that is developing a true pipeline of health care professionals, from physicians and dentists to nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, nurse’s aides, bioengineers and computer technology professionals.

“While HRSA encourages AHECs to promote careers in the health professions to high school students, we take that a step further and work with middle school students,” she said. “By the time they reach eighth grade, it may be too late.”

Fitzpatrick adds that the Northwest AHEC collaborates with several medical magnet schools in Jefferson County to help students obtain certifications during high school.

“This will get them in the workforce sooner and allow them to then continue their education and move on up the chain.”

In the latest round of program funding, HRSA has instructed AHEC programs to encourage patient-centered medical homes, which coordinate patients’ care in a single office, improving overall health care delivery and reducing costs.

AHEC Scholars program

Another new directive from HRSA is the development of the AHEC Scholars program. Each center will instruct 15 to 25 health profession students from a variety of disciplines in interprofessional education, behavioral health integration, social determinants of health, cultural competency, practice transformation and current and emerging health issues. Interprofessional education fosters collaboration among physicians, nurses, social workers, allied health and other providers.

“In a time of significant federal cutbacks, we were pleased to receive funding under HRSA’s extensively revised criteria,” Bullard Dunn said.

In addition to the federal funding, Kentucky AHEC is supported by Kentucky General Assembly appropriations, UofL and UK. AHEC is part of UofL’s Signature Partnership, a university effort to enhance the quality of life and economic opportunity for residents of West Louisville.