|
 It
doesn’t get any better than this!
We all want to make a difference. In my opinion,
there is no better opportunity to make a difference than to be part of the College
of Community Health Sciences at this time.
We have an extremely talented faculty and staff,
excellent students and residents, a superb facility, outstanding administrative
support from The University of Alabama and the University of Alabama School of
Medicine, growing community support and a top-notch medical center. As a result
of the hard work of the faculty and staff of this college over the last two years,
we are now in a very good financial position. We have moved into a new clinical
and academic facility that is second to none. We have seen changes in our educational
programs, clinical programs and research that have been challenging, but necessary.
The culmination of these and other factors will position
us for strategic growth over the next several years. Instead of the “perfect
storm,” we are facing the “perfect opportunity.”
The College of Community Health Sciences has a long
and successful history of training medical students and Family Medicine residents.
In its 33 years of existence, 323 residents have graduated from our program and
approximately 50 percent of those continue to practice in Alabama. We have trained
more than 550 medical students in their third and fourth years. These students
have trained a variety of specialties and 49 percent are practicing in Alabama.
The rural programs are having an increasingly important impact as these students
proceed through the “pipeline” that has been developed in this college.
We have had outstanding administrative and faculty leadership since the college
was founded by a small group of dedicated physicians 33 years ago. Many of these
individuals continue to play important roles in the college today.
The College of Community Health Sciences has an impressive
legacy, but there is a lot of work still to be done.
Our “perfect opportunity” is occurring
at a time when health care nationally is in transition, Family Medicine is being
redefined and health care in many parts of Alabama is of poor quality or not
available at all. I believe that our college represents the future of Family
Medicine and is poised to make a larger impact on health care in this state.
We are positioned to be leaders in what, I believe, is inevitable – a major
transformation in health care over the next five to 10 years.
There is growing recognition nationally that we must
refocus our efforts on preventive care, we must improve the quality of care that
is delivered and we must become more “customer centered.” This fits
well with our history, our mission and, most importantly, our opportunity. Our
goal is to become the best Family Medicine training program in the country, the
best clinical training site for medical students, an example of how to provide
high-quality, patient-centered health care in a busy clinical setting, a nationally
recognized center for training of physicians for practice in rural Alabama and
a leading center for research as it applies to our rural and primary care mission.
The end result will be a significant contribution to helping Alabama become a
state where health care rankings are viewed with the same pride as our athletic
rankings.
These are lofty goals, but I believe they are achievable.
It will take the continued effort of our faculty and staff, our previous and
future graduates and others in the community and state who share our vision and
who do their part to support our mission.
As for me, I did not become affiliated with the College
of Community Health Sciences aspiring to become dean. I came here because I believed
in the mission of this college, because I love to teach, and because of the respect
I have for the college faculty I have worked with over the years. Becoming dean
was unplanned, but it is one of the most rewarding opportunities I have ever
encountered. I am proud to serve this college as dean, appreciative of all the
excellent work that has been done here in the past and excited about the challenges
that lay before us as we work together to make the most of this “perfect
opportunity.”
Eugene Marsh, M.D.
Dean, College of Community Health Sciences
Associate Dean, the University of Alabama School of Medicine, Tuscaloosa Campus
|
