Improving Access to Care
Western North Carolina, home to nearly one million people across 16 counties, faces significant rural health challenges, including healthcare provider shortages, limited resources, and the ongoing opioid epidemic. Despite these difficulties, MAHEC-trained physicians remain innovative and resilient, helping their patients navigate issues like poverty, transportation barriers, and a higher-than-average rate of opioid-related deaths.
“When you tell someone you want to be a rural family doctor, people always say, ‘Oh, God bless you. We really need more of those.’”
That’s the story Rivers Woodward relayed years ago as a first-year resident in the MAHEC Family Medicine Residency Program in Hendersonville, adding his response to those statements: “Yes, but it’s exciting for me, too. I’m not making a sacrifice.”
Just as he dreamed, today Rivers is a family medicine physician practicing in a rural setting: Blue Ridge Health, a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in the scenic mountain town of Lake Lure, population of just over 1,350. Advocating for healthcare in rural WNC is important to him.
“I’m in a position where I feel an incredible amount of responsibility and connection, not just to WNC, but to access to healthcare and other issues,” he says.
The summer after his first year at UNC School of Medicine, Rivers was selected for the Kenan Primary Care Medical Scholars program—a collaboration between UNC and MAHEC that provides financial support and enrichment experiences for medical students interested in rural and underserved areas. Within weeks, he saw first-hand the needs of rural communities and the compassion of physicians trying to help.
Knowing the disparity of students from rural areas entering the medical field (and recognizing that internships for undergraduates were already in place at MAHEC), Rivers co-founded a pathway program for rural high schoolers called Project PROMISE that continues to this day.
Providing Rural Opportunities in Medicine through Inspiring Service and Education
Project PROMISE inspires students to pursue health professions while nurturing in them a sense of pride and commitment to serving their rural communities. Since its inception, 40 rural high school seniors have participated. On average, it costs $5,363 to support a student through this semester-long pathway program. Learn more
“Imagine a community that trains its own students and supports them in their path to a healthcare profession,” says Rivers, himself a native of Franklin in rural Macon County. “Envision practitioners returning who were once students in these mountains and know the needs of the community best—this is Project PROMISE."
Our organization is dedicated to ensuring everyone has access to healthcare by training the next generation of healthcare providers. With a gift to the MAHEC Annual Fund, we can address regional social and health challenges, reduce healthcare costs, and improve the quality of life for our friends, families, and neighbors in WNC.
