At A Glance

• 55 out of 67 of Alabama's counties are considered rural.
• 2,031,229 residents or 43.6 percent of the entire Alabama population live in rural areas.

Access to Healthcare Poses a Challenge in Rural Alabama

• The potential number of patients for each rural Alabama primary care physician in 2006 was nearly 2,160 compared to only 1,250 for those practicing in urban counties.
• Seven rural Alabama counties do not have hospitals.
• Thirty-five of 55 rural Alabama counties do not provide labor and delivery service.
• The average time from call to arrival at the scene of an emergency for rural county emergency medical services is over 27 percent greater than the response in urban counties.
• The motor vehicle accident mortality rate for 2005-2007 for rural Alabama residents was nearly 46 percent higher than that for urban county residents and was more than double the rate for the nation.
• Hospitals in rural Alabama counties had 25.1 general hospital beds per 10,000 residents in 2009 compared to 45.0 general hospital beds per 10,000 residents in urban counties.
• The potential number of patients for each rural Alabama dentist in 2007 was nearly 3,845 compared to 1,774 for those practicing in urban counties.

Updated 2010