TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The University of Alabama will address rural health care issues and their impact on the state of Alabama at the fourth annual Rural Health Conference, April 3-4 at the Bryant Conference Center.

This year’s conference, “Culturally Competent Health Care in Rural Alabama: Overcoming the Invisible Barriers,” will bring together voices from rural communities, as well as professionals from a number of fields who have an interest in rural health.

The keynote speaker will be Dr. Marcia K. Brand, director of the Office of Rural Health Policy within the Health Resources and Services Administration, a division of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Brand has a long history of service to the health sector.

The conference will feature numerous speakers, including Dr. Angeline Bushy, a specialist in community health, nursing and rural health. Bushy has authored or edited several books on vulnerable populations and culturally competent health care in rural areas.

On April 2, UA’s Institute for Rural Health Research will host two pre-conference workshops from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Bryant Conference Center. The workshops will focus on grant writing for community-based organizations and faith-based initiatives.

Healthcare professionals, community business leaders, government officials, academic researchers, representatives of faith-based organizations, state and federal workers and others who have an interest in rural health have all made the conference a success in finding answers to Alabama’s rural health care questions and needs.

UA’s Rural Health Conference is sponsored by the College of Community Health Sciences, the College of Human Environmental Sciences, the Capstone College of Nursing, the School of Social Work, the College of Arts and Sciences and the Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration.

The conference is supported in part by a grant to the Institute for Rural Health Research from the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities, a division of the National Institutes of Health.

For more information and to register call 205/348-3375. Conference registration is $75. Registration for the pre-conference event also is $75. Updated conference information and an agenda are posted on the conference Web site: www.rhc.ua.edu.