Every year, the Mississippi Rural Health Association (MRHA) awards healthcare professionals and students who dedicate their time to becoming professionals in rural health while improving the lives of rural Mississippians.
On Friday, Zach Allen, senior vice president of strategy and business development for Children’s International Medical Group, received the award for the development of the Picayune Pediatric Clinic.
In order to receive this award, the recipient must possess three years of experience in rural-specific professionalism with a minimum of 75 hours of MRHF education over the required period prior to application and complete a quality improvement project specific to their rural community in Mississippi according to the press release from the Mississippi Rural Health Association.
MRHA aims to provide support and resources for rural health-related needs throughout the state.
“The minute I read the requirements that it takes to be a Mississippi Rural Health Fellow, I knew this would be an investment of my time worth pursuing,” said Allen in the release. “As the person responsible for growing the rural health services for our company, I knew that obtaining this prestigious credential would be beneficial to my career.”
Allen has worked for Children’s International Medical Group for eight years and officially got involved with MRHA a year ago.
“My favorite part of the job is working on new projects because that means getting new clinics in places that are needed the most. Also, creating these clinics not only expands the services appreciated by a ton of people, but also provides jobs,” said Allen.
Allen worked with Senator Angela Hill to update the Senate Bill 2185, creating health clinics in rural communities said Allen.
“The bill was restricted to a 15 mile radius but we changed that to 75 miles, opening up more help to more people in need. Mississippi has the worst ratio of patients to doctors in the nation so this will help expand the support of clinics,” said Allen.
Allen said that in some communities there are no clinics nearby, leaving those people with nowhere to go for medical care. However, his job is to make sure that medical professionals are caring for people who live outside of city limits.
“When you help people out, that’s the icing on the cake for me,” said Allen.