There are almost 7,000 communities around the country with an inadequate number of primary-care providers, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. A 2016 study by the Association of American Medical Colleges found that in the next decade, the country could be short 95,000 doctors.
The lack of primary-care providers can affect urban and suburban areas to a degree but it is the rural communities, like those in Marshall County, that tend to be hit the hardest. The Bowen Family Medical Scholarship was established to combat the issue and focuses on meeting the health needs of rural communities by supporting primary-care medical students as they work their way through medical school and residency programs. Continue reading