The University of Alabama at Birmingham
Print and Digital Publishing
External Audience
Gold
UAB Medicine Fall 2024 explores a range of topics to engage and inspire our readers. In the cover feature, “AI Branches Out,” experts from the Heersink School of Medicine describe how artificial intelligence is already revolutionizing medicine and health care and share predictions for its future impact. The issue also covers several transformational patient care developments: “Growing Care Capacity” discusses the UAB Health System Authority’s acquisition of Ascension St. Vincent’s Health System in central Alabama and the opening of the new UAB Medical West campus; “Medicine that Meets the Moment” showcases new UAB clinics created to address emerging and evolving health needs; and “New Directions in Psychiatric Care” details how the UAB Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology is expanding access to mental health services. The final feature, “Fungus Fighters,” examines Alabama’s status as “a hotbed for fungal diseases” and the UAB doctors working to protect the state from dangerous infections.
What was the most impactful part of your entry?
The most impactful part of the issue is twofold: The feature “AI Branches Out” examines what is likely to be the most significant advance in medicine and health care since the unlocking of the human genome—the emergence of artificial intelligence; in terms of immediate, local, and quantifiable impact, the developments addressed in the “Growing Care Capacity” feature, including the UAB Health System Authority’s acquisition of Ascension St. Vincent’s Health System in central Alabama and the opening of the new UAB Medical West campus, are essential to sustaining patients’ access to the highest-quality care in Birmingham and surrounding communities.
What is one thing you learned from your entry/experience?
Timing proved to be the biggest challenge of this issue, as the Ascension St. Vincent’s Health System acquisition was announced shortly before we were scheduled to begin the magazine layout review process, the last step before going to print. We pivoted quickly to include a feature on the acquisition, combining it with an existing story on the opening of the new UAB Medical West. The issue served as a reminder that, as ever, adaptability and flexibility are critical when producing a magazine for a dynamic and complex academic medical center.
Contact: Jessica Martindale
jmartindale@uab.edu