2024 Children's of Alabama/UAB Annual Report

Empowering Rural Health Care Communities: The Impact of Dr. Chrystal Rutledge’s COACHES Program

By Holly Dunn

In 2015, Chrystal Rutledge, M.D., an associate professor in the Division of Pediatric Critical Care, pioneered the idea for the COACHES Program— an initiative that is now transforming pediatric care in Alabama through education and simulation training.

Chrystal Rutledge, M.D.

While completing her pediatric critical care medicine fellowship at UAB in 2014, Rutledge recognized a gap in access to specialized pediatric care in rural areas, sparking her to create long-term solutions. In 2016, she, along with Stacy Gaither, MSN, RN, and Kristen Waddell, CRNP, launched the COACHES Program, developed in collaboration with the organization IMPACTS (Improving Pediatric Acute Care Through Simulation). COACHES, which stands for Children’s of Alabama Community Healthcare Education Simulation, focuses on pediatric emergency readiness for healthcare providers in community hospitals across Alabama.

2024 Academic Annual Report

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