The University Medical Center with cars parked in front on March 5, 2025.
The University Medical Center announced Tuesday it expanded services over the summer that would continue into the school year for Tuscaloosa residents and other communities in West Alabama.
Partlow, Harbin & Poist OBGYN is joined the University Medical Center this summer, increasing obstetrics and gynecology care.
“This group is very experienced and well respected in the community,” said Dr. John McDonald, clinical professor and chair of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the College of Community Health Sciences and a practicing obstetrician and gynecologist at UMC.
Services that Parlow, Harbin & Poist offer include gynecology, obstetrics, basic infertility, bladder disorder testing and enhanced ultrasound for uterine fibroids.
While the practice name will change to UMC OBGYN Associates, the practice will continue to be located in the DCH Medical Tower.
“This will provide much-needed access to women’s healthcare services for the community, and it will provide additional learning and training experiences for the College’s medical students, resident physicians and fellows,” said Dr. Richard Friend, dean of the College of Community Health Sciences.
One of the other new changes is lifestyle medicine services, meant to help patients with preventative and current chronic disease care through lifestyle changes. Dr. Ansley Baccus, a family medicine physician at UMC, said the approach would offer more comprehensive care.
While college students aren’t the traditional risk group for chronic diseases, behaviors such as tobacco use, excessive alcohol use and poor nutrition can significantly increase the chances of chronic disease later in life. Effective lifestyle medicine has been shown to potentially impact up to 80% of chronic diseases.
“These changes can significantly improve health and, in some cases, reduce the need for medications,” Baccus said.
The services are referral-based and will focus on “six key areas of healthy living: nutrition, physical activity and sleep, along with stress management, social connection and avoidance of harmful substances.”
The center also plans to increase access to medical care by connecting patients with healthy food resources and transportation services through community partnerships.
Student healthcare will continue to be located at the Student Health Center adjacent to the University Medical Center. The Student Health Center offers basic women’s healthcare procedures, but does not offer lifestyle medicine services at this time.
