Live HealthSmart Alabama: Strength in partnership on behalf of the community

UAB’s Live HealthSmart Alabama (LHSA) initiative has a clear tagline, we’re making good health simple. The initiative is aimed at decreasing health disparity throughout the state of Alabama which consistently falls in the button 10 of national health rankings.

With a mission to serve vulnerable communities and improve quality of life, Live HealthSmart Alabama was taking on no small task and needed strong partners. GMC has been a proud partner and champion of this initiative since its inception. It was a natural partnership in that LHSA aligns with GMC’s mission to “create opportunities for our people and the people we serve to build communities that thrive.” 

GMC CEO Jeffrey Brewer shared why he believes in the program and why GMC got involved: “We were really inspired by the connection between helping address health disparities and improving the built environment. We were also drawn to the commitment to bringing Alabama up from the bottom of national health statistics, specifically through investments in safe and inviting parks, sidewalks and other public spaces. All of this really resonated and aligns with GMC’s passion for building communities, as well as our expertise in developing the built environment and creating thriving community spaces.”

Over the years, LHSA has been a catalyst for transforming communities in Alabama, several of which GMC has had the opportunity to be involved with firsthand. One of these is the Bush Hills Community – a Birmingham neighborhood that now has a beautiful community garden among several other developments are helping improve health access in the community.

Selma, in Dallas County, is the first expansion site for the LHSA program outside of the metro Birmingham area. Building on the success in the Magic City, and through generous funding from international pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, LHSA was able to expand its geographic reach.

The site chosen in Selma’s Ward 8 neighborhood was a once-thriving park that had fallen into disrepair. The park was in need of major revitalization to be put to use again, and the community was ready to see it happen. This project is a perfect example of the power of collaboration. With support from residents, local officials and national partners, a plan was developed specific to the needs of Selma’s Ward 8 residents and aimed to support access to good nutrition, healthcare, physical activity and education.

Throughout the project, the LHSA team came to serve Selma in more ways than just revitalizing the park. With a key focus of LHSA being to improve access to healthcare, LHSA provided free health screenings for 200+ residents prior to the project itself being developed. Through these health screenings and the data collected, healthcare workers were able to connect residents with primary care doctors and also identify trends and community needs. This initial data was considered throughout the planning for the park to ensure quality of life would be improved.

While the data from these no-cost-to-residents health screenings was being collected, the park was starting to be revitalized and taking shape to once again become a safe and fun way for residents to have access to an active community space.

GMC’s landscape architects worked to redesign the park for optimal use, focusing on the built environment to bring the community together.

“As landscape architects, engineers, architects, community planners and more, our focus is on the built environment,” GMC landscape architect Jane Reed Ross noted. “We believe in the power of using our expertise and services to enhance the communities around us so that those living and working in these areas can thrive.”

The park was transformed in a little over a year and in turn, will now help facilitate healthy choices in the Ward 8 neighborhood. These improvements include adding new sidewalks, repairing existing sidewalks, and adding crosswalks and ADA-approved ramps—which re-connects residents to the East Selma Community Pond & Park, a frequently used community asset. A walking trail around the pond and the gazebo area were also restored in addition to the installation of new benches and picnic tables.

These improvements allow residents across East Selma opportunities to be more socially and physically active, with signs throughout the park educating and encouraging physical activity. The pond at the park was also fully restored, filled back in with water and will soon be stocked with fish. These fish make a healthy and accessible food option which community members are especially excited about.

Even with all of these improvements, the work in Selma is not done. LHSA is continuing to work in Ward 8, with plans for continued health screenings, health and wellness pop-up events and mobile markets making fresh fruits and vegetables accessible in the community. 

Selma Mayor James Perkins, Jr., has cited the park as a point of pride for Ward 8. “It is up to us to maintain this and be a part of making our community proud through this park,” he said.

In addition to the park improvements, GMC, UAB and community members volunteered by creating an art installment on the fences surrounding the park. This included putting up colorful yarn to create designs on the fences to add vibrancy and warmth to the new and improved park.

LHSA also partnered with the State Department of Insurance’s Strengthen Alabama Homes to award homeowners in East Selma grants of up to $10,000 per home to install new roofs that can withstand category 3 winds. Now, 40 homes located around the park have new roofs because of these efforts of LHSA in Selma, further adding to the improvements of the built environment transformations.

Partnership was pivotal throughout this project and GMC was proud to be a part of making this community proud of its park again. GMC provided landscape architecture, planning and geotechnical engineering services. Caddell provided hardscape services and Landscape Workshop provided planting services throughout the park.