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Health
Chris Beard
CEED alumnus strives to increase access to quality health care in rural Mississippi
C
hris Beard arrived at the University of Mississippi in fall 2014 to study biochemistry. He had just graduated from Northeast Mississippi Community College and was already developing a plan to pursue his dream of practicing medicine someday. When he joined the McLean Institute’s Catalyzing Entrepreneurship and Economic Development initiative, or CEED, in 2014, Beard brought with him a strong passion for improving health outcomes in rural Mississippi. This commitment was based, in part, on his experiences volunteering at the Agape free health clinic in New Albany. Beard is now in his fourth year of medical school, and he intends to apply for internal medicine residencies in the following year. He will also be marrying his fiancée next year, and upon finishing his
training he hopes to return to the state of Mississippi to practice medicine. This enduring dedication to improving Mississippi health outcomes has roots in Beard’s involvement with the CEED initiative. While serving as a CEED innovation scholar, Beard furthered his goal of improving health care access to rural communities by designing the Mississippi Rural Health Initiative pilot program. In addition to improving health care access and quality, the initiative sought to engage local health care workers, entrepreneurs and community leaders of all ages to better understand the role telehealth systems can serve in their communities. Telehealth allows doctors and patients to connect via videoconference, which ensures that distance is not a barrier to receiving quality health care.
SCHOLARSHIP & ENGAGEMENT FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD: Community Engagement at the University of Mississippi
