NP clinicals in Selma and the western Black Belt
Dallas, Perry, Wilcox, Marengo, Sumter and Choctaw counties hold about 94,000 people, five hospitals and some of Alabama's steepest primary care shortage scores. None of the hospitals posts a page for outside NP students, so a rotation here usually starts with a named clinician at a health center or rural clinic, and every county's rural status brings Alabama's preceptor tax credit into play.
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Tell us your Samford program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with preceptor and site options in your community that fit your Samford course.
The six counties and the drive from Homewood
This guide covers Dallas County (Selma), Perry (Marion), Wilcox (Camden), Marengo (Linden and Demopolis), Sumter (Livingston and York) and Choctaw (Butler). Their 2025 Census estimates add up to 94,034 residents, down about 7.7 percent since 2020, the only region in our Alabama guides that lost population.
From Samford's Homewood campus it is roughly 85 miles to Selma and roughly 115 to Demopolis; county seats run from roughly 78 miles (Marion) to roughly 153 (Butler). These are approximate road estimates.
All six sit on the 12-county list in the 2004 order creating the Governor's Black Belt Action Commission, though no single official Black Belt definition exists. The rest of that list lives in neighboring guides: Greene, Hale and Pickens with Tuscaloosa and West Alabama, Lowndes and Bullock with Montgomery and the River Region, and Macon with Auburn-Opelika.
Hospitals and health centers where students look
The Alabama Hospital Association's directory lists five hospitals here and none in Perry County. Not one publishes a page for NP students from other schools, so treat them as landmarks: a rotation inside any of them runs through an affiliation agreement Samford holds or requests, with a preceptor you bring.
| Hospital | Town | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Vaughan Regional Medical Center | Selma | ScionHealth since December 2021; 163 beds |
| Whitfield Regional Hospital | Demopolis | Tombigbee Healthcare Authority; UAB Health System member |
| Hill Hospital of Sumter County | York | 27 beds; runs a rural health clinic |
| Ochsner Choctaw General | Butler | Ochsner Health; formerly Choctaw General |
| John Paul Jones Rural Emergency Hospital | Camden | Emergency and outpatient only |
Health centers carry much of the primary care. HRSA lists 18 sites run by five organizations: Rural Health Medical Program (Selma, Marion, Uniontown, Demopolis, Thomaston, Camden and Pine Apple), Cahaba Medical Care (Marion and Camden), the look-alike Physicians Care of Clarke (Butler, Camden and Sweet Water), Whatley Health Services (Livingston) and Franklin Primary Health Center (Gilbertown). Black Belt Alabama AHEC is based in Livingston.
Shortage designations county by county
HRSA scores shortage areas from 0 to 25; higher means greater need. Every county here carries a primary care designation and sits in a mental health catchment designation.
| County | Primary care | Mental health catchment |
|---|---|---|
| Sumter | High-needs geographic, 20 | MHCA-10, 12 |
| Wilcox | High-needs geographic, 18 | MHCA-13, 19 |
| Marengo | High-needs geographic, 17 | MHCA-10, 12 |
| Perry | Low-income population, 17 | MHCA-13, 19 |
| Choctaw | Geographic, 14 | MHCA-10, 12 |
| Dallas | High-needs geographic, 12 | MHCA-13, 19 |
Single sites score higher still: Physicians Care of Clarke in Camden (23), the Hill Hospital Physicians Clinic in York (22) and Rural Health Medical Program in Selma (21). Older county designations in Dallas, Perry, Wilcox and Choctaw are listed as proposed for withdrawal, with the newer ones above in force.
Where clinicians are this scarce, a request that arrives early, names the exact course and has its paperwork in order gets a better hearing. The mental health score of 19 across Dallas, Perry and Wilcox also warns PMHNP students that psychiatric prescribers are scarce.
Alabama's preceptor tax credit and Black Belt sites
All six counties are nonmetro under the USDA's 2023 Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, and Wilcox and Choctaw carry code 9, nonmetro and not adjacent to a metro area. That is the ground Alabama's Preceptor Tax Incentive Program targets: a state income tax credit per 160-hour rotation for an unpaid community-based preceptor in a medically underserved rural area whose student attends a registered Alabama program.
As an Alabama school, Samford gives its students an edge over out-of-state online programs, whose rotations cannot count. No public source confirms Samford's registration with the Alabama Statewide AHEC Program Office, though, and only the school can certify a rotation, so your preceptor should ask before counting on it. The tax credit guide lists every condition.
John Paul Jones in Camden now operates as a Rural Emergency Hospital, a Medicare designation for hospitals without acute inpatient care. It can offer emergency or outpatient hours, not an inpatient rotation.
Fitting Samford's clinical courses to the region
Samford's NP courses run 10 to 20 clinical hours a week, and on rural two-lane roads the commute eats into that budget. Match each course to settings that exist here.
NURG 723, adult primary care for 150 hours: a Rural Health Medical Program or Cahaba Medical Care site in Selma, Marion or Demopolis.NURG 724(and the BSN to DNP'sNURG 716throughNURG 718): a family practice that sees children as well as adults. Confirm pediatric volume in writing first. The Alabama Department of Public Health reports only 15 rural counties with labor and delivery units, so plan any obstetric content early.NURG 730NP Practicum, 300 hours: a rural health clinic or practice where you can carry a near-full schedule for the whole term.- Psychiatric hours for
NURG 767andNURG 788throughNURG 790: the thinnest supply here. PMHNP students may need to widen the radius toward Montgomery or Tuscaloosa.
Samford's NP pages cite agreements in numerous states, most in the Southeast, and name personal and professional connections as the key to training near home; connections and clinical placement unpacks that. It does not arrange or reimburse travel, so read travel for clinicals before accepting a distant site.
Why Black Belt students choose us
We search the clinics your county actually has, from health center sites in Uniontown and Pine Apple to the rural health clinic in York, and we confirm each clinician's willingness before anything reaches Samford. Your placement advisor assembles the preceptor and site details Samford reviews, flags where a new affiliation agreement is needed and starts early enough for it to clear. We also point out sites that may fit the rural tax credit. Tell us your course and start term on the placement request form.
Questions Samford students ask
Is there an inpatient hospital in Wilcox County for NP clinicals?
No. Wilcox County's only hospital, John Paul Jones in Camden, is now a Rural Emergency Hospital: its emergency department and outpatient services stay open, but it keeps no inpatient beds. For inpatient time, look to Vaughan Regional in Selma or Whitfield Regional in Demopolis, with a preceptor you bring.
Does Perry County have a hospital?
The Alabama Hospital Association's directory lists none. Primary care runs through health centers: Rural Health Medical Program in Marion and Uniontown, and Cahaba Medical Care in Marion. HRSA scores Perry's low-income primary care shortage at 17 and its mental health catchment at 19.
Can my preceptor in Demopolis claim Alabama's preceptor tax credit?
Possibly. Marengo County is nonmetro with a high-needs primary care designation, but the rotation must fall in a medically underserved rural area, the preceptor must be unpaid for teaching and registered, and the student's school must be registered with the AHEC office. Ask Samford about its registration first.
How far is the Black Belt from Samford's on-campus intensives?
Roughly 85 miles from Selma and roughly 153 from Butler, by approximate road estimates. Samford's FNP tracks require two to three on-campus sessions and its PMHNP tracks one or two, so plan clinical weeks around those trips; the intensives guide has details.
Should Selma students also search in Montgomery?
Often, yes. Selma belongs to the Census Bureau's Montgomery-Selma combined area, roughly 53 miles from Montgomery. Baptist Health's Montgomery hospitals take APRN rotation requests through ACEMAPP, according to their own student pages, a documented hospital route within reach of Dallas County.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against Samford's own program pages, plans of study, the 2026-27 Graduate Nursing Student Handbook and Alabama rules. Your course, your program coordinator and Graduate Student Services have the final word.
Samford says connections are essential. We are the connection.
Tell us your Samford track, where you live and when your next clinical course starts. We find preceptors near you who fit the course and prepare the details Samford needs to approve the rotation, including a new affiliation agreement where one is needed.
- Preceptors matched to the course: adult primary care for
NURG 723, family practice across the lifespan forNURG 724, psychiatric care forNURG 788 - Preceptor, license and site details ready for your clinical rotation request
- In your own community, anywhere Samford accepts you and your RN license is valid
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