State Senator April Weaver, R-Brierfield, was selected last week to serve as co-chair of the Rural Roadmap Initiative’s healthcare committee, a position that tasks her with developing legislation and policies that improve healthcare delivery and outcomes across less developed portions of Alabama.
“President Trump appointed April Weaver to direct healthcare policy for the entire southeastern U.S. during his first term in office, and the same talents and abilities he identified in her will now be used to make our already great state even better,” said Senate President Pro Tem Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, who leads the Rural Roadmap Initiative. “Her knowledge, her background, her hands-on experience, her leadership, her compassion, and her deep roots in rural Alabama all combine to make Sen. Weaver the perfect choice to lead this healthcare committee.”
Since 2011, more than a half-dozen rural hospitals in Alabama have been forced to close as a result of funding issues, and out of the 52 remaining, roughly half are considered to be at risk of closure. It is estimated that close to 20 rural hospitals could shut their doors any day.
Among the issues Weaver’s committee will address are sustainable funding for rural hospitals, recruiting and retaining doctors, nurses and other medical professionals in rural Alabama, telehealth and broadband access, and others.
A registered nurse with experience in healthcare administration and policy in Alabama, President Trump appointed Weaver as Region IV director of the United States Department of Health and Human Services during his first presidential term. While at HHS, she was responsible for leading the agency’s efforts in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina and South Carolina, as well as the six federally recognized Indian tribes located within the region.
Prior to her election to the State Senate, Weaver served from 2010 to 2020, as a member of the Alabama House of Representatives where she represented District 49, which included portions of Shelby, Bibb and Chilton counties.
During the 2025 regular session, Weaver successfully carried and passed legislation that created the Rural Hospital Investment Tax Credit, which allows individuals, businesses, and corporations to receive dollar-for-dollar tax credits for donations they make to rural medical centers located.
The Rural Roadmap Initiative is a project of the Alabama Growth Alliance, a 15-member public/private partnership created by the Legislature in order to create and promote economic expansion, and in addition to healthcare, its areas of focus and improvement include rural infrastructure, business growth, workforce development and quality of life.
State Representative Phillip Rigsby, R-Huntsville, who is a pharmacist by profession, will also co-chair the committee on behalf of the Alabama House.
