AU clinic marks 20 years of life-saving care for rural women

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Augusta University nursing students, faculty and health care partners are marking 20 years of serving rural women with the Costa Layman Women’s Clinic.The 20th annual clinic, sponsored by AU’s College of Nursing in partnership with Carolina Health Centers, is designed to give female farmworkers better access to life-saving services, including Pap and breast exams, bloodwork and flu shots.The clinic uses a team that includes Doctor of Nursing Practice and Clinical Nurse Leader students and graduates, faculty from the Medical College of Georgia’s obstetrics and gynecology department, Wellstar MCG Health phlebotomists and Carolina Health Centers providers.Access to women’s health care remains a major challenge in rural South Carolina. According to the Women’s Rights and Empowerment Network, 30% of counties in the state do not have a practicing OB-GYN. Costa Farms and Ridge Spring Family Practice — where Friday’s clinic will be held — are located in two of those