CENTRE– Atrium Health Floyd welcomed two new family medicine physicians to Cherokee County on Thursday, Sept. 10, during a Chamber breakfast and ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism held its monthly breakfast at 8 a.m. in the cafeteria at Atrium Health Floyd Cherokee Medical Center. Atrium Health Floyd sponsored and hosted the gathering.

After the program, Chamber members, hospital representatives, and community leaders crossed the street to the Atrium Health Floyd Cherokee Medical Center Rural Health Clinic. There, the group held an official ribbon cutting to welcome Dr. Erica A. Barnes and Dr. Paris L. Cooke.

Chamber Executive Director Joy Perry opened the breakfast by thanking Atrium Health Floyd for its support. She also emphasized the importance of having a hospital serving Cherokee County.

Kurt Stuenkel, president and CEO of Atrium Health Floyd, said the gathering celebrated the addition of the two physicians and their offices. He also outlined another health care service planned for the county.

Virtual Behavioral Health Service Planned for Local Students

Stuenkel said Atrium Health Floyd plans to begin offering virtual behavioral health support for students in the local school system. The service will help connect students experiencing a behavioral health crisis with a counselor through a secure virtual visit.

According to Stuenkel, the project received support through the Alabama Rural Health Transformation Program. Atrium already uses a similar system-based approach in North Carolina and Georgia, and the organization plans to extend that model to Cherokee County.

The larger network will give the program access to a broad group of counselors. As a result, students can be matched with a counselor who may better meet individual needs, including language and other personal considerations.

In addition, Stuenkel said the school system is looking forward to the new service. He did not announce a firm launch date during Thursday’s program.

Barnes Brings a Second-Career Perspective to Medicine

Barnes grew up in the Birmingham area and played sports before attending college in Nashville, Tennessee, where she played softball.

In fact, medicine became her second career. Before becoming a physician, Barnes worked as a medical technologist in a laboratory. She later earned a master’s degree in health administration and served for several years as a laboratory director in Evergreen.

Barnes told the audience she began working toward medical school in her mid-30s and entered at age 38. Her path took her to the University of Medicine and Health Sciences in St. Kitts, which Atrium lists as her medical school.

After returning to the United States, she completed clinical rotations in several states. Barnes then trained in family medicine at Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

She said that training helped prepare her to provide broad care in a rural community. Her goal is to address as many needs as possible locally while also preparing patients for productive visits when a specialist is necessary.

Barnes also stressed patient education. She said she wants to help people better understand their health, their conditions, and the care available to them.

Cooke Returns to Her Rural Alabama Roots

Cooke is from Coosada in Elmore County, near Wetumpka and Millbrook. Her father served in the military, and her family lived in Virginia and Texas before returning to Alabama while she was in elementary school.

After graduating from Stanhope Elmore High School, Cooke attended Auburn University for her undergraduate education. She later completed medical school at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Cooke continued her education in Tuscaloosa through the University of Alabama’s rural medical education programs. She completed her third and fourth years of medical school there, followed by the university’s three-year family medicine residency.

The University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences recognized Cooke as both a 2026 family medicine residency graduate and a Rural Medical Scholar.

Cooke said she intentionally pursued training in rural communities so she would be ready to care for rural patients. She now hopes to build lasting relationships with patients and become part of the Cherokee County community.

Expanding Access to Rural Primary Care

Both physicians practice family medicine, treat patients of all ages, and are accepting new patients, according to Atrium Health Floyd’s provider directory.

Their arrival adds two physicians to a rural county where local leaders and health care providers continue working to strengthen access to primary care. Barnes and Cooke both said their training and personal backgrounds drew them toward service in a rural community.

The ribbon cutting followed the format of the Chamber’s monthly breakfast gatherings, which allow members and residents to network and hear updates from local organizations.

The Atrium Health Floyd Cherokee Medical Center Rural Health Clinic is located at 395 Northwood Drive in Centre. Appointments may be scheduled by calling 256-927-4900.

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