Bonnie Spring, left, director of the Florida Blue Center for Rural Health Research and Policy, and Keri Gladhill, the center’ s program manager, pose in the College of Medicine’ s Chapman Wellness Garden.
Improving health behaviors and stopping bad habits is tough, but Florida Blue Center aims to help people do just that
By Audrey Post FSU College of Medicine
Professor Bonnie Spring, Ph. D., had her pick of the four counties on the 2025 Rural Learning Experience trip and chose Gadsden County.
A health psychologist by training and a prolific researcher into health-risk behaviors, Spring is Krafft Professor of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine and director of the Florida Blue
Center for Rural Health Research and Policy, which is housed in the FSU College of Medicine.
“ Gadsden County consistently ranks among the half-dozen poorest counties in Florida. State data show a quarter of its residents live at or below the poverty level. Access to health care is constrained. Employment opportunities are limited,” Spring
18 FSUMED | MED. FSU. EDU