Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley said education, health care and broadband internet access are vital to improving the state’s economy, especially in rural areas.

Bentley spoke Wednesday evening in Selma during the Alabama Tombigbee Regional Commission’s annual dinner.

“Alabama is the sixth poorest state in the country. I’m not very proud of that. None of us should be,” Bentley told the crowd gathered at the Carl C. Morgan Convention Center.

Bentley described a plan he and other state leaders are working on to improve Alabama’s economy called Great State 2019.

“It won’t be finished in three years, but, hopefully, we will have some of these things in place to help the people improve their lives,” Bentley said.

The governor said the key to the plan would be improving the state’s education. He praised the state’s preschool program, particularly an initiative that has been started in Wilcox County. He said students who start school early have better reading and math scores by the third grade.

“Education is essential for our children, and if we are going to build a strong Alabama and strong families and a strong nation, we have to make sure our children are educated,” Bentley said. “One of the things I’m proudest of … we have the best preschool program in the entire United States. We have to start a strong foundation for all of our children.”

According to Bentley, there are 154 students enrolled in Wilcox County’s preschool program.

“It’s so important in rural Alabama that ever child have that opportunity,” Bentley said.

The governor said the state also has to improve the quality of health care. A vital part of that is making sure the state has health care providers and primary care doctors, according to Bentley.

“You have to have places for them to practice, and they have to be able to make a living. If they can’t make a living, you know, they are not going to be here,” Bentley said.

The governor said the state also has to find a way to fully fund Medicaid. Bentley talked about a lottery proposal that faltered in this summer’s special session that would have been used in part to help pay for Medicaid. He said long-term funding solution would have to be found.

“We have to fund Medicaid folks,” Bentley said. “Medicaid is the back bone. Unfortunately, it may not the best program in the world. But you know what, it’s all we got.”

The governor also said expanding broadband internet, especially to rural areas will be required for economic growth.

“We need to have internet connection across this area. We can’t have economic development unless we have high-speed internet in all parts of Alabama,” Bentley said. “You are not going to bring companies into this area unless you have some type of interconnectivity.”

The Alabama Tombigbee Regional Commission is made up of Dallas, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Marengo, Monroe, Perry, Sumter, Washington and Wilcox counties. The district is a non-profit agency concerned with meeting needs in those 10 counties and 48 municipalities.