UAMS, Kroger Invite Public for Free Oct. 5 Health Screenings Statewide

By Nate Hinkel

The screenings will include blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar checks and will be held on a walk-in basis from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. at all Kroger pharmacy locations in Batesville, Blytheville, Benton, Cabot, Conway, England, Hot Springs, Jacksonville, Jonesboro, Little Rock, Maumelle, North Little Rock, Russellville and West Memphis. At select locations, pharmacy students are partnering with students from the UAMS Department of Dietetics and Nutrition to offer nutrition and weight loss counseling.

This is the third year of the partnership, with nearly 100 students screening more than 1,100 patients at Kroger locations statewide last year. All screening supplies are being provided by Kroger, while all screenings will be conducted by UAMS College of Pharmacy students.

“We are proud to partner again with the UAMS College of Pharmacy and to have their expertise working with our valued pharmacy customers,” said Joe Bell, marketing and public affairs specialist with the Kroger Delta Division in Memphis. “We want our pharmacies to have open, friendly and personal relationships with the people they serve. This is a fantastic way for us to show customers that we care about their health.”

The event kicks off a series of activities sponsored by the UAMS College of Pharmacy student group – the American Pharmacists Association – Academy of Student Pharmacists – to celebrate American Pharmacists Month.

“The theme again for this year is, ‘Know your medicine, know your pharmacist,’” said Eddie Dunn, Pharm.D., associate professor of pharmacy practice. “By sending our students out into pharmacies to offer a public service, we feel like we’re promoting active and beneficial relationships with pharmacies and their customers.”

UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and eight institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community Health Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,275 students, 890 medical residents and fellows, and five dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 12,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube or Instagram.

###