UAMS, 40 Partners Kick Off Rural Health Study

By David Robinson

Leading the rural health initiative is UAMS’ Ann Bynum (right), who is working with the Clinton School’s Skip Rutherford (left) and other partners.

LITTLE ROCK – The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and 40 organizations have begun a partnership to develop policy recommendations that address critical rural health care needs in Arkansas.

Led by the UAMS Center for Rural Health, the effort includes representatives from traditional health fields, economic development, education, government agencies and for-profit institutions. Among the partners is the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, which will conduct focus groups across the state.

During the kickoff luncheon Sept. 27 in the UAMS Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Rahn noted that recent state legislation has called for collaborative efforts to address the root causes of health disparities.

“We want to bring you all to the table so that we can collectively address the challenges our state faces in the rural and underserved parts of the state,” Rahn told representatives of the partner groups. “Arkansans born in some of our rural counties can have life expectancies 10 years shorter than those born in urban counties.”

He also noted that rural Arkansans are more likely to be less educated, receive Medicare or Medicaid, face a shortage of health care professionals, have a chronic disease, become teen parents, and lack access to fresh fruits and vegetables.

The first report generated by the partnership members will include their recommendations and will be used as a legislative tool and a guide within their organizations.

The UAMS Center for Rural Health was founded in 2010 as a clearinghouse for rural health care improvement efforts and to build partnerships that will foster collaboration and leverage resources to address Arkansas’ key rural health needs.

“To achieve true systems change across the state, we have to overcome the barriers that have kept us disconnected,” said Ann Bynum, Ed.D., director of the Center for Rural Health. “This initiative gives all of us a forum in which to discover shared priorities and, together, develop action plans around these priorities.”

UAMS has begun developing these partnerships by forging a link between its Translational Research Institute and the Clinton School of Public Service.

The UAMS Translational Research Institute was established to help expedite the use of the latest scientific discoveries, treatments and health knowledge to communities. It is building partnerships with academic and other community institutions. This partnership will further the shared goal of the Translational Research Institute and the Clinton School: to work within communities to improve the well-being of Arkansans.

The UAMS Translational Research Institute chose the Center for Rural Health to partner with a team of four first-year graduate students from the Clinton School to examine community perspectives on rural health through focus groups and interviews in rural areas around the state.

“We welcome Dean Skip Rutherford and Susan Hoffpauir, associate dean of Academic Affairs, and the team of Clinton School students as partners in this endeavor,” Rahn said.

Rahn also provided guidelines for the effort, saying it should focus on preventing rather than treating illness.

“If we build the infrastructure to ensure communities have access to quality education, healthy food, jobs, health insurance and other prerequisites to health, it will make a difference,” Rahn said. “We are all committed to doing our part to improve health and well-being in the rural parts of our state. This new partnership provides us an opportunity to share our experiences and align our efforts so we can all make a measurable difference in the lives of our rural neighbors.”

UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Related Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a statewide network of regional centers; and seven institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute, the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging and the Translational Research Institute. Named best Little Rock metropolitan area hospital by U.S. News & World Report, it is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 2,836 students and 761 medical residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including nearly 1,150 physicians who provide medical care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS’ Area Health Education Centers throughout the state. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com.