UAMS, State Leaders Open Doors to $4 Million Delta AHEC
| LITTLE ROCK – The recently completed 25,000-square-foot Delta Area Health Education Center (AHEC), an outreach program of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), was celebrated today by members of the Arkansas congressional delegation, Helena Health Foundation, local civic and government leaders and UAMS officials. Located in the new $4 million Dr. P. Vasudevan Wellness Center, the UAMS Delta AHEC will be open to the public at little or no cost. Space for a library, auditorium and classrooms also enables Delta AHEC to expand education programs for the public and health care professionals. Prior to the new building’s completion, the Delta AHEC was crowded into a 4,500-square-foot building. “This new facility will help the Delta AHEC increase access to the many worthy consumer health programs it already provides for residents in the seven counties it serves,” said UAMS Chancellor I. Dodd Wilson, M.D. “This AHEC is a critical part of UAMS Regional Programs, which is working hard to improve the health and quality of life for all Arkansans.” Charles O. Cranford, D.D.S., M.P.A., executive director of the UAMS AHEC program and vice chancellor for regional programs, concurs. “With branch offices in Named in honor of local physician P. Vasudevan, M.D., and located in Helena-West Helena at the U.S. Highway 49 Bypass and Arkansas Highway 242, the building was funded by the Helena Health Foundation, which also established a $1 million endowment to support Delta AHEC wellness programs. The loan was financed by the Southern Development Bancorporation and a loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The additional space will help the AHEC address the area’s tremendous health education and training needs. Continuing education for health care professionals and medical student and residency rotations are also a part of the AHEC’s responsibilities so the region will be assured of a pipeline of future health professionals committed to rural practice. Residents of the area have critically high rates of mortality and untreated chronic health conditions, and job-related injuries are common. The seven counties rank in the state’s 10 worst for deaths from lung cancer, cardiovascular disease and heart disease, as well as for births to adolescents and low birth weight. Six of the seven counties are federally designated as critical shortage areas for health care professionals, and a lack of health training programs exacerbates the problem. The Delta AHEC’s other consumer education programs include smoking prevention and cessation, diabetes education/management, nutrition, asthma, hypertension, cancer, sickle cell, substance abuse and teen pregnancy. Besides a full range of exercise equipment, including an indoor walking track, the Delta AHEC has three classrooms and an auditorium to deliver a variety of public health topics, including CPR and farm safety, as well as education courses for students pursuing degrees in bachelor’s and master’s of nursing. Having the “The future is bright for the Delta AHEC,” said The Delta AHEC became the state’s seventh AHEC in 2001, when the Legislature approved its creation using money from UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with five colleges, a graduate school, a medical center, five centers of excellence and a statewide network of regional centers. UAMS has about 2,320 students and 690 medical residents. It is one of the state’s largest public employers with almost 9,000 employees, including nearly 1,000 physicians who provide medical care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital and the VA Medical Center. UAMS and its affiliates have an economic impact in