UAMS AHEC-SW Receives $80,000 to Continue Minority Clinic

By ChaseYavondaC

Sonia Bunyard, RN, gets a blood pressure measurement for a patient in the DeQueen clinic. Patients receive basic primary care through the clinic.
Sonia Bunyard, RN, gets a blood pressure measurement for a patient in the DeQueen clinic. Patients receive basic primary care through the clinic. 
Renee Walls-Caldwell, Advance Nurse Practitioner, conducts a foot exam in the DeQueen clinic where diabetes management is a major emphasis
Renee Walls-Caldwell, Advance Nurse Practitioner, conducts a foot exam in the DeQueen clinic where diabetes management is a major emphasis

| July 23, 2009| A two-year, $80,000 grant will allow the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Area Health Education Center – Southwest (AHEC – SW) to continue providing basic, primary care at its DeQueen Minority Care Clinic.

The grant to the UAMS AHEC – SW is a continuation of funding from the Foundation for the MidSouth of Jackson, Miss. The foundation provided an initial award of $187,000 to the AHEC in 2007. The most recent grant is based on the performance and outcomes of the original project.

The DeQueen Minority Care Clinic operates every other Saturday with care provided by two advance practice nurses and a bilingual registered nurse and practical nurse. The clinic has been operating since 2004, and while it is open to anyone needing basic care, the majority of patients are Hispanic residents of DeQueen. Other organizations have helped fund the clinic, including the CHRISTUS Fund of Houston and the Arkansas Minority Health Commission.

The Foundation for the MidSouth is a regional community foundation serving Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The organization seeks to strengthen the capacities and resources of institutions and communities to improve the quality of life for all mid-southerners. More information about the foundation is at www.fndmidsouth.org.

UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with five colleges, a graduate school, a new 540,000-square-foot hospital, six centers of excellence and a statewide network of regional centers. UAMS has 2,652 students and 733 medical residents. Its centers of excellence include 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 and the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging. 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.