UAMS College of Nursing Awarded $50,000 from Arkansas Minority Health Commission
| LITTLE ROCK – In an effort to address a shortage of minority nurses teaching in the state’s nursing programs, the Arkansas Minority Health Commission (AMHC) is donating $50,000 to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Nursing’s Ph.D. nursing program.
The AMHC Healthcare Workforce Diversity Scholarship fund will provide financial assistance to minority UAMS College of Nursing graduate students who are in need of financial aid.
“We are thankful to the commission for committing these ongoing funds,” said Claudia Barone, Ed.D., R.N., dean of the UAMS College of Nursing. “At UAMS we work very diligently to increase the number of minority students represented in all of our programs. This scholarship will significantly aid our efforts toward reaching those goals.”
Idonia Trotter, executive director of the AMHC, spoke about the endowed scholarship at a ceremony today that also featured Barone and UAMS Chancellor Dan Rahn, M.D.
“This is all about recognizing the need to address the dire shortage of minority, graduate prepared nurses teaching in the state’s nursing school programs,” Trotter said. “Today is a landmark day in taking a big step forward to ensure we’re moving toward reversing that trend. I’m very proud to be a part of this and look forward to seeing this scholarship’s intentions come to fruition.”
The mission of the AMHC is to ensure all minority Arkansans access to health care that is equal to the care provided to other citizens of the state and to seek ways to provide education, address issues and prevent diseases and conditions that are prevalent among minority populations. The goal is to bridge the gap in health issues among minorities and the majority.
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 540,000-square-foot hospital; a statewide network of regional centers; and six 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 and the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging. UAMS has 2,775 students and 748 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.