UAMS, Arkansas Rural Health Partnership Partner to Provide Community Health Workers in Monroe County
| FAYETTEVILLE – Gracelyn Caplener, Ashtyn Mullinax and Lauren Turner were hired recently through a partnership between the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and Arkansas Rural Health Partnership to help people in Monroe County navigate the health care system.
As embedded community health workers, Caplener, Mullinax and Turner are available to answer basic health care questions and provide education and resources to the public. Community health workers work within their communities to help the public get the care they need, answer essential health care-related questions, such as when someone should see a doctor, and provide information about vaccines.
“We are so pleased to work with Gracelyn, Ashtyn and Lauren to provide the people of Monroe County with a new resource as we enter the next, and hopefully final, stage of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Stephanie Kruger, associate director of community programs in the UAMS Office of Community Health & Research. “We’re also excited to work with Arkansas Rural Health Partnership and the Monroe County community as we work to create a better state of health for all people in Arkansas.”
To contact Caplener with health- or vaccine-related questions, email gracelyn@arruralhealth.org.
To contact Mullinax with health- or vaccine-related questions, email ashtyn@arruralhealth.org.
To contact Turner with health- or vaccine-related questions, email lauren@arruralhealth.org.
Caplener, Mullinax and Turner can also be contacted by calling 870-632-7299.
For more information about the UAMS Community Health Worker project, visit nwa.uams.edu/chr/chw. For more information about COVID-19, including resources, mobile vaccine events and education, visit nwa.uams.edu/covid.
This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $9,892,799 with 0% financed with nongovernmental sources.
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 seven 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 and Institute for Digital 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 3,047 students, 873 medical residents and fellows, and six dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 11,000 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 www.uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram.
The UAMS Northwest Regional Campus includes 288 medical, pharmacy, nursing and health professions students, 64 medical and pharmacy residents, two sports medicine fellows, and 1,000 community-based faculty. The campus has nine clinics including a student-led clinic and physical, occupational and speech therapy. Faculty conduct research to reduce health disparities.