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Gwendolyn Bryant-Smith, M.D., and Crystal Smith stand next to the UAMS MammoVan during a Midsouth Black Expo event in 2022.
Image by David Robinson
UAMS Midsouth Black Expo Scheduled for Feb. 25
| LITTLE ROCK — The 19th annual Midsouth Black Expo, presented by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and its Office of Health Initiatives and Disparities Research, will celebrate Black History Month with a free event that offers health education and cancer screenings and promotes local Black-owned businesses.
The expo — themed “Our Health, Our Wealth, Our Culture” — will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 25 at The Venue at Westwind, 7318 Windsong Drive in North Little Rock.
The UAMS MammoVan, a mobile mammography unit, will be on-site to provide prescheduled mammograms. To make an appointment or determine whether you qualify for services, please call (800) 259-8794.
In addition, the event will offer in-person and take-home screenings for breast and colorectal cancer as well as education on a variety of health conditions, including cancer, hypertension, stroke and heart disease. The expo will feature an “Ask the Doctor” segment, a showcase of minority-owned businesses, and Black cultural and historical education.
One of the goals of the expo is to engage the community by highlighting available resources in Arkansas as well as the work of UAMS’ Office of Health Initiatives and Disparities Research, which seeks to improve access to cancer screenings in underserved communities. The office’s mission includes a commitment to addressing cancer-related issues through education, training and research.
“UAMS has been one of the lead collaborative sponsors of this event since its inception, and it is always a great honor to serve the community,” said Ronda Henry-Tillman, M.D., division chief of breast surgical oncology at the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute.
For more information about the event, visit midsouthblackexpo.com or contact Bjorn “BK” Simmons at (501) 475-5340 or bjorn@thinksocialimpact.org.
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 eight 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, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community 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 3,485 students, 915 medical residents and fellows, and seven 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 uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube or Instagram.###