UAMS Plans More Services for Carroll County
| UAMS Plans More Services for Carroll County
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Institute for Community Health Innovation joined the Carroll County Hometown Health Coalition’s Dec. 4 meeting to discuss services the institute is looking to provide across the county in 2025.
The institute is deploying mobile health units — large vehicles equipped to provide various health services — to rural counties throughout the state. In 2024, UAMS deployed a unit to Madison County to offer prenatal care services and general health screenings. Denton Thompson, a nurse project manager with the institute, told Carroll County’s health coalition at its meeting that the institute is seeking partners to help deploy services in the coming months.
The institute currently offers a prenatal care program, Healthy Start, to pregnant women and their families in Carroll County. Healthy Start emphasizes holistic care for expectant mothers through navigation services, home visiting and case management during and after pregnancy. Bilingual community health workers (CHWs) — fluent in Spanish and Marshallese as well as English — are also available to help answer questions and direct individuals and families to other local care systems.
UAMS has also launched CenteringPregnancy® — a group prenatal care program — in areas across the state, with hopes to collaborate with partners in Carroll County to offer the service to expectant moms there. CenteringPregnancy® is a program in which expectant mothers receive prenatal care and education in a group setting with other moms-to-be. Participants in CenteringPregnancy® see a reduction in barriers that women often experience in prenatal care, such as transportation and lack of insurance, while fostering a stronger support system for new mothers.
“Throughout our programs, our community health workers walk with mom to find resources, provide case management and help moms and families navigate the health system,” said Julie Joyce, senior manager of public engagement at the institute. “Our community health workers are there to support you.”
Thompson said the institute is also looking for partners to host the unit to provide general health screenings — services such as blood pressure checks, A1c checks and assistance finding local health resources. In 2025, the institute will also offer a wide variety of contraceptive services to women in the area.
For more information about the UAMS Institute for Community Health Innovation’s maternal health and mobile health programs, visit communityhealth.uams.edu. If organizations are interested in partnering with UAMS to offer mobile health services, email communityhealth@uams.edu.