UAMS to Provide HPV Vaccines, Host ‘Parent Education Night’ in El Dorado on Feb. 5
| LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is bringing HPV vaccinations to El Dorado and surrounding areas, with a planned “Parent Education Night” on Wednesday, Feb. 5.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the human papillomavirus (HPV) is a virus that can cause cancers later in life. HPV is very common, with about 13 million people, including teenagers, becoming infected each year in the U.S.
HPV vaccination is safe and effective and protects against more than 90% of HPV cancers. The CDC recommends parents vaccinate their children between the ages of 11 and 12 years — before a person is exposed to the virus — but vaccination can start as early as 9 years old. Children should receive two doses, six to 12 months apart. If a child received two doses less than six months apart or started the vaccine series between the ages of 15-26 years, then three doses are required.
“HPV vaccination is important because HPV is a commonly contracted virus, with the potential to cause more life-altering diseases like cancer,” said Sarah Sixbey, a nurse educator with the UAMS Institute for Community Health Innovation. “By getting vaccinated, teens and young adults are able to help protect themselves against six different types of cancer.”
The Parent Education Night will be held from 6-7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 5, at the Barton Junior High School at 400 W. Faulkner St. in El Dorado.
Attendees will learn basic facts about HPV, health risks associated with the virus, and how vaccination can help protect children and young adults against the virus and future HPV-related health conditions. Dinner will be provided, and participants can receive a $25 gift card (limit one per household) for attending and completing a post-survey.
“Through our mobile health services at UAMS, we’re committed to meeting people where they are and that means providing education and services in settings that are comfortable and accessible to them,” said Roshunda Davis-Johnson, program director with the institute. “We can’t wait to see parents on Wednesday and to talk about the important ways they can protect their children from HPV.”
UAMS will be offering HPV vaccines at the event and at future mobile health events throughout Union County. Through the institute’s Innovation’s Mobile Health program, medically equipped health units travel to regions across the state to provide health screenings, prenatal care, reproductive health services, connection to community health workers and local resources, and more.
For more information about the Institute for Community Health Innovation and to view upcoming mobile health events in Union County, visit communityhealth.uams.edu.
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.###