HUPC Program Celebrates Largest Graduating Class to Date
| The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is celebrating its largest graduating class yet from the Honors in Underserved Primary Care (HUPC) program.
HUPC is designed to prepare medical students to care for rural and underserved populations across Arkansas. Upon completion of the program, participants graduate from medical school with an Honors designation.
The 2025 class marks the third group of graduates from the program, which started in 2020 with the goal of training, supporting and retaining future primary care physicians committed to serving communities with limited access to health care.
“We are filled with pride for the achievements of the HUPC graduates in this class and are excited for what the future holds for them all,” said Leslie Stone, M.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine who also serves as the HUPC program director. “Many of them will continue their training here in Arkansas or nearby in neighboring states. They are embarking on a career in service and will become pillars of their communities and meet critical needs for years to come.”
Six of the 11 graduates from this year’s class matched into family medicine and primary care residency programs in Arkansas, a key indicator of the program’s success in encouraging medical students to stay and practice in-state.
The 2025 HUPC graduates and their residency matches are:
- Carroll Bentley — Family Medicine, Cox Health, Springfield, Missouri
- Asher Parvu — Neurology, University of Kansas School of Medicine, Kansas City, Kansas
- Ashley Haynes — Family Medicine, UAMS Northeast Regional Campus, Jonesboro
- Braden James — Family Medicine, UAMS North Central Regional Campus, Batesville
- Claire Peterson — Family Medicine, LSU Health, Shreveport, Louisiana
- Emily Fields — Family Medicine, Mercy Hospital, Fort Smith
- Julia Townsley — Family Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri
- Kassidy Irwin — Internal Medicine, Baptist Health, North Little Rock
- Katherine McTigrit — Family Medicine, UAMS Regional Campuses, Crossett
- Kellee Miller-Whitson — Psychiatry, UAMS, Little Rock
- Larry Hill — Internal Medicine-Pediatrics, UAMS, Little Rock
HUPC at UAMS is a guided track that provides medical students with a group environment as well as faculty and staff support, UAMS resources and educational opportunities to encourage students to pursue community-based primary care as a medical career.
Now in its fifth year, the HUPC program continues to expand its efforts to recruit and train future cohorts of medical students dedicated to primary care careers in Arkansas’ rural, underserved communities.
This program 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 $17,600,000 with 10% financed through nongovernmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.