UAMS to Receive $40 Million in Congressional Appropriations Championed by Arkansas’ U.S. Sen. John Boozman
| LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) announced today that it will receive $40 million in congressional appropriations for a variety of programs, including several targeting Arkansas’ high rates of infant and maternal mortality.
The funds, which were included in the appropriations legislation signed into law by President Donald Trump on Feb. 3, were championed by Arkansas’ U.S. Sen. John Boozman.
“This funding is critical to advancing UAMS’ mission to improve the health and well-being for Arkansans, including more positive outcomes for Natural State moms, babies and families,” said Boozman. “I was proud to champion these investments and to expand resources for providers, encourage medical innovation through better research, and ultimately save and elevate the quality of many more lives.”
“I want to thank Sen. John Boozman for his unwavering support for the health and well-being of the people of Arkansas,” said UAMS Chancellor C. Lowry Barnes, M.D. “UAMS is committed to improving the health of all Arkansans, and we are honored to have Sen. Boozman as our partner in these efforts.”
The programs targeted for the funding include:
- The Arkansas Center for Women and Infants’ Health at UAMS, a proactive call center that coordinates efforts across the state to reduce infant and maternal mortality and recently began calling postpartum mothers across Arkansas to ensure that they and their babies are off to a healthy start. The center also partners with hospitals statewide to provide moms with an “I Gave Birth Bracelet” so all medical providers can be aware of the mother’s needs in a medical emergency.
- Renovating the Shuffield Building to become the UAMS Medical Center’s low-intervention birthing center.
- Continuing upgrades to the Monroe Building to add services for mothers at the UAMS Milk Bank, creating a Maternal & Infant Education Center.
- Relocating the UAMS Student Wellness program to the Monroe Building for improved student mental health and wellness.
- Expanding and relocating the Student & Employee Health Clinic for better service and to make room for a future expansion of the UAMS SIM Center.
- New vans to improve patient care and on campus transportation, especially cancer patients being transported to the Radiation Oncology Center.
- New equipment for mobile vision screening and simulation equipment for expanded maternal & infant care training.
- Renovating 14,000 square feet of space in the Barton Building to create a new Bridge to Translational Research in the Division of Research and Innovation to foster optimal collaboration of UAMS research from basic science to clinical implementation.
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