Institute for Community Health Innovation


January 21, 2025

A Vision for 2025: Keeping Your Eyes Healthy

David Wise

Optician measuring women eyes with refractometer

  By Sheldon Riklon, M.D. It’s that time again when many of us focus on creating healthier habits, like being more active or eating healthier. One thing we often forget is our eye health. Taking care of your eyes is just as important as any other part of your overall wellness. Several types of eye…


January 7, 2025

UAMS, Partners Offer Comprehensive Doula Training

David Wise

Doula speaking to a pregnant woman

Accepting Scholarship Applications Now LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Institute for Community Health Innovation will train 80 doulas over the next year through a comprehensive program administered by the institute and other partners, including Ujima Maternity Network and Birthing Beyond. The program is available to individuals throughout Arkansas through…


UAMS Plans More Services for Carroll County

David Wise

Denton Thompson, a nurse project manager with the UAMS Institute for Community Health Innovation speaks at the Carroll County Hometown Health Coalition’s Dec. 4, 2024, meeting.

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…


January 6, 2025

The Heart of Rural Health Care: The Unique Impact of One Community Health Worker in Montgomery County

David Wise

Michelle Duncan, a community health worker, poses in a rural pharmacy.

This story originally appeared in the Winter 2024 edition of the Arkansas Family Physician, the official publication of the Arkansas Academy of Family Physicians. Michele Duncan didn’t grow up in Arkansas, but from the moment she set foot in Mount Ida — a small, close-knit community in the heart of Montgomery County — she knew…


December 18, 2024

UAMS, Community Partners Hold SNAP Enrollment Events for Marshallese

David Wise

Woman registering for SNAP

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), the Northwest Arkansas Food Insecurity Community of Practice, the Marshallese Education Initiative (MEI) and other community organizations have partnered to organize SNAP enrollment events, where more than 100 Marshallese have been able to apply for the benefits. The Compacts of Free Association (COFA) allow some Pacific Islander…


December 17, 2024

Community Partner Celebration Honors Efforts to Address Critical Health Challenges

David Robinson

The Olly Neal Community Health Center, represented by (l-r) LaFay Broadway and Cassandra Franklin, received the Research Partner of the Year Award. Laura James, M.D., TRI director, and Tiffany Haynes, Ph.D., director of TRI’s Community Engagement Core, presented the award.

The Ninth Annual Translational Research Institute Community Partner Celebration on Dec. 6 brought attendees from across Arkansas to recognize the pivotal role of community partnerships in advancing research and improving health. Organized by the institute’s Community Engagement Core, the event at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center in Little Rock drew more than 80 attendees representing…


December 10, 2024

UAMS, AmeriCorps VISTA Members Provide Access to Fresh Foods to Nearly a Quarter of a Million Arkansans

David Wise

Daniel Dunlap, AmeriCorps South Central deputy regional administrator, announces a VISTA initiative with UAMS to fight food insecurity.

FAYETTEVILLE — Since September 2023, AmeriCorps Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) members embedded at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Institute for Community Health Innovation have provided access to fresh foods for almost a quarter of a million Arkansans. VISTA is a program that provides full-time volunteers to nonprofit organizations, educational institutions…


December 3, 2024

UAMS Community Health Worker Named to National Advisory Committee

David Wise

Photo of Rosana Solis-Garcia, a certified community health worker (CHW) and mentor at the UAMS Institute for Community Health Innovation

Rosana Solis-Garcia, a certified community health worker (CHW) and mentor at the UAMS Institute for Community Health Innovation, was selected recently to serve on the National CHW Policy Working Group Advisory Committee. Solis-Garcia began her work at UAMS in October 2020 in the institute’s contact tracing center, helping individuals and families in Northwest Arkansas navigate…


November 27, 2024

UAMS, Madison County Health Coalition Discuss Ways to Improve Care for Expectant Mothers in Huntsville

David Wise

Sarah Moore, associate director of the UAMS Institute for Community Health Innovation, speaks to a group about prenatal care.

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Institute for Community Health Innovation joined a recent meeting of the Madison County Health Coalition to discuss ways the institute is improving care for expectant mothers in and around Huntsville.


November 26, 2024

UAMS to Expand Healthy Start Program in South Arkansas

David Wise

Marshallese mother reading to her baby

FAYETTEVILLE — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) will expand its Healthy Start program to Ashley, Ouachita and Union counties this fall, providing essential prenatal care services to women and families in south Arkansas. Since 2019, the UAMS Institute for Community Health Innovation has offered the Healthy Start program — funded by the…



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