As the
outreach arm of the University of Arkansas for Medical
Sciences (UAMS) in southwest Arkansas, UAMS Area Health
Education Center-Southwest (AHEC-SW) in Texarkana engages
the surrounding communities supporting the goals of UAMS
to teach,
to heal, to search,
and to serve. Through
building community partnerships, AHEC-SW brings the robust
educational programs and resources of UAMS to our region.
Addressing the regional storage of health care providers,
AHEC-SW offers students educational opportunities through
programs in the Colleges of Health Related Professions,
Nursing, and Medicine. AHEC-SW clinicians serve patients in
Texarkana, DeQueen, and Lewisville. The Cancer Registry
provides important clinical information about cancer
detection and treatment in the region. Our Community
Outreach Department promotes wellness and addresses health
disparities through education.
Currently
six programs from the College of Health Related Professions
are offered through AHEC-SW Diagnostic Medical Sonography,
Health Information Management, Medical Technology, Nuclear
Medicine Technology, Radiologic Technology, and Respiratory
Care. There are sixty seven students pursuing opportunities
in CHRP programs. There are currently thirty graduate
students from the AHEC-SW in the Master of Nursing Science
program
AHEC-SW
houses a faculty and family medicine residency clinics. The
two clinics have over 20,000 patient-visits per year. The
prescription drug service associated with the clinic
provides much needed medications to indigent patients.
Smoking cessation and diabetic classes are offered to clinic
patients. In summer 2004, the All for Kids pediatric
clinic opened. The clinic was initiated in response to an
unmet need in the community. Clinic is open Monday through
Friday. Clinical services are provided by two part-time
physicians and two full-time pediatric nurse practitioners.
The clinic is currently seeing an average of 60 patients per
day. The clinic is becoming an important training site for
our residents.
The
UAMS/AHEC Cancer Registry has been successful in the
collection of greater than 15,000 cancer cases in the past
14 years of existence. This data enables the hospitals to
target specific cancer prevention activities and to plan for
cancer treatment and program developments to better serve
the needs of our specific patient population. The Cancer
Registry received full Approved and Commendation status by
the Commission on Cancer status for Wadley Regional Medical
Center and CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System in 2004.
Wellness
and addressing health disparities is increasingly an
important role of AHEC-SW. Community health workers
presentations touched over 1000 people on topics such as
diabetes, nutrition, and heart health. AHEC-SW staff made
presentations through the BEAT Tobacco Collation on topics,
such as second-hand smoke and smoking prevention. The staff
developed an area smoke-free dining guide. Over 433
individuals attended presentations on breast health. Over
376 screening mammograms were performed through grants and
funding by organization such as the Susan G. Komen
Foundation. High school students in DeQueen, Hope,
Nashville, and Texarkana had the opportunity to explore
health careers in Summer MASH programs.
Through
community partnerships with a focus on health education,
AHEC-SW continues to seek opportunities to impact the health
of people of southwest Arkansas and neighboring states