SPRINGDALE, Ark. — The UAMS Institute for Community Health Innovation officially opened its doors Tuesday.
Now that the institute is open, Director Pearl McElfish says it can finally start to take medical care directly to each of their patients.
“There's, I think, great innovation in the simplicity of taking health care and health education to where people are every day. People aren't hard to reach, if you go where they actually live, work, play and exist. And so, we are committed to finding out where people are going, where they are, and not focusing efforts on trying to get people to come to us.," McElfish said.
McElfish adds that Springdale is the perfect place to have this operation.
“Its roots are about hard work and making change, and it is a very diverse community. We really wanted to be in the heart of a place that was part of our commitment to serving all Arkansans,” McElfish said.
McElfish says the institute will hopefully solve some of Arkansas' biggest health issues.
“Most common challenge in Arkansas is maternal health. We have the highest maternal mortality rate; we have very high infant mortality rates and other disparities and cardiometabolic diseases which include heart disease and diabetes," McElfish explained.
McElfish says that it's important for the community to be represented by some of its own.
“It's important to have culturally competent health workers, right? We all have different cultures and backgrounds that we come from, and it's really important to have community members have somebody that understands where they come from taking part in their health care," said Manuel Tejada, the Senior Project Manager at the institute.
"Whenever you have someone who really understands your background, who even lives and works in the same community that you're from, you can have a world of difference in your health outcomes," Tejada added.
The institute already has four mobile health units across the state with four more on the way.
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