Arkansas Minority Health Commission outlines FY22 efforts on screening, workforce and mental health

Kenya Eddings, the new director of the Arkansas Minority Health Commission, told the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee that the commission’s fiscal year 2022 work centered on six goals to reduce health disparities in minority communities. "My name is Kenya Eddings and I am the new director of the Arkansas Minority Health Commission," Eddings said as she opened the presentation.

Eddings said the commission used a mobile health unit to provide free screenings for conditions that disproportionately affect minority Arkansans, naming diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and HIV/AIDS. She cited partnerships with statewide providers and groups — including ARcare, Jefferson Comprehensive Care and Arkansas Human Development’s Hispanic initiative — to extend screening and education services.

The commission also expanded education through radio, social media and television, and continued two signature programs: Southern Ain't Fry Sundays, a 21-day meal enhancement program, and Camp iCAN, a three-day day camp for children ages 9–12 to promote healthy lifestyles. Eddings said those programs remained in demand "despite the pandemic."

On workforce development, the AMHC said it co-sponsored Pathways Academy with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences' Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Department and awarded scholarships to minority students entering health fields — 38 scholarships in fall 2021 and 45 in spring 2022. Eddings described partnerships with the Tri-County Rural Health Network to deploy trained community health workers and with UAMS to increase colorectal cancer screening and statewide mammography availability.

Committee members focused questions on cancer screening, access for students and whether outreach could help people who lose eligibility when emergency-era rules end. In response, AMHC staff described ongoing coordination with UAMS and the Arkansas Cancer Coalition on at-home colorectal test kits and said they would work with the Department of Human Services and local providers to assist re-enrollment where possible.

Representative Bentley asked about breastfeeding initiatives as a strategy to reduce maternal mortality; Eddings cited prior work with Healthy Active Arkansas and projects that help employers establish lactation accommodations, including a recent Department of Insurance space and accommodations work at Little Rock Air Force Base.

Eddings closed by describing plans to resume in-person community health forums in each congressional district, expand the "Ask the Doctor" radio series and host the Arkansas State Minority Health Luncheon. The committee thanked the commission for the report; no vote or formal request for appropriation was recorded.