UAMS details statewide cancer navigation program, mobile screening vans and NCI push

Leaders from the Winthrop B. Rockefeller Cancer Institute at UAMS told the Senate Public Health committee they are pursuing National Cancer Institute designation and building a statewide Community Outreach and Engagement (COE) program that treats Arkansas as the catchment area.

Michael Beere, director of the cancer institute, described the COE elements: a statewide catchment‑area needs assessment, a community advisory board, expanded outreach, and a cancer patient navigation program that links patients to screening and care. Beere said the institute had hired navigators and undertaken outreach in rural counties; he summarized early outputs and targets.

Beere said the program’s mobile units — "MammoVans" — provide free mammography and other mobile services. He told committee members that the legislature committed $3.5 million to build two new mobile vans, and one additional van will be equipped for low‑dose CT lung screening and related services such as tobacco‑cessation counseling.

The institute’s leaders stressed the need to improve screening and access in rural areas, where incidence and mortality rates for several cancers are higher than U.S. averages. Committee members asked about coordination with local treatment centers; presenters said UAMS has negotiated data and operational links (including Epic interoperability) with partners such as Baptist Health and will work collaboratively with regional oncology providers to expand clinical trials participation and local access.

The committee took no formal action on the presentation.