Department News

Leticia Rodriguez, director of the Lovely Sunshine Learning Center in Little Rock, has transformed a room in her childcare center into a place where staff and clients can feel comfortable breastfeeding or pumping breast milk, thanks to a $3,000 subgrant from the UAMS Department of Family and Preventive Medicine’s State Physical Activity and Nutrition for Arkansas (SPAN).

Lovely Sunshine Learning Center is one of 15 early childcare centers that will receive the subgrants from SPAN, which is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity. SPAN seeks to encourage breastfeeding in early childcare settings because research has shown that children who breastfeed six months or more may reduce their risk of obesity as well as severe asthma, SIDS, ear infections and some chronic diseases.

Rodriguez has used the money to buy two nursery swivel chairs, a colorful throw rug, mini-refrigerator, lamp with USB outlets, boppy pillow, bookshelf and framed pictures for décor. She also wants a drape that will separate the room so two mothers can privately breastfeed at the same time. SPAN will also supply milk storage bags, posters and pamphlets.

“I have a breastfeeding mom (parent of a student) and one staff member that breastfeed. My employee doesn’t care if anyone sees her breastfeed, but the mom was not comfortable in the room. She breastfed in the reception area which isn’t private because staff members and parents are always coming through,” said Rodriguez, who completed the room September 2022. “So far, the response has been good!”

Three other childcare centers have also received the funds, and moms have immediately begun using the made-over rooms. Bingham Road Baptist Child Development Center in Pulaski County took an unused infant room and gave it a breastfeeding makeover, complete with chair, rug, mini-refrigerator, décor and covers for moms as they breastfeed their babies. A staff member and new mom were quick to use the room, with the new mom saying, “It’s so great not having to feed in my car.”

Tonya Ritter, director/coordinator for ABC Preschool at Heber Springs Elementary, has redone an unused office at the school with a soft chair, lamp, rug and mini-refrigerator. She plans to add a plant in the corner, brochure stand, framed landscapes for the walls and a shelf to house WIC information and a book about breastfeeding for children. Supplies for the moms are conveniently stored in a basket, and the room connects with the nurse’s office in case of issues.

“It has been used by a few who had to pump in their cars on their breaks,” Ritter said. “They are so appreciative.  We have a few expectant mothers who are so excited to have a place to go rather than their cars.”

Another childcare center that used the grant money is Janna’s Little Angels in Little Rock. Lanna Horton, director, transformed a room for storage/staff into a light-filled, colorful breastfeeding space for her families. Two moms have started using it, and the center plans to add a refrigerator to store milk. A door connects to the infant classroom, so mothers will now have a space where they can visit on their breaks, a much better solution than the director’s office.

City Seeks to Encourage Physical Activity and Economic Development

England’s city council will discuss a proposed master bike and pedestrian plan after England citizens had their say with three public meetings and an online survey. Englanders were allowed to offer their opinions on priorities and make suggestions on the plan, which will connect everyday destinations for those who walk, bike and move in a safe, convenient way. Ultimately, this plan will encourage physical activity and economic development.

Isaac Sims (left) with Crafton Tull talks to Lenny Adams about the plan at a recent public meeting.

Isaac Sims, planner with Crafton Tull which created the master plan, said the survey results weren’t particularly surprising. Fifty-five percent of the respondents said they walked three or more times per week for either recreation or transportation. Around 92 percent said they did not ride a bicycle for recreation or transportation. Citizens at the July public meeting offered valuable input on sidewalks and, as a result, Crafton Tull added a sidewalk down Southwest First Street from West Fordyce Street to Cox Drive. The network of shared use trails, sidewalks and bike paths will equal approximately 17.25 miles.

Dave Roberts with Crafton Tull points out the potential for reworked sidewalks and a park to Leesa Freasier, physical activity coordinator with SPAN, on the walk audit in 2021.

The planning began last summer. The State Physical Activity and Nutrition for Arkansas (SPAN), part of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), funded the plan and helped organize a walk audit of downtown England to find trouble spots for pedestrians and bicyclists. A year later, the public weighed in on the initial drafts.

Mari Ben Newton, who moved to England in 2000 and attended the second public meeting in July, said she was most interested in a sidewalk on Nichols Street because she sees school kids walking that route every morning without the benefit of a sidewalk.

England’s Chief of Police Bill Duerson was keyed on safety too.

Bill Duerson and Mari Ben Newton decide how to vote on aspects of the proposed plan.

“I really like walking paths and safer routes, especially in the summer when kids are darting in and out of traffic,” said Duerson, who grew up in England riding his bike.

At the July meeting, Julie Kelso, vice president of planning with Crafton Tull, pointed to research that showed Lonoke County residents have a higher percentage of adult obesity than other counties in Arkansas, adding that Englanders could use opportunities to walk and bike to the grocery store, library, their work or school. And with 35 percent of England families having only one vehicle, families need safe options for non-motorized travel.

“What encourages bicycling or walking?” Kelso asked the group. “Safe, comfortable lanes with points of interest. If there are no facilities (for walking or biking), the stress level is high for biking or walking. As we move into safer facilities (safest being a separate trail), the stress is lower, but the ease of installing them is also less, meaning it takes more time and money to put them in place.”

Master bike and pedestrian plan for England

The firm used trip generators to expose “hot spots” of concentrated activity, such as the intersection of U.S. Highway 165 and Arkansas Highway 15. Another factor that Crafton Tull considered was the proposed United States Bike Route 80 (USBR80), which will meander through downtown England. The USBR80 snakes from North Little Rock to West Memphis as part of a larger route system across the United States for long-distance bicyclists.  The proposed route will increase economic development in the towns dotted along the path, England being one of them. In addition to the USBR80, Metroplan (a planning agency for four central Arkansas counties) hopes to tie the England master bike and pedestrian plan to its own vision for the Regional Greenways project with more than 170 miles of multiuse paths connecting Faulkner, Lonoke, Pulaski and Saline counties.

Kelso said most of England’s proposed trails are concentrated in the southern part of the town with side paths along Nichols Street, a major corridor for children walking or biking to the high school.

Many of the existing traffic signals will have bike/pedestrian traffic signals added to them, and network trailheads will be centered around parks and schools in the city.

The blacktop will feature a walking path and sunshades. Sims said the block of blacktop in downtown England will have a widened walking path circling it and may be painted green with sunshades along it to protect pedestrians from the heat.  Another need is to connect the sidewalk to the Willis H. Sargent Training Academy north of town and on Henderson Road.

 

UAMS’ Partnerships for Colorectal Cancer Screening in Arkansas (PiCS-AR!) recently joined with Mid-Delta Health System to expand the number of clinics working to reduce late-stage colorectal cancer in the state. Mid-Delta has a clinic in Clarendon and DeWitt, which are in Monroe and Arkansas counties.

PiCS-AR! is a project of the UAMS Department of Family and Preventive Medicine’s Community Health and Education Division. In 2020, the division received a $2.5 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to increase colorectal cancer screening and reduce late-stage colorectal cancer, the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States.

“We thought Mid-Delta would be a good partner because their demographics reflect those at high risk for colorectal cancer,” said Marybeth Curtis, BSN, Program Manager for the grant. “Looking at the counties they serve, they have some of the highest rates of cancer in the state. Also, the percentage of uninsured at each clinic is 12% at DeWitt and 9% in Clarendon, which hinders patients from getting a colonoscopy, the gold standard for colorectal cancer screening.”

Curtis said the rate of colorectal cancer screening in both the Clarendon and Dewitt clinics is low with Dewitt at 29.5% and Clarendon at 44%. The national goal is 80% as set by the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable. Adults should be screened for colorectal cancer beginning at age 45.

PiCS-AR! team member, Stacey George, APRN, with Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care, works directly with PiCS-AR! clinics to maximize their electronic medical records to flag patients 45 and older who need screening. She also coaches the patient navigators on best practices and monitors how well the clinics are faring with screening rates.

“Mid-Delta Health Systems wanted to join PICS-AR! to increase their colorectal screenings and get our patients the care needed in the early stage of diagnosis,” said Monica Lindley, CEO of Mid-Delta Health Systems.

PiCS-AR! has also been working with 1^st Choice Healthcare in northeast Arkansas since the project began late in 2020. Since 1^st Choice joined the partnership, they’ve seen a 9% increase overall in colorectal cancer screening at their six clinics.