Who We Are | UAMS Department of Family and Preventive Medicine

Partners

Colorectal cancer is the second most common cause of cancer deaths for men and women combined and is expected to cause approximately 52,980 deaths during 2021, according to cancer.org. PiCS-AR!, funded by a $2.5 million, five-year grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hopes to combat this in counties with low screening rates with the help of primary care clinics using evidence-based interventions. Three partners fuel PiCS-AR!’s mission.

Grant Management

The Community Health and Education Division of UAMS’ Department of Family and Preventive Medicine houses the project. Director and PiCS-AR! creator Alysia Dubriske, M.Ed, is the principal investigator, joined by Marybeth Curtis, BSN, who manages the program, and Jessica Presley and Rosario Silva are the evaluators. Andrea Hooten, MBA, is the communications coordinator, and Colleen Lassiter is business coordinator.

Our Team

Alysia Dubriske, M.Ed., CHES

UAMS Community Health and Education Director

501-686-6617

adubriske@uams.edu

Alysia Dubriske, MEd, CHES, is the principal investigator for the PiCS-AR! grant. She has 26 years of experience of working in academia, the non-profit sector and public health. Alysia has extensive experience in securing grant funds and effective, innovative projects. Her background is in education with a specialty in high-risk populations.

Marybeth Curtis, BSN

Nurse Planner

501-526-4748

mcurtis@uams.edu

Marybeth Curtis, RN, BSN, WOCN, is the nurse planner for the Dept. of Family and Preventive Medicine’s Community Health and Education Division. She designs the CME/CE conferences for family medicine, and was named program manager for CDC’s CRCCP grant – PiCS-AR! in 2020. Marybeth became a registered nurse more than 23 years ago. She graduated from Arkansas Tech University in 1998 with a bachelor’s degree in nursing and has been enrolled, part-time, at UAMS, in the Master of Nursing Administration/Education program with an anticipated graduation in Fall of 2022. She is a native of Little Rock and has three daughters and six grandchildren. Marybeth is an insatiable learner and has an even greater desire for teaching.

Andrea Hooten, MBA, APR

Marketing/PR

501-526-6302

ahooten@uams.edu

Andrea Hooten is the program manager for marketing and PR for the Dept. of Family and Preventive Medicine, Community Health and Education Division. After graduating with a degree in journalism/PR from Texas Tech University, she started her career as a reporter and marketed for several educational institutions in Texas and Arkansas and developed strategies for various clients in her work with advertising and PR agencies in New Mexico and Arkansas. She is accredited in public relations from the Public Relations Society of America and earned her master’s of business administration at UALR. She has been with UAMS since 2012 and leads the communication for several CDC grants as well as for the department’s continuing medical education programs.

Colleen Lassiter

Business Coordinator

501-686-6626

cdlassiter@uams.edu

Colleen Lassiter has been the business coordinator for UAMS Department of Family and Preventive Medicine’s Community Health and Education Division for more than two years. She oversees administrative duties and handles all accounts receivable and payable. She studied business administration and accounting at Arkansas State University. She has more than 35 years of experience in business.

Jessica Presley, MPP

UAMS Northwest, Assistant Director of Evaluation

Jessica Presley is assistant director of evaluation at the Office of Community Health and Research (OCHR) at UAMS Northwest. She leads an evaluation team in managing OCHR’s portfolio of program evaluations. She received her master’s degree in public policy from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. She has more than ten years of experience working in research and evaluation and has evaluated for a wide range of social, educational and community health programs. She uses culturally responsive and equitable evaluation to understand the complex and historical contexts in which programs are implemented. In her current role, she evaluates the implementation and impact of federal and foundation-funded community health initiatives in Arkansas and is committed to advancing social and health equity in the state.

Rosaria Silva, MPH

UAMS Northwest, Evaluation Specialist

Rosario Silva has been an evaluation specialist with UAMS’ Community Health and Research since March 2021. Silva has experience evaluating CDC programs, ensuring successful implementation and data dissemination. She has a master’s degree in public health from Saint Louis University and a bachelor’s degree from Brown University in Community Health and Ethnic Studies.

Clinic Quality Improvement

AFMC Logo Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care Practice Transformation (AFMC PT) focuses on quality improvement, offering expertise in cancer screening measures and practice transformation. The AFMC PT staff meet with the health care clinics regularly and provide support for gathering/abstracting quality colorectal cancer screening data and performing routine data validation. They offer ideas and support change through implementation of evidence-based interventions, and supporting activities.

Clinics

Clinic locations

1st Choice Healthcare is our initial clinical partner with 25 providers in six locations across northeast Arkansas. We hope to add more clinics within the next five years.

These clinics serve a mostly rural population with lower incomes, lower education levels and a lower colorectal cancer screening rate than much of the state. The clinics have seen growth of up to seven percent more screenings than a year ago.

F.I.T. Just Takes a Bit

Text in graphic reads: 1st Choice Healthcare Corning, AR. FIT Test is an easy way to check for colon cancer. The graphic includes a poop emoji badge that reads F.I.T. BIT 1st Choice Healthcare staff and providers promoted the “F.I.T. Just Takes a Bit” campaign in March as part of Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. They created a fun atmosphere and handed out F.I.T. kits for every eligible patient. F.I.T. kits are less invasive than colonoscopies, easy for patients to use and are effective in testing for colorectal cancer.