HJAR Nov/Dec 2021

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS I  NOV / DEC 2021 51 Mellie Boagni Bridewell Chief Executive Officer Arkansas Rural Health Partnership • Lack of knowledge of local healthcare study opportunities. More and more local colleges and universities are creating programs of study to assist with building a stronger and better healthcare workforce. The availability of these programs must be commu- nicated to students and individuals in local schools and communities. • Lack of support and encouragement. In many rural areas, parents and care- givers have not gone to college or do not know what opportunities exist for themselves and the younger gen- eration. Support and guidance must be made available to assist students through their studies. While many study opportunities can now be offered virtually, learning alone and with no support of hands-on assistance from teachers and other students, many are going it alone and are not being successful. • Broadband deficiencies in rural areas. In many rural areas, access to the inter- net is non-existent or, at best, limited. Rural communities must create spaces for students to have access to virtual learning platforms. So, what can rural partnerships and collabo- rations accomplish to increase the healthcare workforce and provide career opportunities for the youth in rural communities? In the past year, South Arkansas hospi- tals and clinics, in partnership with local high schools and regional and statewide university academic partners, have made it a priority to engage high school students by creating opportunities. • ARHP has partnered with all three medical schools, ARCOM, UAMS and NYIT, to provide medical school rota- tions with area physicians to encourage more medical school students to learn and love practicing in rural Arkansas. ARHP currently has a student coor- dinator who works with our hospi- tals and clinics and their respective students. • UAMS and ARHP provided 24 local high school students interested in healthcare careers with free ACT prep classes, laptops and calculators to in- crease scores for college entry. • In Summer of 2021, UAMS and ARHP provided 42 paid apprenticeships in local hospitals, clinics and in theARHP organization for high school and col- lege freshmen interested in pursuing studies in healthcare. • ARHP, UAMS and Community Health Centers of Arkansas partnered to pur- chase a mobile workforce unit to pro- mote healthcare careers, educational opportunities and college counseling at local high schools and community events. The mobile unit is a 30-foot diesel vehicle that has two counseling “The support and programs needed to build a local workforce can only be done through teamwork and partnership with our healthcare organizations, schools, funders and workforce organizations.”