HJAR Nov/Dec 2022

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS I  NOV / DEC 2022 33 For weekly eNews updates and to read the journal online, visit HealthcareJournalAR.com • The deceased’s date of birth. • Location of deceased’s death. • Information about any funeral or burial insurance policies. • Information about other funeral assistance received, such as donations or CARES Act grants. Eligibility determinations are based on the sub- mission of all required documents. Additional information and answers to frequently asked questions about the application process can be found on FEMA’s Funeral Assistance FAQ web page. Ronak Soni, MD, Joins CHI St. Vincent Heart Institute CHI St. Vincent announced that interventional cardiologist Ronak Soni, MD, has joined the CHI St. Vincent Heart Institute. Soni will begin seeing patients at the Conway Regional Cardiovascular Clinic located at 525 Western Ave., Suite 202 in Conway. The clinic specializes in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of diseases of the heart and blood vessels, and its physicians are instrumental in helping patients manage a wide range of conditions from blood pressure to life- threatening heart attacks, congestive heart fail- ure, and irregular heart rhythms. Soni completed a fellowship in interventional cardiology at Ascension Borgess Hospital at Michigan State University and cardiovascular fel- lowship at The University of Toledo in Ohio. He completed a residency in internal medicine at the Central Michigan University College of Med- icine. Soni is a member of the American College of Cardiology, is board-certified by the Ameri- can Board of Internal Medicine, and earned a medical degree from Government Medical Col- lege in Surat, India. The cardiologists at Conway Regional Cardio- vascular Clinic specialize in diagnosis, treating, and managing diseases of the heart and blood vessels. UAMS College of Public Health Researchers to Use $4MGrant to Address Health Impact of Structural Racism onMiddle-Aged BlackMen Researchers from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Fay W. Boozman Col- lege of Public Health’s Southern Public Health and Criminal Justice Research Center will use a $4 million grant from the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) to study structural racism and discrimination. Spe- cifically, the researchers are examining the persis- tent racial wealth gap between Black and white men. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) defines structural racism and discrimination as “macro- level conditions (e.g., residential segregation and institutional policies) that limit opportuni- ties, resources, power, and well-being of individ- uals and populations based on race/ethnicity and other statuses.” The NIMHD is funding research that studies these complexities and acknowl- edges that “achieving health equity for all in the U.S. will require dismantling this country’s histor- ical legacy of structural racism.” Brooke E.E. Montgomery, PhD, MPH, George Pro, PhD, and Nick Zaller, PhD, received an NIMHD Research Project Grant (R01) to study the relationship between the racial income gap and racial disparities in chronic diseases in a sam- ple of low-income Black men recruited from cen- tral Arkansas. “This form of structural racism and discrimina- tion is of particular interest as it has multilevel implications that strengthen risk factors and weaken protective factors to the health of Black men,” said Montgomery. “Temporarily reducing the gap through the provision of income supple- mentation is an innovative strategy to address this historic source of oppression and promote the health of Black men,” she added. “There’s a lot of discussion about crime, violent Baptist Health Pulmonology Clinic is located at 625 United Drive, Suite 360, just behind Baptist Health Medical Center-Conway. FEMA Funeral Assistance Remains Available for COVID-19-Related Deaths The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on everyone, especially those who suffered loss due to the virus. Nothing can replace loved ones, but the Federal Emergency Management Agency may be able to help ease the financial burden that comes with that loss. Those who had COVID-19-related funeral expenses can apply for FEMA Funeral Assistance by calling (844) 684-6333. Phone lines are open 8 a.m.-8 p.m. CDT, Monday through Friday, with multilingual services available. Applicants requir- ing relay services, such as a videophone, Innocap- tion, or CapTel, must provide FEMA a specific number assigned to that service. It is important that FEMA is able to contact applicants. There is currently no deadline to apply for aid. The criteria to qualify for assistance includes: • The person died of COVID-19. • The death occurred in the U.S. • The applicant paid for funeral, burial, or cre- mation costs after Jan. 20, 2020. • The applicant is a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, lawful permanent resident, or qualified refu- gee. The deceased does not need to meet these qualifications. When applicants call for assistance, they need to provide the following information: • Social security number. • Date of birth. • Current mailing address and phone number. Raga Deepak Reddy (Deepak) Palagiri, MD Ronak Soni, MD