HJAR Sep/Oct 2022

36 SEP / OCT 2022  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS   Healthcare Briefs in NYITCOM’s Academic Scholars program, which allows students to step away from clinical rota- tions to spend a year teaching and performing research while earning a Master of Academic Medicine degree. Savannah Lewis Joins Magnolia Counseling Clinic Team Savannah Lewis, a licensed professional coun- selor, recently joined Methodist Family Health’s counseling clinic in Magnolia as program coordi- nator. She will provide supervision, consultation, in-service training, and related support services to the staff in the Magnolia clinic and school-based program in El Dorado. She also will provide indi- vidual, family, and group therapy based on the needs of individuals served in these communities. Lewis specializes in technology-assisted coun- seling, is a national certified counselor, and a clin- ical hypnotherapist trained in TF-CBT, DBT, and EMDR. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psy- chology from Henderson State University in Arka- delphia and a Master of Science in mental health and clinical counseling from Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia. Delta Population Health Institute Honors Seven with Delta Impact Awards The Delta Population Health Institute (DPHI) honored seven individuals for their outstanding contributions to population health and health equity at the inaugural Delta Impact Awards cer- emony held in Jonesboro. The DPHI, which serves as the community engagement arm of New York Institute of Tech- nology College of Osteopathic Medicine at Arkansas State University, chose the honorees to recognize their dynamic work toward impact- ing health in the Mississippi Delta region. Corey Wiggins, PhD, federal co-chairman of the Delta Regional Authority, served as the keynote speaker at the ceremony. Cherisse Jones-Branch, PhD, who serves as graduate school dean at Arkansas State Univer- sity, received the DPHI Excellence in Education Award. The DPHI Excellence in Policy Award was given to Craig Wilson, director of health policy at the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement. Loretta Alexander, health policy director at Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (AACF), was the recipient of the DPHI Excellence in Advocacy Award. The DPHI Excellence in Journalism Award was given to Lyndsey Gil- pin, founder of Southerly. The DPHI Excellence in Community Leadership Award, which is pre- sented to champions of well-being for their com- munities, was given to James White of Elaine. Chelsea Presley, co-founder and executive director of the Coahoma County Diaper Bank, received the DPHI Excellence in Community Leadership Award, and the Barbara Ross-Lee, DO, Impact in Community Engagement Award was given to Kristy Carter, who serves as the director of marketing for outreach and com- munity engagement at the University of Central Arkansas. Additionally, the DPHI recognized 16 NYITCOM medical students for their outstanding community engagement. Those students include Sooji Beck, Kaitlyn Child, Colton Crain, Ethan Dominguez, Saif Fiaz, Saminul Haque, Nic Harriel, Baylee King, Erika Levy, Makayla Lund, Tina Mirzakhanian, Ellie Meuller, Holleigh McMasters, Vicki Oladoyin, Andrea Pecina, and Emma Schmidt. NYITCOM at A-State established the DPHI in 2019 to lead efforts to create equitable cul- tures of health through education, research, pol- icy engagement, and community engagement. The DPHI believes that health starts where we grow, live, learn, work, and play. Accordingly, the DPHI is committed to cultivating opportunities for health in our families, neighborhoods, schools, and jobs to achieve greater health equity among all people. Study Targets Antibiotic Resistance in Fresh Vegetables in the U.S. En Huang, PhD, an associate professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences’ Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health Depart- ment of Environmental Health Sciences, has received a three-year, $1 million research grant from the United States Department of Agricul- ture (USDA). Huang and his team will investigate why some bacteria isolated from retail vegetables in the United States are resistant to beta-lactam anti- biotics. The aforementioned class of antibiot- ics — considered the most important classes of antibiotics — are used in the management and Delta Population Health Institute Director of Operations Tiffny Calloway and DPHI Executive Director Brookshield Laurent, DO, present the DPHI Excellence in Community Leadership Award to Chelsea Presley of the Coahoma County (Okla.) Diaper Bank. Corey Wiggins, PhD, federal co-chairman of the Delta Regional Authority, is also pictured.