The UAMS Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health on May 16 honored the largest graduating class in its history – 60 students in all, with 43 spring semester graduates joining the 17 summer and fall semester graduates of the 2014-15 academic year.

This year also marked a break with COPH tradition necessitated by the larger cohorts of graduates in recent years: The Convocation and Awards Ceremony was moved from Bruce Commons at the College to the Double Tree Hotel in Little Rock, to make more room for family and friends who wished to share the special time with their new graduates.

UAMS Chancellor Dan Rahn, M.D., and COPH Founding Dean Jim Raczynski, Ph.D., reminded the graduates of their importance as public health professionals and their potential impact on the health of Arkansans.

“The educational programs of the College are the most important way we are to realize our mission – by training the public health workforce so that they have the skills they need rather than having to learn them on the job,” Dr. Raczynski said. “You, as the new graduates today, are joining that academically prepared workforce.”

Dr. Rahn exhorted them to them use the skills and knowledge they have gained to impact chronic disease and the inequities in health status and life expectancy prevalent in Arkansas.

“Be actively engaged to improve the quality of life, to raise all boats on the same tide,” Dr. Rahn told them. “The voice and perspective you bring are incredibly important in changing the future.”

Twice honored at the ceremony was M. Joycelyn Elders, M.D., 15^th US Surgeon General and Distinguished Professor of Health Policy and Management at COPH. Dr. Elders received the 2015 Public Health Policy Award and was the 2015 Faculty Inductee into the Delta Omega Honorary Society.

Other Convocation Awardees:

Delta Omega Student Inductees: Syed A. Abid, Stewart L. Clark, Amanda N. Lemp, Tam D. Vuong, Brian R. Mader, Jacob A. Robinson

Dr. Jan S. Richter Health Behavior & Health Education Scholarship: Cody Burnett, Karis Strevig

Edward F. and Carol C. Stewart Scholarship for Academic Excellence in Public Health: Clare Brown and Nakita Lovelady

Fay W. Boozman Textbook Scholarship Award: Nakita Lovelady, Stephanie Williams

Fay W. Boozman Public Health Community Service Award: LaKaija Wood

David Bourne, M.D., MPH Public Health Physician Memorial Scholarship: Elena Magrans, Syed A, Abid, Claire Chessir

Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching: Rosalind Penney

Faculty Award for Excellence in Research: Mohammed Orloff

Sonya T. Askew Student Council Award for Outstanding Public Health Student: Clare Brown

Student Council Award for Outstanding Public Health Faculty Member: D. Keith Williams

The 2014-15 Graduating Class:

Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Public Health Graduates

Syed A. Abid*

Elizabeth N. Emerson*

Angela Jimenez-Leon

Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Environmental and Occupational Health Graduates

Joseph D. Ritchie*

Master of Health Administration Graduates

Stewart L. Clark*

Matthew Hazel

Benjamin M. Jackson

Derek L. Jones

Ashley B. Martin*

Kyle P. McWilliams, Sr.

Aaron M. Pilkington

Paul E. Rebsamen*

Jacob A. Robinson*

Melissa F. Yandell*

Master of Public Health Graduates

Syed A. Abid*

Reid P. Adkins

Jason Arthur*

Alexandria Beebe

Winnie C. Bennett

Ashley N. Broughton-Richison

Clare C. Brown*

Robin M. Brown

Desiree Burroughs-Ray*

Aaron W. Carroll

Cathryn L. Chandler

Jake Coffey

Carla D. Coley*

Felisha D. Crosby

Elena M. Davis*

Abhishek A. Desai

Antedra A. Finger*

Kaitlin Fitzpatrick

Alex M. Handfinger*

Amanda M. Hickman*

Umair Iqbal*

Bianca K. Johnson

Kemmian D. Johnson

Jarred W. Kibbey

Amy Louise M. Lallier*

Amanda N. Lemp*

Bryan R. Mader*

Salima Merchant

Nicole M. Nash*

Samantha L. Norwood

Taylor Quattlebaum*

Courtney Radcliff

Jenna D. Rhodes*

James C. Rineheart

Marie E. Saylors*

Salma Z. Siddiqui

Sha’Roda L. Springfield

Andrea J. Sutton

Kenneth E. Thompson, III

Tam D. Vuong*

Jennifer B. Wessel*

Doctor of Philosophy Graduates

Marisha B. DiCarlo

Teresa J. Hudson

Doctor of Public Health Graduates

Becky A. Adams

Beverly M. Foti*

Jimmy Parks

Nathaniel Willis, II

*Honor graduate

The cover story of the May 2015 issue of the Journal of Environmental Health was a report, “UVA and cutaneous melanoma incidences: spatial patterns and communities at risk,” by two members of the faculty of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the UAMS Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health (COPH).

In the article, Associate Professor Ilias Kavouras, Ph.D., Instructor Marie-Cecile Chalbot, MS, Ph.D., and Tina Gomez, MPH, 2013 COPH graduate, summarized the findings of their research that explored the associations of U.S. states’ incidence rates for melanoma of the skin with specific ultraviolet exposure metrics. They found an increase in incidence of cutaneous melanoma in the past decade, but a lower ratio of mortality to incidence, which may be due to earlier detection and improved treatment. The states with the highest melanoma rates were in the Northeast. The authors speculated that this may be due, in those states, to the widespread use of tanning salons or to residents taking vacations outside of the state.

Most of the states with the lowest incidence rates were in the Southwest and included Arkansas. This may be attributable to those states’ demographics, which include a high proportion of blacks and Hispanics, among whom melanoma rates are low, and differences in use of protective sunscreen compared to practices in northern states, the authors said.

Students concluding their studies in the Master in Public Health program spring semester presented their final projects in late April. The project requires that a student integrates public health knowledge and demonstrates competency across the core public health disciplines. Here are the names of the students and their presentation titles:

Syed Abid	Health numeracy literacy and its association with chronic disease prevalence in an urban Arkansas neighborhood
Jason Arthur	A comparison of emergency medicine practice patterns in the socialist republic of Vietnam and the United States
Reid Adkins	Friction created by the Arkansas Health Care Decisions Act
Alexandria Beebe	Analyzing hospital outcomes according to insurance status in patient admitted with intracranial hemorrhage
Winnie Bennett	A model proposal to promote staff nurse empowerment
Clare Brown	The use of generic instruments to measure health and well-being in family care givers of children with autism spectrum disorders
Cody Burnett	Cycling the roadways: identifying the major risk factors
Desiree Burroughs-Ray	HIPPY for healthy homes: knowledge base of home-based educators in the HIPPY program
Aaron Carroll	Socioeconomic issues surrounding admission rates for suicidal ideation
Felisha Crosby	Challenges within the hospital setting of adolescents with cystic fibrosis transitioning to adult ambulatory care
Elena Davis	Modeling tuberculosis elimination in Arkansas
Abhishek Desai	Application of technology and social media to promote oral health
Antedra Finger	Integrating Health Literacy into the Sisters United Program
Amanda Hickman	Patient communication: providing the 12th Street Health and Wellness Center volunteers the tools for proper patient interaction
Bianca Johnson	RESPECT: evaluation and analysis of an HIV/AIDS intervention in Arkansas
Kemmian Johnson	Sickle cell disease in Arkansas: who cares?
Amy Lallier	Veterans Patient Choice Act: implementation in the Central Arkansas Veterans Health Care System
Amanda Lemp	Assessment of the efficacy of lymphedema patient materials: health literacy and the patient experience
Salima Merchant	REJOICE: mental health outreach…depression
Taylor Quattlebaum	Hepatitis C testing in Arkansas ADH local health units
Courtney Radcliff	REJOICE: pilot intervention
Chase Rineheart	Public health performance dashboard proposal for the Arkansas Department of Health
Marie Saylors	Statistical computing with SAS and R for clinical trials
Salma Siddiqui	Influence of variables within the ecological framework on self-reported mammography rates at Jefferson County
Nell Smith	Annual school health reports
Madison Spriggs	Evaluation of diabetes mellitus management and the role of health literacy
Andrea Sutton	Data analysis of pilot study: change in risk perception among parents of ATV users
Tam Vuong	Environmental-wide association study: EWES for metabolic syndrome
Jennifer Wessel	An assessment of physical activity programs in assisted living facilities in Arkansas

COPH Public Health Seminar April 28

12-1 pm, COPH 3202

Speaker: Rosalind Penney, Ph.D., COPH Department of Environmental and Occupational Health

Topic: ““Demographic Differences in Patients Diagnosed with Breast, Colorectal, Prostate and Lung Neoplasms in Arkansas Counties with Historically High Percentage of Crop Land”

ADH Grand Rounds April 30

8-9 am, ADH Auditorium

Speakers: Susan Weinstein, DVM, MPH; Dirk Haselow, M.D., Ph.D.

Topic: “An Unwanted Kiss – Chagas Disease in Arkansas”

Arkansas Chronic Disease Forum April 30

The Arkansas Chronic Disease Coordinating Council (ACDCC) will hold its eighth all-day forum – Prevention, Policy and Practice: Advancing Million Hearts in Arkansas – 9 am-4 pm on April 30 at the Benton Events Center in Benton, Ark.

Forum activities include presentations and panel discussions on health policy and community health practice. The morning keynote address by Nathaniel Smith, M.D., MPH, Director of the Arkansas Department of Health, will be followed by a panel discussion on the 2015 state legislative session. The afternoon keynote speaker will be Rea Paneres, MPH, Senior Advisor at the Prevention Institute, followed by a panel discussion about exemplary public health initiatives in Arkansas.

The forum is open to anyone interested or involved in health policy and administration, public health practice, clinical care, and research, including students and the general public. Registration is open. Scholarships are available.

Public Health Seminar – Special Presentation May 5

12-1 pm, COPH 3202

Speaker: Albert Wu, M.D., Professor and Director, Center for Health Services & Outcomes Research, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Topic: “New Year’s Resolution: Do More Patient-Centered Outcomes Research”

All-College Meeting May 12

12-1 pm, COPH 8^th Floor Auditorium

Speaker: COPH Dean Jim Raczynski

Graduate Student Teachers of Central Arkansas 4^th Annual Symposium May 19

9 am-2:30 pm, Rayford Auditorium, UAMS Biomed 2

For students interested in teaching on the undergraduate or graduate level. FREE, but registration is REQUIRED. The schedule of events and online registration can be found at https://gradschool.uams.edu/gstca-symposium/. The registration deadline is May 5, and lunch will be provided for registered attendees. Space is limited so register today!

UAMS to Host Health Disparities Conference May 29

Arkansas health care workers, researchers, community leaders, educators, and students are invited to the Community-Campus Partnership Conference to Address Health Disparities on May 29 at UAMS. The conference will be from 8:45 am to 3:30 pm at the I. Dodd Wilson Education Building. The keynote speaker will be Jasjit S. Ahluwalia, M.D., MPH, who will become dean of the Rutgers University School of Public Health on May 1. Ahluwalia has devoted the past 21 years to improving the health of high-risk populations and is known nationally for his work with underserved and ethnic minorities. Registration is free and will open in April. The conference is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration of the US Department of Health and Human Services. Contact: Keneshia Bryant, Ph.D., RN, FNP-BC, KJBryant@uams.edu.

The Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health (COPH) and the Translational Research Institute (TRI), both at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), on April 9 hosted the “Our Community, Our Health” forum at the COPH. UAMS was one of two sites in Arkansas and 10 sites across the country participating in the event, the first in a series to occur quarterly as national conversations about health engaging researchers and community members.

The forum series is an initiative of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS). The TRI is one of 60 centers across the country participating in the NCATS’ Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) program.

The event included a presentation on findings of a health survey being conducted in Arkansas and live-streamed presentations on type 1 diabetes and high blood pressure, which were identified as the leading health concerns of the survey participants across all sites nationally. Participants have the opportunity to text their questions to presenters. Each forum concludes with a live-streamed presentation on how to talk to a healthcare provider about the topic discussed.

The survey being conducted in Arkansas is part of an NCATS collaborative involving UAMS and six other institutions. The purpose is to determine attitudes in the community about research, community members’ past experiences with research studies, and what would motivate them to take part in a research study. The survey targeted minority and marginalized populations, because these groups typically are not included in research.

The TRI launched the health survey in Arkansas with the help of the Office of Community-based Public Health (OCBPH) and COPH student volunteers. Survey sites include three ZIP code areas in Central Arkansas, as well as areas in northwest Arkansas, where the focus has been on the Hispanic and Marshallese populations. The goal is to provide information that will improve efforts to engage populations typically underrepresented in health research – and which generally experience poorer health than the white populations.

If minority populations are not included in research, “it is harder to address health priorities,” said Kate Stewart, M.D., MPH, COPH Professor of Health Policy and Management and OCBPH Director, who facilitated the local portion of the forum. Dr. Stewart is the Director of Community Engagement for the TRI.

Nationally, only 2 percent of minorities have ever taken part in health research, and dissemination of research findings into medical and public health practice can take as long as 17 years, Dr. Stewart said.

As far, 700 completed surveys have been collected in central Arkansas. Preliminary findings show that the top health concerns of respondents are high blood pressure and diabetes. The survey also found that a high percentage of minority respondents would be willing to take part in research.

“Not a lot of people surveyed have gotten a chance to participate in research, but would be willing even if they were not ,” said COPH student Danielle White, who has served as a volunteer data collector.

Former US Surgeon General M. Joycelyn Elders, M.D., was honored April 7 at a reception at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), at which a portrait of her, commissioned by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, was unveiled.

At the event, it was announced that UAMS is establishing the M. Joycelyn Elders, M.D., endowed Professorship in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention at the UAMS Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health (COPH), with plans to raise the endowment to the level of a chair.

“I love this school,” Dr. Elders said. “It made me who I am and allowed me to climb the ladder of success. I’ve watched it evolve from one building to what it is today, and I’m very proud.”

The portrait by Little Rock artist AJ Smith will hang in a historical display at UAMS along with photographs and artifacts from Elders’ life, many on loan from her.

Dr. Elders, a UAMS Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics and a Distinguished Professor of Health Policy and Management at the COPH, was appointed US Surgeon General by President Bill Clinton and served from 1993 to 1994. She was the first African American, second woman and first Arkansans appointed to the post.

“Quite simply, Dr. Joycelyn Elders is the most distinguished person to have ever been at this institution and will be remembered for all time for her remarkable achievements,” Tom Bruce, M.D., inaugural Dean of the COPH and former Dean of the UAMS College of Medicine, said.

The professorship will be created with gifts totaling $500,000, which will be invested, with income used by the holder of the professorship for research or clinical initiatives.

“Having an endowed chair would be a tremendous asset to both the College of Public Health and to Arkansas,” Jim Raczynski, Ph.D., COPH Dean, said. “It will help UAMS in attracting talented senior leadership and supporting their work in an increasingly competitive environment among schools of public health.”

Former Gov. Mike Beebe, who attended the portrait unveiling, noted that Dr. Elders beat “all the cards that could be stacked against an individual,” having grown up in the rural South during a time of limited opportunity for minorities or women. “She truly epitomizes the American dream.”

Before being appointed Surgeon General, Dr. Elders served as Director of the Arkansas Department of Health from 1987 to 1993, under Gov. Bill Clinton. During her tenure, she nearly doubled childhood immunization rates, expanded the state’s prenatal care program, and increased home-care options for the chronically and terminally ill.

Born in rural Schaal, Ark., in 1933, Dr. Elders was the oldest of eight children in a family of sharecroppers. At age 15, she graduated from high school as valedictorian and attended Philander Smith College on a scholarship and graduated in three years. She then served in the US Army. In 1956, she enrolled in the University of Arkansas School of Medicine (now UAMS College of Medicine) and was the third African American to do so. In 1960, she was the only woman in her graduating class.

Dr. Elders continued breaking ground in 1963 by becoming the Chief Pediatric Resident at the University Hospital in Little Rock. She also completed a research fellowship in pediatrics and earned a master’s degree in biochemistry at the University of Arkansas Medical Center, and then joined the pediatric faculty there. Although always active in clinical practice, she conducted research in pediatric endocrinology, publishing more than 100 scientific papers.

In many ways, Dr. Elders was ahead of her time, advocating for access to health care as a fundamental right. She once said, “I think it is time for us to ask the question ‘Do we feel that every American should have a right to health care?’ In our society, we feel that every criminal has a right to a lawyer. Shouldn’t we feel that every sick person has the right to a doctor?’”

Today, Dr. Elders continues to live a life of service to others, a champion for the poor and disadvantaged, challenging leaders to acknowledge the overwhelming evidence that there are socio-economic benefits derived from a healthy population and healthy communities.

The rise and decline of the office of the U.S. Surgeon General was the topic of a lecture by Associated Press medical writer and author Mike Stobbe, DrPH, on April 8 at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health (UAMS COPH).

His lecture celebrated National Public Health Week and coincided with an event the previous day honoring former U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders, M.D., at which efforts to establish an endowed professorship in her name were announced.

In 2005, Dr. Stobbe was a doctoral student in public health when he got the idea to write a book examining the history and merit of the office of surgeon general. He recounted how, during a class discussion in which the professor asked students to name their public health heroes, no one mentioned the surgeon general. Dr. Stobbe had grown up in the 1980s, a time when U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, M.D., was constantly in the news for his straightforward talk on HIV and other controversial public health issues. He also had clear memories of working as a young reporter just a few years earlier, when Dr. Elders was in the limelight for her unhesitant stance on human sexuality, teen pregnancy, and other issues “that others were too guarded to take on.”

He wondered how, in such a short time, the office of surgeon general had so receded from the public eye and decided to make it the topic of his doctoral dissertation. Based on that work, his book, Surgeon General’s Warning: How Politics Crippled the Nation’s Doctor, was published in 2014.

His lecture highlighted the history of the office of surgeon general from its genesis in the late 19^th century to today. Originating as the overseer of the country’s Marine Hospital Service, the office expanded over the years to director of the Public Health Service and as a national authority on health issues, enjoying relative autonomy from presidential or other political interference.

According to Dr. Stobbe, “the Kennedy and Johnson years were when the office really began to fall apart,” as surgeons general who did not conform to presidential agendas but were more frequently reined in. Since then, the effectiveness of the office has further declined, worsened by the fact that it has no significant resources – not even its own budget or much of a staff.

Today, Dr. Stobbe finds that few people – regular citizen and health official alike – know the name of the current US surgeon general. At his lecture, he made his point when the entire audience was stumped by his question. He contends that the office has been made completely ineffectual by the politicization of health matters and should be abolished because of “lack of political will” to reform it.

For his book, Dr. Stobbe conducted interviews with all living surgeons general and many persons who had known former surgeons general. He concluded that Dr. Joycelyn Elders, along with a handful of others including Koop, David Satcher and Jesse Steinfeld best epitomized what a surgeon general should be – someone who “helps people think about important topics … who doesn’t tell people what to think, but what to think about.”

Dr. Stobbe said he was honored to speak at UAMS, especially when Dr. Elders was honored for her significant contributions to public health.

Dr. Elders, who sat directly in front of Dr. Stobbe during his lecture, commended him for his “factual and well-written” book. She said that she does not want to see the office abolished.

“The country needs a surgeon general, but maybe it needs to be redefined,” she said. “The surgeon general needs to be out there as the educator of the nation.”

Eric Flowers, MS, is the new Director of the Office of Student Affairs (OSA) at the UAMS Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, effective April 1. For the past five months, Mr. Flowers served as the OSA’s interim director, while continuing as OSA’s Public Health Practice Coordinator. In that position since January 2013, he provided direction and support to students, faculty, and site preceptors involved in students’ final projects.

Mr. Flowers has nearly 12 years of experience working in the public health sector. He joined UAMS in 2005 as the program manager for a tobacco cessation program, having previously worked at the Arkansas Minority Health Commission as outreach coordinator. His past professional experience in education includes working in diversity affairs while a student at Southern Arkansas University (SAU) and teaching high school science. He currently serves as adjunct faculty at Pulaski Technical College, where he teaches a seminar on student success, and at University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR), where he teaches graduate courses in student affairs programming and management and student development theory.

In the past two years in OSA, he has helped put in place policies and procedures to improve the administration of the student capstones, built relationships in the community with potential hosts for student practice experiences, advised students, and designed workshops to enable student success as they complete their degree programs, and pursue professional opportunities. In addition, Mr. Flowers is completing a doctorate in educational leadership and administration from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock; he will defend his dissertation this summer. He holds a master’s degree in college student personnel with a concentration in higher education from Arkansas Tech University in Russellville and a bachelor’s degree in biological science from SAU.

The Arkansas Department of Health kicked off National Public Health Week for the state with a press conference on April 7 at the Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library in Little Rock. Nate Smith, M.D., MPH, the ADH Director and State Health Officer; James Raczynski, Ph.D., Dean of the UAMS Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health; and Katrina Betancourt, Chair-Elect of the Arkansas Coalition for Obesity Prevention (ArCOP), spoke at the event, addressing the unique public health roles of the state health department, the state’s only college of public health, and ArCOP.

Annual observance of NPHW the first week each April is led by the American Public Health Association. Now in its 20^th year, NPHW is a time to recognize the contributions of public health and educate the public and policymakers on issues related to the year’s theme, which for 2015 is “Healthiest nation 2030: Let’s make America the healthiest nation in one generation.” Arkansas Department of Health organizes NPHW for the state.

Dr. Smith and Dr. Raczynski both noted the fact that the United States, despite its medical care that is the best and most costly in the world, lags behind many nations in life expectancy and other measures of health. They called for greater investment in disease prevention and for strategies that are community-oriented and innovative.

“The health of a community begins with good community resources,” Dr. Smith said. “This library is a shining example of thinking outside of the box on ways to make a community healthy and support people becoming healthy. The Arkansas Department of Health cannot do it alone.”

Dr. Raczynski noted that for the population to be healthy, strong systems of both medical care and public health prevention are essential.

“It is necessary to have advanced health care, but it is not sufficient,” Dr. Raczynski said. “It requires a balanced approach between health care and prevention of the root causes of disease. Those root causes are grounded in poverty, poor education and lifestyle issues, such as obesity, smoking, physical inactivity, tobacco use, and excess alcohol use. Those are the root causes to prevent if we want good health for all.”

Ms. Betancourt explained that ArCOP is a huge statewide coalition dedicated to reducing obesity in the state through a focus on health environments and healthy homes. Priority areas for ArCOP are access to healthy foods, the built environment, worksite wellness and school health. An initiative of ArCOP, Growing Healthy Communities (GHC), “works across all four ,” Ms. Betancourt said.

The GHC initiative involves elected officials, business leaders, health workers, educators and citizens and supports them in collaborative efforts to make their communities healthier and more livable. An aspect of the GHC initiative is the Mayors Mentoring Mayors program, which engages mayors of Arkansas towns and cities that have made health a priority of their administration.

“They help other mayors make their communities healthy places to live,” Ms. Betancourt said.