Arkansas Health

The South Central Telehealth Resource Center has received over $800,000 in federal funding to expand its efforts in telehealth education.

The center, housed at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, but a part of the National Consortium of Telehealth Resource Centers, received $825,000 from the Health Resources and Services Administration as a part of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relieve and Economic Security or CARES Act. 

The City of Little Rock now has almost $2 million in federal grant money to help with the city’s COVID-19 response. Two federal programs contributed to the grant award, which will help fund the city’s Emergency Management Division and the Department of Housing and Neighborhood Programs. 

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump late last month, awarded the city’s Housing and Neighborhood Programs department over $960,000. Almost $880,000 of those funds will go to the city’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program. 

The first extraordinary session of the 92nd General Assembly was rather ordinary in its business, but extraordinary in its setting.

Arkansas lawmakers wrapped up a three-day special session to create a COVID-19 Rainy Day Fund. The funding mechanism will collect money from a variety of surplus and discretionary state accounts and be available to handle special money from the federal government, if necessary.

The number of coronavirus cases in Arkansas has risen to 30 and includes the first person one in the northwest corner of the state. 

The Department of Health announced the eight new cases on its website Wednesday.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Arkansas has risen to 12, Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Saturday. The three new cases are healthcare workers at Jefferson Regional Medical Center and related to the original case discovered in Pine Bluff.

Hutchinson also said during Saturday’s press conference that he has authorized the Arkansas National Guard to be activated to help with logistics, call center support, transportation, EMT support and other needs.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson says three more people in Arkansas are presumed to have tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the total number of presumptive cases in the state to nine.

In a news conference at the Arkansas Department of Health Friday, Hutchinson said one case indicates the first instance of community spread of the virus in the state, in Little Rock.

Arkansas has five new "presumptive" cases of the coronavirus, Gov. Asa Hutchinson confirmed Thursday He also announced schools are being closed in Pulaski, Saline, Jefferson and Grant counties.

While Arkansas still does not have a confirmed case of the coronavirus, Little Rock city officials are preparing for the impact of its eventual spread.

In a news conference at City Hall Tuesday, Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott, Jr. announced the creation of a COVID-19 Task Force, comprised of physicians and representatives of the city’s major hospitals.

Scott said, while Little Rock already has a plan to ensure city services continue in the event of a widespread outbreak, the task force’s recommendations would go beyond city government.

State health officials are advising the general public not to panic about the spread of the coronavirus to Arkansas, but that it will inevitably do so.

At a news conference at the state Capitol Monday, leaders of the Public Health, Welfare and Labor committees of the Arkansas House and Senate gave an update on their efforts to educate citizens and prepare for an eventual case of the disease caused by the virus, called COVID-19.

As the coronavirus spreads in parts of the world and is contained in others, there is growing consensus that things will still get worse before they get better. Economist Mervin Jebaraj predicts that the next several months will see a variety of ripple effects as health professionals, government officials and others seek to contain the deadly virus.

Arkansas will soon have a better understanding of possible lead levels, if any, in the drinking water at schools and childcare facilities around the state. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently gave $420,000 to the Arkansas Department of Education as part of an over $40 million effort to identify lead in drinking water at schools and childcare facilities across the country.

Tim Cain, director of the Arkansas’ Division of Academic Facilities and Transportation, said the tests are only precautionary, but still important.

Families affected by peanut allergies— which are often severe, especially for children— now have the opportunity to receive treatment from a drug recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 

The drug, Palforzia, stems from an 18-year research effort from the Arkansas Children’s Research Institute on the campus of Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock.

Arkansans for whom holiday stress and winter blues turn to more serious symptoms of depression have somewhere to turn as a result of legislation passed in 2017 that created a state-funded suicide prevention call center run by the Arkansas Department of Health.

Tyler West, who works with the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention on both a state and national level, says the strategy is unique.

Babies in Arkansas are more likely to be born prematurely than in most other states, according to a report released Monday by the March of Dimes. It gives Arkansas a grade of F based on measurements of maternal and children's health.

Data from 2018 shows 11.6% of Arkansas babies were born three or more weeks before their due date, an increase of 0.2% over the previous year. The national rate is 10% and only four other states have a higher preterm birth rate.

Faith Sharp, with March of Dimes, said many Arkansas mothers lack access to pre-natal care.

The Arkansas Attorney General's office is hosting summit meetings to discuss the rise in vaping by the state's young people. On Monday, over 100 educators, lawmakers, and health professionals met at Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock, to hear the latest news on vaping.

Paragould School Superintendent Debbie Smith said having current facts from some of the state's leading medical professionals will help when talking to teens and parents.

An Arkansas teenager who began vaping last year is suing a leading e-cigarette maker, accusing the company of deceptive marketing and fraudulently concealing the addictive nature of its products.

The unnamed teenager and his mother filed the lawsuit against Juul Labs, Inc. last week in federal court in Little Rock and are seeking class action status on behalf of all Arkansas residents who bought or used Juul's products. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.

With the 2019- 2020 flu season about to begin, state public health officials are urging Arkansans to get vaccinated. The Arkansas Department of Health briefed reporters Monday on the importance of being vaccinated in time for the flu season's start in October.

Dr. Nate Smith, the department's director, said people getting a vaccination is important despite the difficulty in accurately tracking the number of flu cases in the state.