University Of Arkansas-Fort Smith receives $15M Congressional Directives grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration

Uafs will build a center for mother and infant healthcare housed in the new center for health innovation aimed to expand healthcare education addressing maternal/infant outcomes and nursing workforce. - the university of Arkansas - fort smith (uafs) will construct the first floor of the center for health innovation, a new health science education and simulation facility located on the uafs campus in fort smith, Arkansas. This $15,000,000 hras community project funding/congressionally directed spending award will fund construction of a 250-seat collaborative auditorium, a high-fidelity simulation suite for maternal, postpartum, and pediatric care, an associate degree in nursing skills lab, and a community collaboration space. This first floor is part of a larger, two floor center for health innovation; a second floor will house additional classroom, office, and program space. Arkansas faces one of the nation's highest maternal mortality rate and significant shortages of healthcare professionals, particularly in nursing. The center for health innovation will expand simulation-based training capacity for uafs health science students and provide continuing education opportunities for practicing healthcare providers, directly addressing these workforce and health outcomes challenges in western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. Additionally, uafs will sustain a “no fear delivery” program for expectant parents to observe exactly the birth, postpartum, and infant care that will take place in hospital facilities utilizing high fidelity simulation.