Local and Regional News

Expanding Maternal Care In Rural Arkansas Gets A $1.5 Million Boost

KASU | By Lexie Burns

Published September 15, 2026 at 2:51 PM CDT

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Dr. Shane Speights and Dr. Brookshield Laurent of NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine at Arkansas State University provide Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Secretary of Health Renee Mallory with a tour of the medical school's "Delta Care-a-Van" mobile health unit during Sanders' Aug. 11 visit to the Jonesboro campus. On Thursday, Sanders awarded NYITCOM at A-State with a $1.5 million grant to be used for a maternal health initiative, and the med school will devote a portion of the grant funds to purchase a second mobile health unit to be used for maternal health care.

The New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCO) at A-State received a $1.5 million grant from the rural health transformation program to increase access to healthcare. Dr. Brookshield Laurent, the associate dean of population and public health and a professor of clinical specialties at NYITCOM, says Arkansas has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the country, with over 92% of the deaths being preventable. The grant they received will help make maternal healthcare more accessible. NYITCOM is also partnering with two Northeast Arkansas Counties, Poinsette and Mississippi counties, to introduce residency programs, a birthing hospital, and telehealth with maternal fetal medicine physicians.