UAMS lands $40M to tackle maternal and infant mortality
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The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock will receive $40 million in federal funding aimed largely at improving maternal and infant health outcomes, the school announced Monday.
The big picture: Arkansas' maternal mortality rate was the fourth-highest in the U.S. during 2018-2022, and its infant mortality rate was the second-highest in 2023, according to the CDC.
- Public health leaders have struggled to reverse this trend for years.
State of play: The money comes from federal appropriations legislation passed by Congress and signed into law by President Trump on Feb. 3.
- U.S. Sen. John Boozman of Rogers and Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) championed the part of the act aimed at research, education and intervention of preterm birth and infant mortality.
- Part of the money will be used to renovate a natural birthing center, expand a statewide call center that checks in on postpartum mothers and coordinates care, and upgrade the UAMS Milk Bank.
Flashback: Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders introduced the Healthy Moms Healthy Babies Act to help drive better outcomes in February 2025.
Context: Arkansas will receive about $446.6 million through the legislative package, per the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
- Four members of the state's congressional delegation sought project funding, but Sen. Tom Cotton and Rep. French Hill declined to participate and opposed federal earmarks for local and state issues.
What they're saying: "This funding is critical to advancing UAMS' mission to improve the health and well-being of Arkansans," Boozman said, calling the investments lifesaving.
What we're watching: Any movement in positive outcomes for mothers and babies in Arkansas will be notable.
- UAMS said architecture and engineering on the structures will begin this summer, with construction likely to start in the summer of 2027.