BioVentures LLC will receive up to $2.4 million over the next four years to test prevention strategies for reducing high rates of maternal and infant deaths in the Arkansas Delta.  

The grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will fund a combination of education, training, outreach and preventive health services focusing on Helena-West Helena, Lake Village and Pine Bluff. The initial $599,887 grant is for one year and must be renewed each year. 

The grant is a collaborative mission between BioVentures LLC, the Institute for Digital Health & Innovation (IDHI), and the Division for Academic Pathways and Workforce Partnerships (DAPWP) at UAMS.

“This is a big team effort, and the HHS grant will help us address one of the most significant, preventable health issues in our state,” said Stefanie Kennon-McGill, Ph.D., the grant’s principal investigator and project director, as well as senior program manager for BioVentures, which is the project’s operations manager.  

Kennon-McGill noted that while BioVentures is better known to the UAMS campus for its mission to help UAMS researchers protect and transfer their discoveries to the public, its reach has expanded in recent years to find other innovative ways to improve the health of Arkansans. (The ACTIVE program is another key example). 

“The mission at BioVentures has always included a commitment to growing the Arkansas economy, especially in the field of healthcare and health technology,” said Eric Peterson, Ph.D., BioVentures interim president. “We are proud to contribute to the economic development of the state, as well as the advancement of health for all Arkansans, through these new programs that reach beyond the walls of UAMS and to impact individuals where they live in communities across the state.” 

As of March 2024, Arkansas had the highest maternal mortality rate in the United States, at 8.6 deaths per 100,000 live births, compared to the national average of 5.4. Arkansas also has the third highest infant mortality rate in the United States, with 7.67 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, based on 2022 data.  

“Our goal with this grant is to test innovative, sustainable strategies to prevent maternal and infant deaths in the Delta region, where Black women are 1.8 times more likely to have pregnancy-related deaths than white, non-Hispanic women,” Kennon-McGill said.  

Called the Delta Maternal Outreach and Transformational Health Education Resource (Delta MOTHER) project, it will establish and track community-level health initiatives. The primary activities supported by the grant will include:  
 

• Holding health screenings and conducting educational outreach at existing community events in Helena-West Helena, Lake Village and Pine Bluff. 

• Providing four interactive educational presentations for local health care providers each year covering evidence-based, best practices in maternal and infant care. 

• Engaging five students per year at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) who will identify community needs and work with the BioVentures team to develop their ideas for sustainable solutions and gain entrepreneurial skills and training. 

The Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and its High-Risk Pregnancy Program will offer the Delta MOTHER project clinical expertise, partnership connectivity and fiscal management. Its contributions also include access to its three grant-funded satellite digital health resource centers at Lake Village, Helena-West Helena and Pine Bluff. The institute’s mission includes seeking to eliminate health care disparities in Arkansas and beyond through digital health and health care innovations. 

The Division for Academic Pathways and Workforce Partnerships will engage HBCU students through its Serving Underrepresented Populations through Engagement and Research (SUPER) Program. The SUPER Program provides opportunities for undergraduates to conduct community-based research, focusing on health disparities that affect medically underserved populations. It is a component of the HBCU Med Track Program.  

Other key partners on the grant are the Jefferson Regional Medical Center School of Nursing in Pine Bluff, the Arkansas Rural Health Partnership in Lake Village, and UAMS East Regional Campus in Helena-West Helena.