Ellen Tidwell and Robin Pinkley, Springdale High School Medical Academy instructors,  celebrate the academy's $105,115 grant.

The Blue & You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas awarded Springdale Public Schools a $105,115 grant in support of expanding diverse learning opportunities within the Springdale High School Medical Academy.

The grant will be used to purchase diverse patient and CPR simulators, said Ellen Tidwell, a Medical Academy instructor.

“We got to thinking that to have some simulation mannequins would be a really good way to update our lab,” Tidwell said, adding students will be able to receive hands-on training in the Medical Academy Lab, regardless of what else may be happening in the world.

The training mannequins will be more advanced than the academy’s current patient and CPR simulators, she said, and are similar to what postsecondary students use when training at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

“The mannequins will allow us to create scenarios where they can do interventions or interactions that are truer to life without actually having them be with a human being yet,” Tidwell said.

The training mannequins will also more accurately reflect the diversity within medical care settings, she said.

“We can change age, sex and skin tone with these mannequins,” Tidwell said, adding the students are getting experience that's more realistic to what they'll face in the workforce. “To be able to have that diversity going out into the field is extremely important.”

Many Medical Academy students are also bilingual, which will help them better serve diverse populations, she said.

Patients who don’t speak English must often rely on family members to translate their concerns to medical staff, said Robin Pinkley, Medical Academy instructor. That necessity may be lessened by increasing the number of bilingual healthcare employees.

The Blue & You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas awarded 47 grants in 2023 to public schools, universities and nonprofit groups in Arkansas, totaling $3.38 million, according to an Arkansas BlueCross BlueShield press release.

The grants will directly impact each of the state’s 75 counties, funding projects focused on behavioral health resources, social determinants of health, maternal and pediatric health needs, health equity, whole person health and medical condition innovation.

“These grants will fund dozens of projects touching Arkansans all over the state — from supporting the Arkansas Suicide Prevention Hotline, to providing recreational therapy, to youth aging out of foster care,” said Rebecca Pittillo, Blue & You Foundation executive director. “The 2023 grants will impact Arkansans in a powerful way. The organizations that we have funded are focused on improving the lives of people in our communities.”

Additional funds will be awarded in 2023 through the foundation’s mini grant program, according to the release. Applications are now being accepted for mini grants of up to $2,000 each.

“This is another grant opportunity for schools, colleges, universities, nonprofit groups and municipal organizations to receive much-needed funds to help advance their projects and initiatives,” Pittillo said. “These grants will be awarded to groups looking to fund safety equipment, school health initiatives and efforts to end food insecurity.”

Mini grant applications should be submitted no later than Feb. 15, according to the release. Apply for mini grants online here.

“We are so excited about the training opportunities," Tidwell said of what the grants have to offer. "They're going to impact the health of Springdale for generations.”

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