News Byte: Brookshield Laurent Featured in The DO

Over the past two years, NYITCOM-Arkansas has enjoyed a number of unique opportunities to make an impact in Arkansas and the greater Mississippi Delta region through its health outreach initiatives.

In a recent profile in The DO, a publication produced by the American Osteopathic Association, Associate Professor and Chair of Clinical Specialties Brookshield Laurent, D.O., discusses the physician shortage in the Mississippi Delta region, policies to address healthcare disparities, and other topics highlighting NYITCOM-Arkansas’s dedication to improving the region’s health outcomes through the work of the Delta Population Health Institute (DPHI).

In 2018, Laurent led the creation of the DPHI, which serves as the community engagement arm of NYITCOM’s Jonesboro campus. The DPHI operates the Delta Care-A-Van program, the college’s mobile medical unit, and oversees the Arkansas First Congressional District Health Policy Fellowship. The fellowship allows NYITCOM-Arkansas students to work with Congressman Rick Crawford’s office to identify an area of research, obtain data, and perform on-site visits to help evaluate the different funding streams provided by federal agencies that grant funding to the Mississippi Delta region. In addition, the DPHI leads the NYITCOM Population Health Certificate program. 

“If we can, from a policy perspective, support economic mobility and stability, social cohesion, educational advancement and encourage communities to think holistically about their health and health care, we can accomplish a lot,” Laurent said. “The challenges are complex, deep, and long-standing due to historic injustices. There is a lot of work to be done in the Delta. At the same time, I recognize the resiliency of the people who were here before NYITCOM-Arkansas, who have done great things and are committed to the health and well-being of their communities.”