ELDERS’ INSPIRATION FROM EDUCATION
Elders was the eldest of eight children and spent much of her childhood working in cotton fields. This, however, never discouraged nor disrupted her interest in receiving a higher education. After graduating high school, Elders earned a scholarship to attend Philander Smith College in Little Rock. She scrubbed floors to pay her tuition while her siblings picked extra cotton and did chores for neighbors to help raise money for her bus fare. These sacrifices did not go in vain. While in college, Elders attended a lecture featuring Edith Irby Jones, the first African American to attend the University of Arkansas Medical School (now the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences), and who later became a physician. Elders, who never met a doctor until she was 16, saw what was possible and decided she would become a physician just like Jones. And that she did. THE MISSION OF THE COMMISSION
Elders went on to have an extensive medical career that was further extended in 1987 when former Governor Bill Clinton appointed her as director of the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH). In this role, Elders’ vision was simple — create access to adequate and appropriate healthcare services for minority populations in Arkansas.
addressing the health status of African Americans, Hispanics, Asian/Pacific Islanders, and Native Americans compared to that of whites. The report revealed that 60,000 excess deaths occurred each year in minority populations. Eighty percent of these deaths were due to cancer, cardiovascular disease, chemical dependency, diabetes, homicide, suicide, unintentional injuries, and infant mortality. The report shined a spotlight on minority disparities and set wheels in motion for the next 30 years of service to Arkansas’ minority communities. In July 1991, following Dr. Elders’ testimony, the Arkansas legislature passed Act 912, creating the Arkansas Minority Health Commission. Former Senator Bill Lewellen served as the lead sponsor of this bill and was backed by the leadership and support of the ALBC. From there, the mission of AMHC was established – to assure all minority Arkansans equitable access to preventive health care and to seek ways to promote health and prevent diseases and conditions that are prevalent among minority populations. The work begun by Dr. Elders would continue over the next thirty years through the leadership of the agency’s next seven directors who were committed to making the health of all minority Arkansans a priority.
Tommy Sproles, director of primary care and rural health at ADH, shared Elders’ vision and passion for leading the charge to eliminate health disparities in the state. His connections with key members of the Arkansas Legislative Black Caucus (ALBC) greatly contributed to the cause. “At the time, Dr. Elders was my boss,” Sproles said. “We had support from legislatures that were physicians and dentists like Senator Dr. Jerry Jewell and Dr. W. H. Townsend, who wanted to do something to address these disparities. So, we got together and got the ball rolling.” In 1991, Dr. Elders presented the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (DHHS) “1985 Report of the Secretary’s Task Force on Black and Minority Health” to the Arkansas General Assembly. It was the first comprehensive national minority health study AMHC 2021
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