Since 1993 M*A*S*H (Medical Applications of Science for Health) has been an integral part of Farm Bureau’s efforts to promote quality health care for our rural members. With the continued commitment of our county Farm Bureaus, we remain the largest collective contributor to this program.
In 2023, in an effort to continue our longstanding commitment to invest in the future of Arkansas’ health care providers, Arkansas Farm Bureau pledged a gift of $500,000 over five years to create the Farm Bureau Fund for Excellence through the UAMS Foundation, which will support health career recruitment efforts. For more than 30 years ArFB has supported healthcare education programs, specifically M*A*S*H. The Fund for Excellence will further our support to inspire youth to become Arkansas’ next generation of healthcare providers.
LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas high school students can get hands-on health care experiences such as suturing workshops, field trips, CPR training and heart dissection at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) MASH camps across the state this summer.
Medical Applications of Science for Health (MASH) camps are a free, two-week program for rising high school juniors and seniors where they can explore team-building exercises, visit health care settings, learn at various workshops, and even shadow health care professionals. Mini-MASH camps are another option with camps that last only one week.
Applicants must be entering the 11th or 12th grade and must have completed a biology class. They will be selected based on recommendation letters; academic, athletic or other achievements and awards; extracurricular activities; leadership and service in school and the community; and a personal essay describing the student’s desire to attend the camp and pursue a career in health care.
A second summer option is Community Health Applied in Medical Public Service (CHAMPS) camps, which are like MASH camps but generally last three to five days and are geared toward students entering ninth or 10th grade.
Camps have been scheduled throughout June and July for Arkadelphia, Berryville, Blytheville, Clinton, Conway, Crossett, DeWitt, Dumas, El Dorado, Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Harrison, Jonesboro, Lake Village, Malvern, Mena, Pine Bluff, Rogers, Texarkana, and West Memphis.
Additional camps are planned for Cabot, Forrest City, Helena-West Helena, Hot Springs, Paragould and Warren, but dates are not yet confirmed.
Application deadlines vary by camp, ranging from March 18 to May 8. A complete list of camps, their dates and application deadlines are available at bit.ly/3EITDy6.
The MASH program is made possible thanks to a long-term partnership with Arkansas Farm Bureau. In 2023, the organization pledged a five-year, $500,000 gift to create the Farm Bureau Fund for Excellence, which supports health career recruitment programs for Arkansas students.
More than 400 students attended 23 MASH and CHAMPS camps last summer.
The MASH concept was launched in 1988 at UAMS South Central Regional Campus in Pine Bluff. The program has grown into a statewide collaboration of local, state and federal organizations, including area hospitals, which play an important part in the students’ experience. UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and eight institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community Health Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,553 students and 1,015 medical residents and fellows. It is the state’s largest public employer with about 12,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or www.uamshealth.com.