Here are this week’s Accolades, a roundup of some of the honors and accomplishments of College of Medicine and UAMS faculty, staff, residents, fellows and students I’ve heard about recently!
12th Street Celebrates 10 Years of Service
The student-run UAMS 12th Street Health and Wellness Center marked 10 years of service to the community in January – a decade that also has provided a phenomenal amount of interprofessional clinical learning experiences for medical students and their peers across UAMS. In 2022 alone, the center saw 800 individual patients and logged over 59,000 student volunteer hours. In January-November, 270 College of Medicine students volunteered at the center. Another accomplishment for the 12th Street team in 2022 was the integration of the EPIC electronic medical record system.
Let’s have a round of applause for the student volunteers and faculty leaders at the center. COM senior Brett Frazier is Executive Director and junior Nadia Safar is Deputy Executive Director on the Student Board of Directors for the 2022-2023 academic year, and many fellow students serve in other board positions. Next year, Nadia will serve as Executive Director and Brittany Tian, currently a sophomore, will serve as Deputy Executive Director. Congratulations to all of the students who were recently elected to serve on the board in 2023-2024.
The 12th Street Faculty Leadership Team includes Medical Director Dr. Elizabeth Gath, Professor of Internal Medicine, and Center Director Dr. Melissa Halverson, Associate Professor in the College of Health Professions, Department of Physician Assistant Studies. Dr. Billy Thomas, Professor of Pediatrics, served as the center’s Founding Medical Director.
Otolaryngology Textbook Published
Dr. Gresham Richter, Professor, Vice Chair and Chief of Pediatric Otolaryngology in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, was a senior editor on the recently published sixth edition of “Bailey’s Head and Neck Surgery – Otolaryngology.” The comprehensive, two-volume work is one of the leading and longest-published textbooks in the field, designed for both practicing otolaryngologists and residents. Dr. Richter served as the senior editor for content relating to pediatric otolaryngology. UAMS Otolaryngology faculty members Dr. Adam Johnson, Dr. Abby Nolder and Dr. André Wineland also contributed to chapters in the book.
National Leadership Fellowship
Congratulations to Dr. Stephen Foster, Assistant Professor of Family and Preventive Medicine at the UAMS Northeast Regional Campus, on being selected for the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) Emerging Leaders Fellowship Program. Dr. Foster has been pegged as an up-and-coming leader since completing his residency as a Co-Chief Resident at UAMS Northeast and joining the faculty in 2021. His fellowship nomination drew enthusiastic support from Program Director Dr. Scott Dickson and Little Rock Family Medicine faculty Dr. David Kelley, Dr. Leslie Stone and Dr. Bill Ventres. They cited Dr. Foster’s work on quality improvement initiatives, implementation of the EPIC electronic medical record system across regional campuses, and team-building efforts for residents and staff in Jonesboro. His recent honors include being selected as a 2023 UAMS Implementation Science Scholar.
Advanced Biotherapies Certification
Dr. Gina Drobena, Associate Professor of Pathology, Division Director of Transfusion Medicine and Medical Director of Apheresis, recently became one of the first across the country to become credentialed as a Certified Advanced Biotherapies Professional (CABP). She is the only person in Arkansas and neighboring Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana to hold the new certification from the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies (AABB). Congratulations, Dr. Drobena.
Journal Highlights Pulmonary Expertise
For the seventh consecutive year, Dr. Manish Joshi, Professor of Internal Medicine in the Pulmonary and Critical Care Division, served as Section Editor for an issue of Current Opinion in Pulmonary Medicine focusing on obstructive, occupational and environmental diseases. Dr. Joshi contributed the introductory editorial for the issue, which also included two review articles by UAMS faculty. Pulmonary Medicine’s Dr. Jose Caceres and Dr. Anand Venkata contributed an article on asbestos-associated pulmonary disease. Dr. Krishna Kakkera, Dr. William Atchley and Dr. Thaddeus Bartter (Pulmonary Medicine) and Dr. Maneetha Kodali (Geriatrics) contributed an article on the interrelationships between ageing and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Team UAMS Answers Call for Emergency Blood Drive
And finally this week, a heartfelt thank you to everyone who turned out for the “pop-up” emergency blood drive at UAMS last Wednesday, even though the ice storm kept many team members away from campus. The drive, conducted by the Arkansas Blood Institute/Our Blood Institute (OBI), was crucial for maintaining life-saving blood supply during a week when inclement weather forced the cancellations of multiple drives and donor appointments. An astounding 76 team members signed up to volunteer after the announcement went out that morning – including 32 new donors. By the end of the four-hour drive, 61 units of blood had been collected.
“Not only did UAMS step up and allow us to hold an emergency pop-up blood drive, but you all exceeded any expectation we had,” said Lindsey Beaver, OBI Director of Donor Recruitment. “We cannot express our gratitude enough for the efforts and success you had, and most importantly for understanding the severity of blood supply and showing up during this emergency.”
I join with Dr. Michelle Krause, Senior Vice Chancellor for UAMS Health and CEO for UAMS Medical Center, in thanking all who donated blood. Special thanks also to Clinical Lab Manager Ann Jacob and Dr. Aaron Wyble, Assistant Professor of Pathology and Medical Director of the UAMS Blood Bank, and everyone who helped to coordinate the drive on short notice.
The need for blood remains critical, and I encourage COM team member to donate if you can. The next blood drive at UAMS is scheduled for next Tuesday and Wednesday, Feb. 14-15. For more information, please see this UAMS announcement.