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!

Back to School Essentials
UAMS and Arkansas Children’s recently collaborated with the Arkansas Department of Health and the Arkansas Department of Education on two essential back-to-school guides for schools and families – the COVID-19 safety-focused Arkansas Ready to Learn Healthy School Guide and the behavioral health-focused Helping Students Cope Guide. Many UAMS and Arkansas Children’s team members were a part of this initiative (as listed in this PDF), including faculty from the College of Medicine departments of Pediatrics, Family and Preventive Medicine and Psychiatry.

Dr. Jose Romero, Dr. Cam Patterson and Marcy Doderer, FACHE, served with Commissioner of Education Johnny Key on the Governance Committee. Dr. Stephanie Gardner and Dr. Rick Barr served as Working Group Co-Chairs. Dr. Marisha DiCarlo, Dr. Angela Scott and Dr. Barr chaired key subcommittees. Other committee members making important contributions were Dr. Nikki Edge, Dr. Arlo Kahn, Tyra Larkin, Dr. Eddie Ochoa, Dr. Mark Williams, Dr. Jill Fussell, Dr. Sufna John, Allison Martin, LMSW, and Dr. Jessica Snowden.

This was an enormous undertaking in service to our state, and we are grateful to you all.

Novel Pain Study
Congratulations to Neurosurgery Residency graduate Dr. Heather Pinckard-Dover, current resident Dr. Angela Palmer and Dr. Erika Petersen, Professor and Residency Program Director, on the publication of their paper focusing on the successful treatment of a teenager with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). The team reviewed neuromodulation as a treatment for CRPS and discussed their novel use of dorsal root ganglion (DRS) stimulation for a teen who experienced debilitating, unexplained pain and swelling of the ankle after a sports injury. The study was published in Neuromodulation: Technology at the Neural Interface.

Cancer Institute Honoree
Congratulations to Dr. Frits van Rhee, Professor of Internal Medicine and Clinical Director of the Myeloma Center, on receiving the Distinguished Honoree Award from the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute Department of Volunteer Services and Auxiliary. Dr. van Rhee is internationally recognized as a leading expert in blood cancers, particularly Castleman disease. During a virtual ceremony, colleagues and guests honored him for helping the Myeloma Center earn a worldwide reputation for innovative research and treatment programs.

Deciphering Data Analytics
Dr. Hoda Hagrass, Assistant Professor of Pathology, has been appointed to a working group of the American Association of Clinical Chemistry (AACC) that will develop a glossary to help AACC members and laboratory support staff understand the technology and applications of data analytics and machine-learning to laboratory medicine. The committee will help overcome the impediment of ambiguous language usage in popular discussions of the data analytics space. Dr. Hagrass serves as Medical Director for the Clinical Chemistry and Immunology Laboratories at UAMS and the Clinical Chemistry and Metabolic Diseases Laboratories at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. Thank you for sharing your expertise at the national level, Dr. Hagrass!

Grateful Patient
A recent patient-survey comment speaks volumes about the exemplary and compassionate care that Dr. Corey Montgomery, Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, provides for his orthopaedic oncology patients. “Dr. Corey Montgomery is the best doctor I have ever been to,” the patient wrote. “His bedside manner, compassion, kindness, and the ability to listen are unmatched. His intelligence is exceptional in so many areas. My wife and I think the world of him and appreciate all he’s done for us. He saved my life. He has become our friend. He has given us hope. We’ve told many people about Dr. Montgomery.”

EM National Honors
A shout-out to two outstanding Department of Emergency Medicine colleagues who have been selected for competitive national education programs in the field of academic emergency medicine. Dr. Meredith Von Dohlen, the department’s inaugural Medical Education fellow, was accepted in the Harvard Macy Institute Program for Post-Graduate Trainees: Future Academic Clinical Educators Course. And Dr. Jason Arthur, Assistant Professor, was selected for the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) Advanced Research Methodology Evaluation and Design (ARMED) course. Congratulations!

Apheresis & Telehealth
Congratulations to Dr. Tina Ipe, Associate Professor of Pathology and Director of Transfusion Medicine, on the publication of a concise review in the Journal of Clinical Apheresis. The manuscript, “Understanding the basic technologies and apheresis medicine practice models,” is part of a position paper for the American Society for Apheresis and highlights the use of telehealth technologies in therapeutic apheresis.

Invited Panelist
Dr. Sarah Blossom, Associate Professor in the Allergy and Immunology Section of the Department of Pediatrics, recently served as an invited virtual discussion panelist for a National Academy of Sciences workshop, “Predicting Human Health Effects from Environmental Exposures: Applying Translatable and Accessible Biomarkers of Effect.” Dr. Blossom’s work in the Arkansas Children’s Research Institute focuses on how environmental exposures, particularly the solvent and common environmental pollutant trichloroethylene (TCE), alter CD4+ T cell function in the immune system. Great work!

Ophthalmology Video Standout
The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) regularly receives hundreds of eye surgery videos to potentially share on the AAO website for educational purposes. Dr. Riley Sanders, a fellow in the Department of Ophthalmology, has become quite a fixture on the site with several of his videos accepted and posted. His most recent “Editors’ Choice” videos (available here and here) are of sophisticated surgeries he performed with Associate Professor Dr. Sami Uwaydat.

Above & Beyond
A patient recently traveled from a far corner of the state for a complex surgery, and the anesthesia team determined a specific procedure would provide ideal post-operative pain relief. However, this case presented challenges due to lack of a dedicated neuro-imaging scan to ensure the safety of this option. Dr. Memoona Mian, a Neuroradiology fellow in the Department of Radiology, and Dr. Rudy Van Hemert, Interim Chief of Neuroradiology, quickly stepped in, evaluated a recent alternate scan from an outside facility, and were able to provide accurate and timely information to the anesthesia team. As Dr. Matthew Spond, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, said when relaying this story, Dr. Mian and Dr. Van Hemert went above and beyond to provide the best possible care for this patient. Bravo!

Alpha Omega Alpha Inductees
With the motto “Worthy to serve the suffering,” Alpha Omega Alpha, the national medical honor society, recognizes exceptional students, faculty, house staff and alumni who embrace professionalism, scholarship, leadership and service. Congratulations to the newest members elected by the Arkansas Chapter of AOA!

COM juniors elected in Spring 2020: Muhammad Abu-Rmaileh, Amanda Catherine Ederle, Morgan Alleabelle Gongola, Jared T. Gowen, Justin Klucher, Brianna Laferney, Brandi M. Mize, Austin G. Morgan, Madison Brooks Morris, Katelyn M. Ragland, Michael B. Richardson, Jennifer Elizabeth Saccente, Connor Wilson, Taylor Winn, Courtney Wright (These students are now seniors. The next election of seniors will occur later this fall.)

Faculty elected in Academic Year 2019-2020: Dr. Nahed O. El-Hassan, Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology; Dr. Franscesca Miquel-Verges, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology; Dr. Emily Smith, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Hospital Medicine

Housestaff elected in Academic Year 2019-2020: Dr. Katie Guess, Pediatrics Residency, 2020 graduate; Dr. Morgan Moore, Medicine-Pediatrics Residency, now on faculty, Division of General Internal Medicine; Dr. John Pagteilan, now PGY5, Surgery Residency; Dr. Anna Nanigian Witt, now Chief Resident, Internal Medicine Residency

Alumni elected in Academic Year 2019-20: Dr. Gregory Bledsoe, M.D. ’99, Arkansas Surgeon General; Dr. Clare Campbell Nesmith, M.D. ’00, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology

Accolades will return the week after next, September 16!

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!

What a Year for Research!

Researchers at UAMS, the Arkansas Children’s Research Institute and the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System collectively accomplished a 43% increase in research funding in Fiscal Year 2020, bringing in $158.1 million in grants through June 30. College of Medicine researchers garnered $97 million of this funding, a 60% increase over last year, and received an all-time high of 272 awards.

When Dr. Shuk-Mei Ho, Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation, reached out to me about the phenomenal accomplishments of COM researchers, she said, “This is not just numbers and dollars; it is a cultural change.” I encourage you to take a moment to read this UAMS news story about the success of our research enterprise in FY 2020 and what may lie ahead.

This is truly good news during a difficult time. (By the way, about $5 million of the FY 2020 grants and contracts at UAMS are COVID-related.) Many thanks to all of you who made this happen!

Distinguished Chairs in Geriatrics

Congratulations to Dr. Gohar Azhar and Dr. Arny Ferrando on becoming the newest recipients of Endowed Chairs in the Department of Geriatrics and Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging. These are well-earned honors for both of these Professors, reflecting their stellar careers and ongoing contributions and service on behalf of older Arkansans

Dr. Azhar, Director of Clinical Research and Co-Director of Cardiovascular Aging Research, assumed the Jackson T. Stephens Distinguished Chair in Geriatrics Clinical Affairs. Nationally recognized for her research, Dr. Azhar also leads the Walker Memory Center and practices geriatrics primary care in the Thomas and Lyon Longevity Clinic. Read more about Dr. Azhar and this Distinguished Chair.

Dr. Ferrando, Co-Director of the Center for Translational Research in Aging and Longevity, assumed the Wes Smith Distinguished Chair in Geriatrics for Longevity, Health Promotion and Frailty Prevention. Dr. Ferrando is a leading expert on skeletal muscle protein metabolism and its relation to muscle function and performance. Read more about Dr. Ferrando and this Distinguished Chair.

Ethics in the COVID Era

Since the pandemic began, Dr. Laura Guidry-Grimes, Assistant Professor in the Department of Medical Humanities and Bioethics, has been at the forefront of national conversations aiming to address ethical concerns related to COVID-19. Her contributions include professional blog posts on Bioethics Forum and Bioethics.net, publications in The Hastings Center Report and Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, and collaborations on national guidelines for ethicists and hospitals. These colossal efforts testify to Dr. Guidry-Grimes’s commitment to protecting vulnerable populations and represent UAMS at the national level. Congratulations and thanks to Dr. Guidry-Grimes!

National Surgical Fellowship

The Council of the American Surgical Association (ASA) has selected Dr. Ronda Henry-Tillman, Professor of Surgery and Chief of Breast Oncology, for a prestigious national fellowship. Dr. Henry-Tillman was named the recipient of the Society of Black Academic Surgeons (SBAS) 2021 ASA Surgical Leaders Fellowship Grant. The fellowship will include week-long programs at two host institutions. Congratulations to Dr. Henry-Tillman on this outstanding and well-earned honor.

National Cardiology Award

Congratulations Dr. Bob Morrow, Professor of Pediatrics and former longtime Chief of Pediatric Cardiology, on being selected to receive the 2020 Founder’s Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Section on Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery. Dr. Morrow will be recognized during the AAP virtual annual meeting in October for his pioneering work in pediatric heart transplantation and other important contributions to the field nationally. Dr. Morrow served as Pediatric Cardiology Division Chief in 1996-2011 and went on to serve as Associate Dean for Children in the College of Medicine and Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs at Arkansas Children’s Hospital.

Palliative Care Study

Dr. Sarah Beth Harrington, Associate Professor and Director of the Division of Palliative Medicine, and the Department of Surgery’s Dr. Kevin Sexton, Associate Professor, and Dr. Ron Robertson, Professor and Chair, are among the co-authors on an important new study regarding the value of palliative care for seriously ill surgical patients. “Impact of Palliative Care Utilization for Surgical Patients Receiving Prolonged Mechanical Ventilation: National Trends (2009-2013)” was published in The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety. The study, discussed in this UAMS news story, found that these patients are discharged from the hospital sooner when they receive palliative care. Great job, team.

Reappointed

Dr. James C. Yuen, Professor and Chief of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, has been invited to serve an additional term as a member of the American Board of Surgery-General Surgery Certifying Exam Consultant Committee in Skin and Soft Tissue. Members of the committee will meet virtually to update the oral examination administered nationally to qualifying candidates for the American Board of Surgery. Dr. Yuen has lent his expertise to this national committee since 2017. Congratulations Dr. Yuen.

Plasma Poster

Dr. Benjamin Rollins, a second-year Pathology and Laboratory Medicine resident, and Dr. Tina Ipe, Associate Professor and Division Director of Transfusion Medicine, will present a poster at the American Society for Apheresis virtual annual meeting in September. Their poster is titled “Therapeutic Plasma Exchange for Neuroinvasive West Nile Virus Infection.” Collaborators included Assistant Professors Dr. Aaron Wyble (Transfusion Medicine) and Dr. Nidhi Kapoor (Neurology). Congratulations to all.

Robotics Opportunity

A shout-out to Dr. W. Conan Mustain, Assistant Professor in Colorectal Surgery, and Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System surgeons Dr. Theresa McCallie and Dr. Kim Jackman, for their initiative to provide a Robotic Surgery Skills Lab for General Surgery residents. Robotic surgery is becoming increasingly important in the field of general surgery, but with the newest, and typically expensive, robotic technology in high demand for surgical use with patients, it can be hard for General Surgery trainees to have the chance to practice new skills with the equipment. Read about this forward-thinking initiative in the UAMS Newsroom.

Poem for a Pandemic

Dr. Priya Mendiratta, Professor of Geriatrics, wrote her first poem ever as the pandemic swelled early this summer. She posted her ode to “Mask Up My Friends” on social media, and it soon caught the attention of the American Geriatric Society. Her poem has just been published in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society, as Geriatrics colleagues from around the country continue to circulate and highlight Dr. Mendiratta’s thought-provoking poem.

Do you know someone – faculty, staff, student, resident or fellow – who deserves accolades? Send me your idea, courtesy of COMInternalCommunications@uams.edu.

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!

DCOC Renewal

Congratulations to Dr. Jeannette Lee, Professor of Biostatistics, and Dr. Jessica Snowden, Associate Professor and Chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, on the $39 million, five-year renewal of the Data Coordinating and Operations Center (DCOC) for the IDeA States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network. Dr. Lee and Dr. Snowden serve as Co-Principal Investigators on the grant from the National Institutes of Health, which was first awarded to UAMS in 2016.

The DCOC facilitates the development, implementation and reporting on multicenter clinical trials that address the health needs of children living in IDeA states, which are disproportionately rural and medically underserved, and where there are more limited opportunities for children to participate in clinical research. Dr. Lee, Dr. Snowden and their team will also collaborate with clinical investigators at the network’s 18 sites to enhance the clinical trials workforce and the environment for conducting clinical trials in these states.
 
The exemplary letters of support the UAMS team received from the network’s clinical sites late last year perhaps foreshadowed this renewal, which speaks volumes about Dr. Lee and Dr. Snowden’s leadership and commitment to excellence. Way to go!

What is an Expert?

Dr. Jamie Watson, Assistant Professor in the Department of Medical Humanities and Bioethics, has a new book coming out that explores what it means to be an “expert” and why segments of society are increasingly skeptical about experts and what they have to say. Published by Bloomsbury, “Expertise: A Philosophical Introduction,” examines implications for concepts relating to expertise in politics, religion, society and more. Congratulations, Dr. Watson.

Re-Invited

Department of Pathology Assistant Professor Dr. Ericka Olgaard and Professor and Interim Chair Dr. Jennifer Laudadio have been invited to repeat their short course “Minding your Ps and Qs: Process and Quality Improvement for Anatomic Pathology Services” at the 2021 United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology (USCAP) meeting. The invitation to repeat the course at next year’s virtual meeting in March stems from positive reviews from course attendees at the live 2020 meeting. They were originally selected to deliver the course through a competitive application process. Congratulations to these outstanding colleagues.

National Appointment

Congratulations to Dr. Robert Griffin, Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology, on his recent election as the standing radiobiologist member on the nominations committee for the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). With more than 10,000 members, ASTRO is the largest professional organization in the field of radiation oncology, and Dr. Griffin will be a great addition to its nominations committee.

Eczema Education

A shout-out to the Department of Dermatology’s Dr. Jay Kincannon and Dr. Vivian Shi for their initiative, in collaboration with Alison Caballero’s team in the Center for Health Literacy, to develop better educational materials for patients with atopic dermatitis (eczema), as well as caregivers and health care providers. The team recently received an education grant from Pfizer for the project, which aims to help patients better manage their eczema.

Study Selected

Fourth-year Anesthesiology resident Dr. Stephanie Kierstead and Dr. Indranil Chakraborty, Professor and Director of the Division of Neuroanesthesiology, will present a poster at the Society for Neuroscience in Anesthesiology and Critical Care (SNACC) virtual annual meeting in September. The SNACC selected their study, “Comparative Evaluation of Incidence of Post-Induction Hypotension Using Propofol Vs Etomidate in Cases of Acute Ischemic Stroke Undergoing Endovascular Thrombectomy Under General Anesthesia at UAMS: A Retrospective Chart Review.” Congratulations to both.

Giving & Gratitude

Finally this week, I would like to share a thank you note from M.D./Ph.D. student Bukola Odeniyi, the inaugural recipient of the Dr. Michael Jennings and Paula Jennings Endowed Scholarship. Dr. Jennings, who served as Chair of Physiology and Biophysics for 25 years, and Mrs. Jennings generously created the scholarship for third-year medical students who are interested in medical or health-related research. Having completed the four-year graduate school portion of her dual-degree program, Bukola has just begun her third year of medical school. As you will see from her note, she is an ideal recipient of this new scholarship!
 
“I am very happy and grateful to be the first recipient of the Dr. Michael Jennings and Paula Jennings Endowed Scholarship. Thank you so much for your generous support as I complete my M.D./Ph.D. education. With this award, you are investing in my goals of making health care more accessible to underserved populations. I plan to accomplish this goal through my clinical practice and research, especially in the area of cardiovascular health.

Once again, I am very thankful to Dr. Jennings and his wife, Mrs. Paula Jennings, for this generous financial support, and also to have had Dr. Jennings as a professor.” — Bukola Odeniyi

Do you know someone – faculty, staff, student, resident, or fellow – who deserves accolades? Send me your idea, courtesy of COMInternalCommunications@uams.edu.

Dedicated to the Underserved
This year’s College of Medicine freshmen have an extraordinary new opportunity, the Honors Program for Rural and Urban Underserved Primary Care Medicine, thanks to the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine’s Dr. Leslie Stone. Dr. Stone is Director of Medical Student Education in the department and Co-Director of the Health Services and Resources Administration (HRSA) grant we received last fall to expand our efforts to train more primary care physicians and other health professionals for Arkansas. The new honors track will provide experiential opportunities and additional studies in issues that are essential to caring for underserved Arkansans. Kudos to Dr. Stone for his tireless work on behalf of the underserved and educating the future physicians who will care for them.

Statewide Leadership
Congratulations to Dr. Jose Romero, Professor of Pediatrics, on his appointment by Governor Asa Hutchinson as Secretary of the Arkansas Department of Health. We have been very fortunate to have Dr. Romero’s nationally recognized expertise in viral diseases available to us at UAMS and Arkansas Children’s Hospital since he joined us as Director of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases in 2008. As Arkansas continues the battle against COVID-19, our entire state is now benefiting from his expertise. Dr. Romero announced several months ago that he planned to step down from his division leadership role this summer. He began serving as Interim Secretary of Health last month, succeeding Dr. Nate Smith as he moved on to a position with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read more in this Governor’s Office new release.

Caring for Arkansans in Tough Times
A shout-out to the Department of Psychiatry for its remarkable work to maintain connections with patients during the pandemic. The Walker Family Clinic in the Psychiatric Research Institute saw more patients in April through June, all via televideo, than in January through March. The Child Study Center at Arkansas Children’s Hospital also cared for more patients in April-June. Meanwhile, AR-Connect is providing urgent statewide care for many patients who are struggling with mental health conditions related to the pandemic or other issues, through its 24-hour call center. Kudos to all.

Banner Day
Dr. Taren Swindle, Assistant Professor in the Research and Evaluation Division of the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, just had a banner day. Her honors on August 6 included completing the 2020 Health Disparities Institute and being named an HDRI Scholar by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities; being invited to serve as a National Institutes of Health Early Career Reviewer this fall; and having a paper highlighted in a national press release. The release from Elsevier, publisher of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, focuses on a study led by Dr. Swindle into the potential for young children to positively influence food habits at home after experiencing a healthy-eating educational intervention in Head Start program. Well done!

NIH Appointment
Dr. Alan Tackett, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, has  been invited to serve as a standing member of the NIH Mechanisms of Cancer Therapeutics-1 (MCT1) Study Section, one of the major review boards for evaluation of cancer research by the Center for Scientific Review. The four-year appointment recognizes Dr. Tackett, who also serves as the Scharlau Family Endowed Chair in Cancer Research at UAMS, as a leader in this field. Congratulations to Dr. Tackett.

Published in JAMA
Congratulations to the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine’s Dr. Hakan Paydak, former faculty member Dr. Krishna Pothineni, and UAMS Cardiology fellow Dr. Swathi Kovelamudi on the publication of their case report in JAMA Internal Medicine. Dr. Pothineni, who recently moved to the University of Pennsylvania, is first author, and Dr. Paydak served as senior author on “Tachycardia in a Patient with Heart Failure, Telemetry Tales.” This stellar team, along with additional residents, fellows and faculty in Internal Medicine, also recently had a paper accepted for publication in Clinical Medicine Insights: Cardiology, and continues to collaborate on innovative cardiology research.

NIH/NMA Honor
Congratulations to third-year Family and Preventive Medicine resident Dr. Alexa Martin, who received a highly competitive and prestigious travel award from the National Institutes of Health and the National Medical Association to attend the NMA’s 2020 Annual Convention and Scientific Assembly. The conference was held virtually and wrapped up last week.

Grateful Patients and Families
Dr. Yasthil Jaganath, Chief Resident in Family and Preventive Medicine, continues to draw raves from patients and colleagues. Last year, I received a wonderful message from a COM team member about his compassionate care. Last week, the Department of Pediatrics’ Dr. Karen Young wrote to let me know about the spontaneous words of praise Dr. Jaganath received from the father of a patient he saw at Arkansas Children’s. In fact, the father described Dr. Jaganath as the best doctor his children have seen in many years of receiving outstanding care at ACH. He said Dr. Jaganath was respectful, thorough and friendly and that he did a great job answering questions. Way to go Dr. Jaganath!

Building Up
On the heels of the massive effort to create the online COVID-19 course for our M3 and M4 medical students, Drs. Karina Clemmons, Karl Boehme, Martin Cannon, James Graham and Riley Lipschitz surveyed students about the course. The team has just published what may be the first reported description and corresponding evaluation of the educational content of such a course in a medical school setting. “Building Up While Shutting Down: An Academic Health System Educational Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic” was published in the journal MedEdPublish. Thanks to these colleagues and the many others who worked so hard on the well-received course, the content of which has since been offered to many other learners and health care professionals.

Above and Beyond
UAMS entrance screeners are heroes in our fight against COVID-19. We know how important they are in keeping everyone on campus safe, and we’ve all benefited from their efforts to get us on our way as quickly as possible. Dr. Manisha Singh, Associate Professor in the Division of Nephrology, arrived on campus yesterday with little time to spare to get to a lecture when she realized she had forgotten her ID badge. Screener Kristie Brown, RN, had the solution. She walked Dr. Singh over to Creative Services to obtain a replacement badge and even offered to pay for it if needed. “While talking to her, I realized she has done this for other physicians too!” said Dr. Singh. “She took away any stress I had over my missing badge, kept the rules and was considerate above and beyond my expectations.”

Safety First, Last, Always
Thanks to the hard work of many UAMS faculty and Arkansas Children’s staff members, Arkansas Children’s Hospital achieved remarkable safety outcomes in FY 2020. President and CEO Marcy Doderer, FACHE, outlined the accomplishments in a message to team members last week. I join with Ms. Doderer in expressing gratitude for the entire team at ACH, with special thanks to the safety-focused leaders in these areas:

Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI): Dr. Katherine Irby, Anna Gaspar

Surgical Site Infections (SSI): Dr. Greg Albert, Michele Honeycutt

Unplanned Extubations (UPE): Dr. Matt Malone, Dr. Amy Huggins, Randy Willis

Central Line-Associated Blood Stream Infection (CLABSI): Dr. Michele Moss, Dr. Parthak Prodhan, Dr. Daniel Ashton, Sabra Curry, Ellen Mallard, Carol Oldridge

Pressure Injury (PI): Dr. Gresham Richter and the ENT Service, Kristan Cooper

Patient Safety Officer: Dr. Chris Edwards

Surgery Safety: Dr. Sid Dassinger

VP Quality and Safety: Dr. Jared Capouya

Director of Quality: Stephanie Evans

Stroke Recognition
A shout-out to the UAMS Stroke Center, which recently earned two national awards and continued recognition for its excellence in treating stroke patients from around the state. The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association awarded UAMS the Get with the Guidelines Target: Stroke Honor Roll and the Gold Plus Quality Achievement award. UAMS has maintained Gold Plus status for the past six years! Congratulations to Stroke Program Director Matthew Mitchell, Medical Director Dr. Sanjeeva Onteddu, Associate Professor of Neurology, and the entire team.

Global Honor
The Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Global Health Educators Collaborative has awarded the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine’s Dr. Bill Ventres the 2020 Gabriel Smilkstein Memorial Award. The award recognizes Dr. Ventres for his “outstanding contributions to the growth and development of family medicine education around the world.” At UAMS, Dr. Ventres is Associate Professor and the Ben Saltzman, M.D., Distinguished Chair in Rural Family Medicine. He has received numerous honors here and internationally for his three decades of clinical work with socially and economically marginalized patients, his work to develop educational and clinical programs in family medicine, and more. Congratulations to Dr. Ventres on this latest honor!

Enhancing Women’s Health
Kudos to the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology’s Dr. Nirvana Manning, Director of the Women and Infants Service Line, and the entire team behind the opening this week of the UAMS Health Women’s Center on Midtown Avenue. The new center consolidates several previous locations and services to improve multidisciplinary care for women. Special thanks to Service Line Nursing Director Penny Ward, Service Line Administrator Paul Stover, and Project Manager Paul Williams.

Making an Impact
Fourth-year medical student Jacob Carter sent me a wonderful email about the dedication and impact of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine’s Dr. Hakan Paydak in his M4 ECG course. “I have yet to meet an instructor or individual so dedicated and passionate about furthering the education of students,” Jacob wrote, emphasizing the extraordinary amount of time Dr. Paydak spends with students. “I truly believe that he made a significant impact on my future career and taught me life lessons outside of medicine that I will carry with me. He reminded us every single day that the most important rule was to be kind to people.” He noted that Dr. Paydak’s patients echoed these thoughts, advising Jacob to “be like Dr. Paydak.”

When I told him about Jacob’s letter, Dr. Paydak beamed, saying he “will be a great internist and hopefully a cardiologist in the future.” As for himself, Dr. Paydak said, “I love what I do, and I do what I love!”

An Orange, A Chicken Breast …
Third-year Obstetrics and Gynecology resident Dr. Meredith McKinney has been selected for the Harrith M. Hasson Award for Best Presentation Promoting Education or Training from the Society of Laparoscopic and Robotic Surgeons (SLS). Dr. McKinney will present her intriguingly titled video demonstration, “Use of an Orange and Chicken Breast in Simulation Training of the ExCITE Model,” at the SLS virtual meeting on September 2. ExCITE (extracorporeal C-incision tissue extraction) is a surgical technique used in minimally invasive gynecologic procedures. Congratulations to Dr. McKinney and her mentor, Dr. Luann Racher!

Giving Matters
Dr. Sara Tariq, Professor of Internal Medicine and Associate Dean for Student Affairs, inspires many through her dedication to teaching and our students, compassionate patient care, service to the community and underserved, and her passion for justice and equality. In her honor, a faculty member and their family, who wish to remain anonymous, have given generously to establish the Sara Tariq, M.D., Endowed Scholarship. With the aim of increasing diversity at UAMS, the scholarship will be granted to students from underrepresented groups. We are incredibly fortunate to have Dr. Tariq and those who share her vision as colleagues. If you would like information about contributing to this endowment or want to learn more about supporting students while honoring a colleague, please contact Jim Smith, Director of Development, at JGSmith@uams.edu or (501) 454-9527.

Spreading Kindness
One standout in our ongoing battle with COVID-19 is how so many are going above and beyond across our mission areas. Another is the sincere appreciativeness of fellow UAMS team members. I receive many notes from colleagues confirming that your hard work does not go unnoticed.

Dr. Katherine Irish-Clardy, Residency Program Director at UAMS West in Fort Smith, recently sent a shout-out to Melissa Vandiver and the Student and Employee Health Services team for their tireless work in COVID screening and the kind, thoughtful assistance they provide for faculty and staff.

I also want to share a note from the Department of Geriatrics’ Dr. Priya Mendiratta about our Pulmonary and Critical Care physicians, who work day and night with COVID-19 patients, including older Arkansans. To them, Dr. Mendiratta wrote:

“I often think of you with such admiration as you have the hardest task at the moment. While all of the staff and all others are heroes in this pandemic, I wanted to so thank Dr. Harmeen Goraya, Dr. Rajani Jagana, Dr. Jose Caceres, Dr. Anand Venkata, Dr. Emily Kocurek, Dr. Larry Johnson and Dr. Nikhil Meena. Thank you for putting yourself selflessly in the way of danger to save others every day. Thank you for your hard work, resilience, humility, kindness and strength in the face of such adversity, and for working day and night to save people in this state. I cannot express my gratitude and admiration in words. Our patients have so appreciated all of you.”

I would like to add my own thanks to all – not only for your hard work, but also for noticing and expressing gratitude for the contributions of others. This is spreading kindness!