Hospital Medicine

We are a group of pediatric hospitalists, colleagues, and friends with pretty much just one thing in common – our love for this job. Some of us have always been in Arkansas and some come from other states and countries, but we’ve all made Little Rock our home. We have a variety of interests in addition to hospital medicine, ranging from education to informatics and everything in between. You can find out more about our faculty members here.

Our hospitalists are here 24 hours a day, every day of the year, caring for patients from their first days in the world up through adulthood, whether it’s their first and only hospital visit or one of many stays.

• Our hospitalists cover 3 teaching teams (including residents, interns, medical students, and APRNs) and one direct-care hospitalist-only team
• Our hospitalist-only team can flex from 2 to 4 hospitalists in times of high acuity or census to help preserve an optimal educational census for students and residents on teaching teams
• We play a key role in the Operations Center, managing direct patient admissions, patient placement and hospital throughput
• We discharge ~6,000 patients per year, ranging from acute illness to chronic complex to critical disease

We take great pride in contributing to the education of medical students, residents, and fellows.

• We have the first and only pediatric hospital medicine fellowship in the state! Our 2-year, ACGME-accredited program offers a comprehensive training in hospital medicine including a wide variety of clinical and research experiences
• Our section includes multiple finalists for the Jacobs Teaching Award, nominated by pediatric residents (nominated by pediatric residents) and Department of Pediatrics Educators of the Year
• In 2022, 80% of our hospitalists were specifically named by medical students as outstanding educators
• We now have nine PHM subspecialty board-certified hospitalists, all with a 100% first-time pass rate!
• Twice-monthly continuing medical education sessions focusing on pediatric hospital medicine topics (with CME!)

Scholarship:

• Quality Improvement
  • Local projects include work on safe sleep, crucial care billing, ED/hospital throughput, inpatient influenza vaccines, resident feedback
  • A hospital-wide QI project to improve influenza vaccination rate in children was created and led by a hospitalist for the past 2 years and won the prestigious Diane S. Mackey Quality Award in 2021
  • Participation in national QI projects including VIP Network – BASiC, HIFLO
• Research
  • Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS): We have multiple database studies in publication and in progress
  • Clinical Trials: Hospitalists are co-PIs on two clinical trials in collaboration with our pediatric emergency medicine colleagues and an NIH-funded trial through the IDeA States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network

Recent publications:

• Sanders SC, Taylor MD, Filipek J, Williford D, Nguyen C, Fisher CR, Scheffler SM, Smith ES, Martin P, Latch RL, Snowden J, Wu CL, Cantu RM. Demographic and clinical characteristics of pediatric COVID-19 in Arkansas: March-December 2020. Medicine (Baltimore). 2022 Oct 21;101(42):e31058. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000031058. PMID: 36281145; PMCID: PMC9592139.
• Sanders SC, Balamohan A, Smith ES, Taylor MD, Cantu RM. Fournier’s Gangrene: A Rare Infectious Entity in an Adolescent with Type II Diabetes. Glob Pediatr Health. 2022 Oct 27;9:2333794X221128416. doi: 10.1177/2333794X221128416. PMID: 36329836; PMCID: PMC9623360.
• Abu-Rmaileh M, Smith ES, Edgar-Zarate C. Rapid Facial Swelling in a 15-Year-Old Female. Clinical Pediatrics. 2022;61(8):573-577. doi:10.1177/00099228221091431
• Cox C, Patel K, Cantu R, Akmyradov C, Irby K. Hypokalemia Measurement and Management in Patients With Status Asthmaticus on Continuous Albuterol. Hosp Pediatr. 2022 Feb 1;12(2):198-204. doi: 10.1542/hpeds.2021-006265. PMID: 35018439.

Research doesn’t end with publication – we believe in sharing what we learn, both with colleagues and the community.

• • Listen to 3 of our hospitalists discuss procalcitonin on the PHM From Pittsburgh podcast
  • Our hospitalists are frequent invited guests for educational sessions for Arkansas Children’s and local news outlets

Leadership: Our hospitalists are involved in committees and leadership roles throughout the hospital system

• The Operations Center Medical Director, Acute Care Medical Director, Vice Chair of Education, Peds Residency Associate Program Director, Med-Peds Residency Associate Program Director, Peds Clerkship Associate Director, and ABP MOC Portfolio Physician Manager are all hospitalists!
• We sit on numerous committees including Trauma Council, Admissions Workflow QI, Infection Prevention & Control, Emergency Management, Hospital Flow and Throughput, Medication Safety Council, Inpatient Antibiotic Stewardship, Patient Experience Workgroup, Escalation of Care, Adverse Drug Event, Patient Care Oversight

We are constantly striving to improve the health and lives of our patients through the practice of evidence-based medicine and high-value care, family-centered care.

Are you considering a career in pediatric hospital medicine? We’re recruiting! Contact Dr. Cantu or Meghan Baser! If you’re a potential fellow, check out our fellowship page or follow us on Instagram and Twitter @achphm for more information.

Rebecca Cantu, M.D.
Chief, Pediatric Hospital Medicine Section
Associate Professor of Pediatrics