UAMS
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) was founded in 1879 by eight physicians. Today UAMS is the state’s only academic health center, part of a statewide network of postsecondary education institutions of the University of Arkansas System governed by a 10-member Board of Trustees. The UAMS Medical Center is a 490-bed tertiary care medical center and the flagship hospital of the residency program. The current hospital opened in January of 2009 and includes 22 state-of-the-art operating rooms. The majority of the full-time faculty practice at UAMS and most of the resident activities are centered on this campus. This hospital serves as a state-wide referral center for trauma, transplantation, and complex oncologic and general surgical cases.
Arkansas Children’s Hospital
Children are at the center of everything we do. Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) is the only hospital system in the state solely dedicated to caring for children, which allows our organization to uniquely shape the landscape of pediatric care in Arkansas.
As Champions for Children, Arkansas Children’s Hospital has joined the elite six percent of hospitals in the world that have Magnet Status. Magnet recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) is the most prestigious distinction a healthcare organization can receive for nursing excellence and quality patient outcomes.
Arkansas Children’s is driven by four core values: safety, teamwork, compassion and excellence. These values inform every decision and every action, from the aggressive pursuit of zero hospital infections to treating each family with dignity, kindness and concern. These core values fundamentally guide our work at Arkansas Children’s.
For more than a century, Arkansas Children’s has continuously evolved to meet the unique needs of the children of Arkansas and beyond. Today, Arkansas Children’s is more than just a hospital treating sick kids – our services include two hospitals, a pediatric research institute, a foundation, clinics, education and outreach, all with an unyielding commitment to making children better today and healthier tomorrow.
Arkansas Children’s reaches more children in more ways where they live, learn and play.
Our system includes a 336-bed hospital in Little Rock with the state’s only pediatric Level 1 Trauma Center, burn center, Level 4 neonatal intensive care and pediatric intensive care, and research institute as well as a nationally-recognized transport service. We are nationally ranked by U.S. News World & Report in four specialties (2021-22): Pediatric Cardiology & Heart Surgery, Nephrology, Pediatric Pulmonology, and Pediatric Urology. A sister campus, Arkansas Children’s Northwest in Springdale, brings 233,613 square feet of inpatient beds, emergency care, clinic rooms and diagnostic services to children in that corner of the state.
Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System
John L. McClellan Memorial Veterans Hospital
The Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System (CAVHS), a flagship Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare provider, is one of the largest and busiest VA medical systems in the country. Its two hospitals, located in Little Rock and North Little Rock, anchor a broad spectrum of inpatient and outpatient healthcare services, ranging from disease prevention through primary care, to complex surgical procedures, to extended rehabilitative care. This system serves as a teaching facility for more than 1,500 students and residents enrolled in more than 65 educational programs; its principal affiliate is the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
CAVHS is reaching out to veterans through its community-based outpatient clinics in Mountain Home, El Dorado, Hot Springs, Mena, Pine Bluff, Searcy, Conway, Russellville, its Home Health Care Service Center in Hot Springs, and a VA Drop-In Day Treatment Center for homeless veterans in downtown Little Rock. Throughout its rich 90 year history, CAVHS has been widely recognized for excellence in education, research, and emergency prepardedness, and -first and foremost -for a tradition of quality and caring for Arkansas veterans.
Regional Campuses
Across Arkansas, UAMS Regional Campuses provide access to medical services for rural residents and education for healthcare students and professionals. This combination of service and education improves the health for rural Arkansans while also providing needed experience and training. UAMS Regional Campuses, formerly the Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Program, was started in 1973 through the combined efforts of then Governor Dale Bumpers, the Arkansas State Legislature and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).
Eight Regional Campuses serve as the main educational outreach effort of UAMS, preparing physicians and healthcare professionals to serve in rural areas. The programs offer training for family medicine residents and students in medicine, nursing, pharmacy and some fields of allied health, as well as continuing education for medical professionals. The Regional Campuses also provide information and programs about health careers to ensure an adequate future workforce for the state.