HJAR Jan/Feb 2020

58 JAN / FEB 2020  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS Hospital Rounds UAMS Launches Statewide Health System The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is organizing all of its clinical enterprises in Little Rock and around the state under the UAMS Health umbrella. “UAMS is more than a hospital, it is more than a university and it is more than cutting-edge research,” said Chancellor Cam Patterson, MD, MBA. “We are a health system— one that serves all of the state — and this reorganization dem- onstrates our commitment to providing quality healthcare to all Arkansans.” UAMS Health includes the UAMS Medical Center, neighborhood clinics, orthopaedic clin- ics, women’s clinics, the Family Medical Centers at UAMS regional sites, digital health clinics, and the affiliated clinics that UAMS operates in con- junction with other healthcare providers. As a state-supported health sciences univer- sity offering unique specialty care and programs, UAMS serves residents in every county of Arkan- sas. What started with one campus in Little Rock in 1879 has evolved into a multi-campus clinical delivery system that includes eight regional cam- puses strategically placed across the state with plans to add more, Patterson said. “We are increasing our focus on digital health, which is an essential component of our health sys- tem,” he said. “Programs pioneered by our Insti- tute for Digital Health & Innovation are erasing miles, allowing for physician-to-physician consults and for patients to communicate with physicians without leaving home.” “UAMS is looking forward to continuing to push the envelope in providing healthcare throughout the state, both through its current operations and our future endeavors,” Patterson said. UAMS is the parent institution of all compo- nents of UAMS including UAMS Health. UAMS is the health sciences university of the University of Arkansas System. CHI St. Vincent Adopts HeartFlowAnalysis, a Non- Invasive Tool to Help Diagnose and Treat Heart Disease CHI St. Vincent announced that the Heart Insti- tute has become the first healthcare provider in Central Arkansas to adopt w, a first-of-its-kind non-invasive technology to aid physicians in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease (CAD), the most common form of heart disease. In addition to helping cardiologists identify which patients do and do not need invasive treatments, the use of HeartFlow Analysis has also been shown to reduce the cost of care by 26% compared to standard care. “HeartFlow helps us continue to put patients first by limiting potentially invasive procedures that are typically used to determine whether a patient would need yet another invasive pro- cedure to restore blood flow,” said CHI St. Vin- cent Heart Institute President Marcia Atkinson. “We can now determine the right treatment for a patient in a much more convenient, non-inva- sive way.” The HeartFlow Analysis uses patient data and leverages deep learning to create a personalized, digital 3D model of the patient’s coronary arteries. It then uses powerful computer algorithms to sim- ulate blood flow and assess the impact of block- ages on blood flow to the heart. Within hours, the patient’s physician has the information needed to identify the extent of a patient’s arterial block- age and the impact the blockage has on blood flow to the heart. HeartFlow Analysis has been used for more than 30,000 patients with suspected heart disease. “This is game-changing technology that will prove beneficial for both our patients and the overall care we provide them,” said Dr. Clay- ton Borg, a cardiologist with the CHI St. Vincent Heart Institute. “We already practice a collabora- tive approach to care, conferring with expert col- leagues on the most appropriate treatment for each patient. HeartFlow Analysis will now become part of that process as we care for patients with coronary artery disease and limit the need for potentially stressful tests and procedures.” Arkansas Colleges of Health Education Donates Land to Mercy for NewRehabilitation Hospital Plans to build Mercy Rehabilitation Hospital Fort Smith are becoming more of a reality thanks to the recent land donation by the Arkansas Colleges of Health Education (ACHE). In June, Kindred Healthcare, LLC and Mercy announced that they had signed a definitive agreement and created a joint venture to con- struct and operate a 40-bed inpatient rehabilita- tion hospital, called Mercy Rehabilitation Hospital Fort Smith. Kindred will manage day-to-day oper- ations of the facility. ACHE donated the four-acre piece of land to Mercy to build the new 49,000-square-foot reha- bilitation hospital. The facility will be located next to the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (ARCOM) on the ACHE campus. “We are so thankful to ACHE for their gener- ous gift and their support in bringing additional inpatient rehabilitation services to our commu- nity,” said Ryan Gehrig, president of Mercy Hos- pital Fort Smith. “We’ve had a strong relationship with ACHE for many years and we look forward to more opportunities to partner in the future.” Mercy Rehabilitation Hospital Fort Smith will care for adults recovering from conditions like stroke, neurological disease, injury to the brain or spinal cord, and other debilitating illnesses or injuries. The hospital will serve as a teaching site for students in ACHE’s School of Occupational Therapy and School of Physical Therapy, which will open soon. This is just one way that Mercy and ACHE have collaborated to provide the very best care to the community while teaching the next generation of health care providers. “Our partnership with Mercy has been a critical element in fulfilling our mission to improve lives in our community,” said Kyle D. Parker, JD, CEO of ACHE. “Through these cooperative efforts, we are excited to expand health care and provide learn- ing environments for our students.” In 2017, Mercy and ACHE collaborated to build Mercy Clinic Chaffee Crossing, a 13,500-square- foot primary care clinic on the grounds of ACHE’s Fort Smith campus. The clinic serves as a teach- ing clinic for ARCOM. The groundbreaking for Mercy Rehabilitation Hospital Fort Smith is planned for early 2020. Con- struction is expected to take about 12 months. CHI St. Vincent Appoints CJ Richards as Director of Performance Excellence CHI St. Vincent has appointed CJ Richards as director of performance excellence. Richards’ responsibilities will include training co-workers