HJAR Jan/Feb 2020

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS I  JAN / FEB 2020 63 For weekly eNews updates and to read the journal online, visit HealthcareJournalAR.com Foundation. The expansion in healthcare facilities and ser- vices comes with the creation of 1,000 new health care jobs, including at least 100 providers. Arkansas Children’s Research Institute Joins NIH- funded Research Network Addressing Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Diseases Children with rare inflammatory diseases that prevent them from eating many foods will have the backing of an NIH-funded research network on their side, as Arkansas Children’s Research Insti- tute (ACRI) joins a $7.75 million clinical research project addressing eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases (EGIDs). Dr. Robbie Pesek, an assistant professor of allergy and immunology at the University of Arkan- sas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Medi- cine who practices at Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) and specializes in EGIDs, will serve as the site investigator of the Consortium of Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Disease Researchers (CEGIR), a network of 19 sites with expertise in the disorder. Pesek is also medical director of the Allergy and Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Disorders Clinic at ACH, which has treated nearly 500 children from Arkansas and surrounding states with the disor- ders since opening in 2012. “Because this is a rare disease, research that benefits these patients is challenging to orches- trate, and it’s the only way we can learn more about how to help them,” Pesek said. “Joining a network of this scope truly connects patients to each other and improves their care.” Children will be able to participate in clinical tri- als that haven’t previously been available to them through the consortium. The grant will also focus on training the next generation of clinicians and researchers studying EGIDs. The consortium will collaborate closely with patient advocacy groups, including the American Partnership for Eosino- philic Disorders (APFED), the Campaign Urg- ing Research for Eosinophilic Disease (CURED), and the Eosinophilic Family Coalition (EFC), to address the clinical problems of most importance to patients and their families. Eosinophilic disorders are chronic inflamma- tory disorders. These conditions are thought to be triggered by allergic hypersensitivity to certain foods and an over-accumulation in the gastroin- testinal tract of white blood cells called eosino- phils (part of the body’s immune system). Eosinophilic disorders can cause a variety of gastrointestinal complaints, including reflux-like symptoms, vomiting, difficulty swallowing, tis- sue scarring, fibrosis, the formation of strictures, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and failure to grow in childhood. When inflammation is in the esopha- gus, the condition is known as eosinophilic esoph- agitis. When it is in the stomach, the condition is called eosinophilic gastritis. When it is in the stomach and the esophagus and/or intestines, it is called eosinophilic gastroenteritis. When it is in the colon, it is known as eosinophilic coli- tis. With the previous grant, researchers studied inflammation in the esophagus, stomach, and colon. The new grant will allow the researchers on these three conditions in addition to eosino- philic gastroenteritis. Other participating sites include Cincinnati Chil- dren’s Hospital Medical Center, Children’s Hos- pital Colorado, Rady Children’s Hospital, Lurie Children’s Hospital, Northwestern University, the National Institutes of Health, Tufts Medical Cen- ter, University of North Carolina, Children’s Hos- pital of Philadelphia, Baylor College of Medicine/ Texas Children’s Hospital, Icahn School of Medi- cine at Mount Sinai, Mayo Clinic, University of Cali- fornia, University of Colorado at Denver, University of Illinois, University of Pennsylvania, University of Utah, and Bern University Switzerland. StephenMette Named Senior Vice Chancellor for UAMS Health Stephen A. “Steppe” Mette, MD, has been named senior vice chancellor for UAMS Health and chief executive officer for UAMS Medical Cen- ter at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sci- ences (UAMS). “Dr. Mette has done an outstanding job since joining UAMS in April 2015 as chief clinical offi- cer, and he has taken on additional responsibility, including serving as interim chief executive officer for the Medical Center for the past five months,” said UAMS Chancellor Cam Patterson, MD, MBA. “His clinical expertise, administrative experience and commitment to equitable health care deliv- ery make him well-suited to this role, and we are fortunate to have his leadership. The healthcare landscape is changing rapidly, and it’s imperative we have strong, skilled leaders as we navigate the next several years.” Mette will be responsible for the 514-bed hos- pital, outpatient clinics in central Arkansas, dig- ital health clinics, and clinics at regional cam- puses across the state. He also serves as chair of the board of directors of the Baptist Health- UAMS Accountable Care Alliance. For the past decade, he has worked to create effective health care delivery systems in rural states. He is a pro- fessor of internal medicine in the UAMS College of Medicine. Mette came to UAMS from the Maine Med- ical Center in Portland, where he was chief of the Department of Critical Care for six years and chair of Critical Care Services for nine years. Ear- lier posts at Maine Medical Center included pres- ident of the medical staff, director of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care and medical direc- tor for respiratory care. He also served as an associate professor of med- icine at Tufts University School of Medicine in Bos- ton. He completed an internal medicine residency and clinical and research fellowships in the Car- diovascular-Pulmonary Division at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. He is a graduate of the Cornell University College of Medicine and of Reed College in Portland, Ore- gon. n Stephen A. Mette, MD