HJAR Nov/Dec 2020

34 NOV / DEC 2020  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS   Healthcare Briefs Cancer Therapy. Boerma is the center’s director and director of the Division of Radiation Health in the College of Pharmacy Department of Phar- maceutical Sciences. The first of its type in the United States, the cen- ter was established in 2015 under the leadership of Martin Hauer-Jensen, MD, PhD, with a $10.5 million COBRE grant. The center is administered within the College of Pharmacy. “We are grateful for the renewed funding from COBRE at a higher level than even five years ago,” said UAMS College of Pharmacy Dean Cindy Stowe, PharmD. “The center still is one of the very few research centers studying the side effects of cancer therapies like chemo and radia- tion and looking for ways to minimize or eliminate those side effects. This grant is confirmation to us that NIH also sees the value in the work being done by the center.” The center’s primary objectives are to study how and why side effects occur and to develop pre- vention strategies. These objectives are accom- plished by established center investigators but also by supporting junior scientists to estab- lish themselves as independent scientists in this research area. “In preparation for Phase 2, we have recruited four promising new independent investigators,” Boerma said. “To increase the likelihood that project leaders successfully will secure indepen- dent funding, each of them will have mentors and a plan for their development as faculty.” The center will integrate its research efforts into the other research programs on campus, includ- ing the programs of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Translational Research Insti- tute, and other COBRE centers. OB/GYN Joins Conway Regional RenaissanceWomens Center Kala Burgener-Slaton, MD, has joined the team at Conway Regional Health System. Slaton will be practicing alongside Michael Wood, MD, Court- ney Sick, MD, and Megan Moix, APRN, at Renais- sance Women’s Center. Slaton received obstetrics and gynecology resi- dency training at the University of Arkansas Med- ical Sciences, where she also completed medi- cal school. “I am excited to be at Conway Regional and expand the reach of obstetrics and gynecology. As a native of Conway county, I am thankful for the opportunity to meet the needs of the patients and the communities we serve.” In addition to providing care for patients in the Conway community, Slaton will hold an outreach clinic in Morrilton, Arkansas. Conway Regional Renaissance Women’s center is located at 2300 Robinson Ave. Erika Horta, MD, Joins UAMS as Neuro-Immunologist Erika Horta, MD, has joined the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) as a fel- lowship-trained neuro-immunologist and neuro- oncologist specializing in multiple sclerosis and brain and spine tumors. Horta earned a medical degree at the Univer- sity of Sao Paulo in Brazil, where she also served a residency in neurology and completed a clinical fellowship in neuro-immunology. She completed a fellowship in research at the Neuro-immunol- ogy Laboratory at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and a clinical fellowship in neuro-oncol- ogy at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. Horta also served a residency in neurology at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. She also is as an assistant professor in the Department of Neurology in the UAMS College of Medicine. RameyMarshell, MD, Joins Baptist Health Heart Institute/ Arkansas Cardiology-Little Rock Baptist Health Heart Institute/Arkansas Cardi- ology-Little Rock welcomed cardiologist Ramey Marshell, MD. Marshell, an Alma native, received a Doctorate of Medicine from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. He completed residency train- ing through the Tinsley Harrison Internal Medi- cine Residency Program at the University of Ala- bama at Birmingham, where he also completed a fellowship in cardiovascular disease. Marshell reads and performs echocardiography, nuclear perfusion studies, and diagnostic heart catheterizations. He additionally is one of the few level 3 cardiac/coronary computed tomography (CT) readers (the highest level of distinction by the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomog- raphy) and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) readers in the state. Arkansas Health Network Improves Quality and Outcomes for Patients, Saves Medicare $12.9M The Arkansas Health Network (AHN), a physi- cian-led, clinically integrated network (CIN) serv- ing Arkansas patients, providers, and employers through a value-based approach to healthcare, saved Medicare $12.9-million in its latest perfor- mance year. Out of 16 accountable care organiza- tions (ACOs) participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program through CommonSpirit Health, a 21-state nonprofit health system that includes CHI St. Vincent, AHN earned the highest total savings as an individual ACO. “Working with Medicare patients as well as private employers, AHN has repeatedly proved that it is possible to realize healthcare savings by focusing on value, quality, consumer experience Erika Horta, MD Ramey Marshell, MD