HJAR Nov/Dec 2020

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS I  NOV / DEC 2020 63 For weekly eNews updates and to read the journal online, visit HealthcareJournalAR.com attack, congestive heart failure, and other less common conditions. Jason Jones, MD, JoinsWashington Regional Hospitalists Jason Jones, MD, recently joined Washington Regional as a hospitalist, where he evaluates and treats hospitalized patients. Jones earned a medical degree at the Univer- sity of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and com- pleted an internal medicine residency at Vander- bilt University Medical Center. He is a member of the American College of Physicians and the Amer- ican Medical Association. CHI ST. Vincent Infirmary Receives Mission: Lifeline Gold Plus Receiving Achievement Award CHI St. Vincent Infirmary received the Mission: Lifeline ® Gold Plus Receiving Quality Achievement Award for implementing specific quality improve- ment measures outlined by the American Heart Association for the treatment of patients who suf- fer severe heart attacks. Every year, more than 250,000 people expe- rience an ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), the deadliest type of heart attack, caused by a blockage of blood flow to the heart that requires timely treatment. To prevent death, it’s critical to restore blood flow as quickly as possi- ble, either by mechanically opening the blocked vessel or by providing clot-busting medication. “It’s an honor to be recognized by Mission: Life- line for the dedication and commitment to excel- lence exhibited by our CHI St. Vincent Heart Institute doctors and healthcare professionals,” said Marcia Atkinson, president of the CHI St. Vin- cent Heart Institute. “We remain committed to constant improvement in our mission to deliver quality, compassionate care to all those we serve.” The American Heart Association’s Mission: Life- line program’s goal is to reduce system barriers to prompt treatment for heart attacks, beginning with the 9-1-1 call, to EMS transport and continu- ing through hospital treatment and discharge. The initiative provides tools, training and other resources to support heart attack care following protocols from the most recent evidence-based treatment guidelines. CHI St. Vincent Infirmary earned the award by meeting specific criteria and standards of per- formance for quick and appropriate treatment through emergency procedures to re-establish blood flow to blocked arteries in heart attack patients coming into the hospital directly or by transfer from another facility. “We commend CHI St. Vincent Infirmary for this award in recognition for following evidence-based guidelines for timely heart attack treatment,” said Tim Henry, MD, chair of the Mission: Lifeline Acute Coronary Syndrome Subcommittee. “We applaud the significant institutional commitment to their critical role in the system of care for quickly and appropriately treating heart attack patients.” April Bennett, MSN, CHPF, RN, is NewChief Nursing Officer for Baptist Health-Conway Baptist Health-Conway welcomed April Ben- nett, MSN, CHPF, RN, as the hospital’s chief nurs- ing officer. “We are so excited to have April Bennett, RN, join our team as our new chief nursing officer at Baptist Health-Conway,” said Tim Bowen, pres- ident of Baptist Health-Conway. “Her commit- ment to patient care, physicians, and employee engagement, and community involvement is evi- dent in her track record of success and experi- ence. She has a perfect mix of energy, compas- sion and experience that will help us to further advance our mission.” Bennett comes to Baptist Health from Freeman Health System in Joplin, Mo., where she served as the vice president of nursing services for the past seven years. Her work at Freeman included serv- ing as operations section chief for the 460-bed, three-hospital system’s Incident Command struc- ture as part of its COVID-19 pandemic response. Bennett received a Bachelor of Science in Nurs- ing fromMissouri Southern University and Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Mis- souri-Kansas City. Baptist Health Names Wendell Pahls, MD, as Medical Director of Emergency and Transfer Services Baptist Health recently named Wendell Pahls, MD, as the healthcare system’s medical director of emergency and transfer services. In this role, Pahls will focus on improving qual- ity and efficiency in Baptist Health’s emergency medicine services systemwide as well as improv- ing hospital transfer processes to better care for the people of Arkansas. Pahls will continue serving as medical director of the emergency department at Baptist Health- Little Rock and as a physician in the ED. He will Jason Jones, MD April Bennett, MSN, CHPF, RN Wendell Pahls, MD