HJAR Jul/Aug 2021

46 JUL / AUG 2021  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS Hospital Rounds Arkansas Cardiology, Baptist Health Heart Institute Open Cardio-Oncology Clinic Arkansas Cardiology and Baptist Health Heart Institute in Little Rock recently opened a cardio- oncology clinic. Under the leadership of Ramey Marshell, MD, and Stephen Greer, MD, FACC, this clinic focuses on preventing and managing cardiovascular com- plications among cancer survivors and patients battling the disease. Marshell and Greer created this clinic to form a collaborative relationship made up of a multidisciplinary team of cardiac and cancer specialists such as oncologists, hematolo- gists, radiation oncologists, surgical oncologists, and oncology pharmacists. As cancer therapy has improved, there has been a dramatic increase in cancer-related sur- vival. However, for some, this has come at the cost of either temporary or long-term adverse cardio- vascular effects. The Arkansas Cardiology Cardio-Oncology team offers a fully comprehensive service ded- icated to the prevention and management of potential cardiomyopathy/heart failure, hyper- tensive disorders, cardiovascular complications, arrhythmias, conduction disorders, valvular dis- orders, myocardial inflammatory conditions, and more. The clinic is located in Medical Towers II, Suite 600, at 9501 Baptist Health Drive. CHI St. Vincent North Opens New Epilepsy Monitoring Unit CHI St. Vincent North in Sherwood, home of the Arkansas Neuroscience Institute (ANI) established a new Epilepsy Monitoring Unit in partnership with Advanced Monitoring Services. The new unit pro- vides epilepsy patients and their physicians a suite of advanced neurodiagnostic resources includ- ing electroencephalograms (EEGs), long-term sei- zure monitoring, and ambulatory monitoring so patients can still benefit from real-time observa- tion by board-certified staff within the unit even while at home. “This unit is an incredible step forward for our community and those from across the state and region who come to ANI for the very best in neu- rological care,” said ANI Director Ali Krisht, MD. “Staff in the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit benefit from direct coordination with our team of neurosur- geons at ANI to ensure the full continuum of care as we work daily to improve treatment outcomes for patients, map the human brain, and tackle the most complex cases.” The new Epilepsy Monitoring Unit will serve patients referred by their neurologists or individ- uals taken to the emergency department because of a fall, head injury, seizure or altered mental state with an unknown cause. Patients can be admit- ted for inpatient monitoring over three-to-seven days where advanced equipment will track their neurological impulses for signs of epilepsy. There is also an outpatient option for those who may not be at risk to a degree that requires inpatient treatment. Outpatients are equipped with spe- cialized devices and video equipment so medi- cal staff can provide real-time monitoring while they are at home. “The key here is real-time monitoring that our teams at CHI St. Vincent North and ANI are able to provide, whether a patient is with us in the hos- pital or at home,” said Shawn Barnett, president of CHI St. Vincent North. “Now even if they go home and suffer a second seizure a week later, our teams will be able to see where the seizure orig- inated and then design a specialized treatment specific to their condition. That not only improves the level and timeliness of care we’re able to pro- vide that patient, but it also gives Dr. Krisht and his team at the Arkansas Neuroscience Institute the detailed insight they need to constantly improve treatments for other Arkansans.” UAMS Launches Sexual Assault Assessment Program in Arkansas Hospitals, Crisis Centers The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences’ (UAMS) Institute for Digital Health & Innovation is launching specialized, 24/7 digital health ser- vices for victims of sexual assault. This unique care platform will be part of the Sexual Assault Assess- ment Program in emergency departments and cri- sis centers across the state. Through real-time video technology, UAMS will partner with emergency departments and crisis centers in rural and underserved communities to provide trauma-informed, patient-centered care to patients who have experienced sexual vio- lence. Local clinicians are virtually connected with experienced Sexual Assault Forensic Examiners (SAFE) or Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE). Together, clinicians provide medical-forensic sex- ual assault examinations at no cost to the patient. “This new digital health program increases accessibility to expert resources and allows us to provide victims with the care and support they need,” said institute director Joseph Sanford, MD. “By expanding our reach, we can help more vic- tims and also provide assistance to law enforce- ment as needed.” UAMS SANE assistant director Sherrie Searcy, RN, BSN, SANE-A, added, “This program ensures patients have access to expert care, regardless of where they live.” Arkansas is one of four demonstration sites in the country to receive federal funding from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime to establish digital health sexual assault services that will improve care, access and quality of sexual assault forensic exams. The other three sites are Alaska, South Dakota and Texas. Various UAMS digital health programs and rural sites have collaborated to implement the Tele- SAFE/TeleSANE program, which will also include activities and outreach opportunities to educate their respective communities on sexual assault. NWA Center for Sexual Assault in Springdale and Drew Memorial Health System in Monticello are the first TeleSANE collaborating locations that, as of today, now offer the extension of digi- tal health services for sexual assault care in their communities. UAMS is prepared to serve an addi- tional 71 locations throughout the state of Arkan- sas to ensure victims of sexual assault have access to expert care and resources. CHI St. Vincent Adopts Full Suite of Pulsara CHI St. Vincent has implemented the full suite of Pulsara communication capabilities for coor- dinated teams to improve responses for every patient type, including ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) heart attacks, stroke, and other trauma care scenarios. Pulsara is a telehealth and communication platform that enables HIPAA compliant, dynamic networked communications between EMS, hospitals, and other healthcare providers for any patient event. Following suc- cessful Arkansas trials at multiple hospitals that HOSP I TAL NEWS AND I NFORMAT ION