HJAR May/Jun 2021

60 MAY / JUN 2021  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS Hospital Rounds Gaurav Dhar, MD, Joins UAMS Health as Director of Interventional Cardiology Gaurav Dhar, MD, has joined the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) to estab- lish and grow the Structural Heart Program within the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine. As the director of interventional cardiology, a subspecialty of cardiology, Dhar diagnoses and treats conditions and diseases of the heart and blood vessels using nonsurgical, catheter-based procedures and specialized imaging techniques. “We were very fortunate to recruit Dr. Dhar, a nationally recognized expert in structural heart disease, to initiate our program at UAMS Health,” said John P. Mounsey, MD, director of the Divi- sion of Cardiovascular Medicine within the UAMS College of Medicine’s Department of Internal Medicine. “Under his guidance, we have begun left atrial occlusion procedures to prevent strokes in patients with atrial fibrillation who can’t take anticoagulants. We have also begun to perform aortic and mitral valve operations through cathe- ters inserted into blood vessels,” Mounsey said. “Formerly, these procedures would have required open heart surgery. I am very excited that we can now offer these state-of-the-art surgeries to our patients at UAMS.” Dhar comes to Arkansas from Michigan State University in East Lansing, where he was a profes- sor of medicine and was named Teacher of the Year three times. He was also the medical direc- tor of the Structural Cardiac Interventional Pro- gram for the Sparrow Healthcare System in Lan- sing, as well as the associate program director for the Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship Program at Michigan State. Conway Regional Laboratory Achieves Reaccreditation from College of American Pathologists The Conway Regional Clinical Laboratory has achieved a two-year accreditation from the Accreditation Committee of the College of Amer- ican Pathologists (CAP). The U.S. federal government recognizes the CAP Laboratory Accreditation Program as being equal to or more stringent than the government’s own inspection program. During the CAP accred- itation process, designed to ensure the highest standard of care for all laboratory patients, inspec- tors examine the laboratory’s records and quality control of procedures for the preceding two years. CAP inspectors also examine laboratory staff qual- ifications, equipment, facilities, safety program and record, and overall management. More than 8,000 facilities worldwide are accredited by CAP. The Conway Regional Clinical Laboratory has achieved accreditation for the past 20 years. This year’s process included on-site and remote visits along with a review of procedure manuals. “To be accredited by the CAP means that the clinical laboratory must meet or exceed the peer reviewed guidance standards (several thousand) set forth and applied to laboratories across the country,” said David Pope, MD, medical direc- tor for the Conway Regional Clinical Laboratory. “Clinical labs are one of the most highly regulated segments of our healthcare system, and we are proud to participate with the CAP to provide high- quality clinical laboratory services to our patients and providers.” The lab averages about 2 million clinical tests per year and the urgency and volume of test- ing was heightened in 2020 by the demands for COVID-19 testing. Baptist Health Officially Marks 100 Years of Operation Baptist Health celebrates 100 years of operation since it began serving its first patients in a small wood-frame building in downtown Little Rock. The raising of new flags at hospital campuses within the system marked the occasion a century after Baptist State Hospital, which grew into the Baptist Health system, became a legal entity on Feb. 16, 1921. The event also kicked off a year-long commem- oration that, out of concern for health and safety amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, will ini- tially be conducted virtually through social media and via a special website section. “When the Arkansas Baptist State Conven- tion incorporated Baptist State Hospital in 1921, it made a commitment to provide quality, faith- based care that continues today,” said Troy Wells, president and CEO of Baptist Health. “Through 100 years, we have stayed true to that original mis- sion and remain committed to delivering on that promise into the next 100 years.” Baptist Health plans to host public and employee events to celebrate its 100th anniver- sary at a later date, dependent on the prevalence of COVID-19 as well as federal, state, and local guidance. Jaleesa Jackson, MD, Anesthesiologist Specializing in Cancer Pain, Joins UAMS Health Jaleesa A. Jackson, MD, a chronic pain medi- cine fellowship-trained anesthesiologist, is now seeing patients at the UAMS Health Pain Clinic in the Jackson T. Stephens Spine and Neuroscience Institute at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). An assistant professor in anesthesiology, she specializes in helping cancer patients manage severe pain through the use of fluoroscopic injec- tions, nerve blocks, and medical management. Her other clinical interests include holistic, patient- centered care and treatment for chronic pain from Gaurav Dhar, MD Jaleesa Jackson, MD