HJAR Jul/Aug 2023

34 JUL / AUG 2023  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS   Healthcare Briefs UAMS Researchers Forming Alliance to HelpWomenWho Have Been Incarcerated A research team at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) recently received an award from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to help launch an alli- ance of Arkansas organizations that provide ser- vices to women who have been incarcerated. According to research, justice-involved women commonly suffer from chronic physical and men- tal health conditions that are exacerbated by incarceration and often go unaddressed after they are released. Yet, there is little research on best practices to meet their needs, even though the number of incarcerated women in the U.S. has grown by more than 700% in the past sev- eral decades. The two-year, $250,000 funding award through the Eugene Washington PCORI Engagement Award program was given to Melissa Zielinski, PhD, director of UAMS’ Health and the Legal Sys- tem (HEALS) Lab, who, along with a team that includes Katy Allison, PhD, of UAMS and April Bachrodt, PhD, of Magdalene Serenity House, will use the funds to build the Women’s Justice- Health Alliance (WJHA). Members of the WJHA will build capacity to do research on justice-involved women’s health together and will develop research priorities that will drive applications for research funding in the future. The team’s efforts will be overseen by a community advisory board of eight women who have been incarcerated. Women released from prisons and jails face many barriers when trying to access quality healthcare, according to Zielinski, including cost and lack of insurance and transportation to an unfamiliarity with the resources available to them. Finding services in more rural areas is also a chal- lenge. But, Zielinski says, the question is “Where to start?” Potential partners in the alliance will include academic and professional organizations, advo- cacy groups, community nonprofits, health-ser- vice providers, religious ministries, and state agencies. Zielinski and her team already have one partner in the alliance, Magdalene Serenity House, a residential recovery program in Fayette- ville, which is co-leading the project. The team plans to focus on recruiting many more partners to the alliance by the end of July. “Then we’ll get together and talk about what we want to do,” Zielinski said. Arkansas Urology Unveils Imaging Center Arkansas Urology has announced the open- ing of the Arkansas Urology Diagnostic & Treat- ment Center at its Little Rock clinic. Equipped with a positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) scanner and an advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner, the center will allow Arkansas Urology to provide more efficient care to its patients. The new Diagnostic & Treatment Center, located at 1300 Centerview Drive in Little Rock, features state-of-the-art technology, including a 3 Tesla MRI scanner, which delivers substantially more resolution than the more common 1.5 Tesla scanners. “I’m excited for the improvements in patient care that this represents and proud to work for an organization that continually invests in bringing world-class care to Arkansans,” said Kevin Clay- brook, MD, the president of Arkansas Urology. Arkansas Urology invested $6 million in the cen- ter’s new technology and the 4,400-square-foot facility. UAMS Cancer Researcher Hong- yu Li, PhD, Awarded $3.19Million NCI Grant for Drug Development Hong-yu Li, PhD, a researcher with the Win- throp P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute at the Uni- versity of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), recently received a five-year, $3.19 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to work toward advancing therapeutic treatments for cer- tain types of cancer. Li is the Helen Adams and Arkansas Research Alliance Endowed Chair in Drug Discovery and a professor in the UAMS College of Pharmacy Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. He leads the Cancer Therapeutics Research Program at the Cancer Institute. Li’s research focuses on treatment involving can- cer of the brain, breast, stomach and intestines, head and neck, and skin as well as leukemia, lym- phoma, and myeloma. In his research, he designs and synthesizes small molecules through a vari- ety of novel approaches to develop new agents for cancer treatments. The R01 grant supports the study, “Drug Devel- opment of Skp2 PROTACs in Cancer,” with Li as principal investigator. Li’s work targets Skp2 SCF complex E3 ligase, which is a highly validated drug target for cancer. E3 ligases are dedicated to controlling cell development, and targeting them helps provide more strategies for cancer treatment. “Skp2 E3 ligase has a broad implication in cancer, especially for advanced human meta- static cancer,” Li said. “With this new funding, we will be able to advance therapeutics to treat advanced cancer.” Five Urgent Care Centers Transition to Baptist Health Urgent Care Five Sherwood Urgent Care Centers are now a part of Baptist Health Urgent Care. The urgent care centers in Maumelle, Russellville, Hot Springs, and the two centers in Conway made the transition on May 1. • Conway (South): 222 Dave Ward Drive, across from Acxiom. • Conway (North): 1065 Skyline Drive, next to Starbucks. • Maumelle: 123 Audubon Drive, Suite 600, beside U.S. Bank. • Russellville: 106 Weir Road, Suite 4, in front of Walmart. • Hot Springs: 201 Airport Road, next to Big Lots. The centers are open seven days a week; Mon- day through Friday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m.; Saturday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.; and Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. Most insur- ance plans, including TRICARE and VA, Medicare and Medicaid, as well as cash and credit cards are accepted. ARKids requires a physician referral in advance of the visit. UAMS Receives $5.5 Million Supplemental Award for Programs in Rural, Underserved Communities The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) has received a $5.5 million supplemental award from the U.S. Department of Health and