HJAR Nov/Dec 2023

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS I  NOV / DEC 2023 65 For weekly eNews updates and to read the journal online, visit HealthcareJournalAR.com Family Distinguished Research Scientist Endowed Chair in honor of Richard F. Jacobs, MD; and Wil- liam J. Steinbach, MD, as the recipient and stew- ard of the Robert H. Fiser Jr., MD, Endowed Chair in Pediatrics. “It is an honor to celebrate the exceptional tal- ents of Dr. Ferruzzi, Dr. Mourani, and Dr. Stein- bach. I see firsthand how their work and dedi- cation advance the Arkansas Children’s mission, ensuring that all children receive the highest level of care and best outcome," said Marcy Doderer, FACHE, president and CEO of Arkan- sas Children’s. Establishing endowed chairs provides Arkan- sas Children’s and UAMS the ability to recruit top leaders in the medical field who can provide the best care for patients. Ferruzi is a professor and chief of the Develop- mental Nutrition Section in the UAMS Depart- ment of Pediatrics. He also serves as director of the Arkansas Children’s Nutrition Center, a part- nership between the U.S. Department of Agri- culture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA- ARS), Arkansas Children’s Research Institute and UAMS. His research focuses on how agriculture, food, and nutrition are connected and how they affect human health. Mourani is president of the Arkansas Children’s Research Institute and senior vice president and chief research officer at Arkansas Children’s. He also serves as a professor in the UAMS Depart- ment of Pediatrics and practices as a critical care physician at Arkansas Children’s. Mourani is the principal investigator and steering commit- tee member for the prestigious National Insti- tute of Child Health and Human Development- supported Collaborative Pediatric Critical Care Research Network. Steinbach is chair of the Department of Pediat- rics and associate dean for child health at UAMS. He is the pediatrician-in-chief at Arkansas Chil- dren’s. For more than 20 years, Steinbach has led an NIH-funded, multidisciplinary clinical and research program supporting immunosuppressed children. He is the founder and director of the International Pediatric Fungal Network, an NIH- funded global consortium of 55 sites dedicated to investigating invasive fungal infections in chil- dren through multi-center studies. Baptist HealthMedical Center- Conway Joins Arkansas Perinatal Quality Collaborative in Mission to Reduce C-Sections Between 2018 and 2019, 23 women in Arkan- sas died from pregnancy-related causes. Accord- ing to the state’s review panel of medical experts, 90% of these deaths were potentially preventable. Now, Baptist Health Medical Center-Conway and 32 other hospitals in Arkansas are working together to prevent maternal deaths through the Arkansas Perinatal Quality Collaborative (ARPQC), a joint collaborative between UAMS and other medical institutions across the state. For the first joint initiative, hospitals will take steps to reduce cesarean deliveries for low-risk pregnancies. “We are proud that Baptist Health Medical Cen- ter-Conway has committed to joining our mission to improve maternal health outcomes in their community,” said William Greenfield, MD, pro- fessor of obstetrics & gynecology at UAMS and medical director of the ARPQC. “We look forward to collaborating with their dedicated providers as we work toward better outcomes for mothers and babies in Arkansas.” The ARPQC will equip health providers at partic- ipating hospitals with education and resources to promote high-quality maternity care. The goal of ARPQC’s first initiative is to reduce primary cesar- ean birth rates, especially in low-risk pregnancies. Arkansas ranks 14th in the nation in cesar- ean deliveries, according to Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. Cesarean deliveries — also referred to as C-sections — can increase a patient’s risk of infections, blood clots, and severe complications in future pregnancies. The ARPQC will disseminate evidence-based maternal safety bundles to participating hospi- tals and will provide tools for implementing clini- cal guidelines. Providers at participating hospitals will engage in collaborative learning opportuni- ties with the ARPQC, and hospitals will designate their own staff to lead quality improvement work at their facilities. The ARPQC will work with hospitals over the next two years to reduce cesarean deliveries and will determine its next initiative based on provider input. As a part of its support to participating hos- pitals, the ARPQC will provide benchmarking data that helps facilities track their progress in meeting quality improvement goals and improving mater- nal outcomes. “Quality improvement through PQCs has greatly improved maternal health outcomes and reduced disparities in other states,” said Jennifer Callaghan-Koru, an associate professor with UAMS and the director of evaluation for the Arkansas Perinatal Quality Collaborative. “A priority of the ARPQC is to measure the impact of quality improvement work through the collaborative and to identify the next opportunities to better care for maternity patients in Arkansas. We’re excited to partner with local birthing hospitals to improve perinatal health outcomes in Arkansas.” Washington Regional Emergency Department Joins NaloxHome Program Washington Regional Medical Center recently joined the Arkansas Center for Health Improve- ment’s (ACHI) NaloxHome program in an effort to fight opioid overdoses and save lives. The pro- gram provides naloxone at no charge for hospital emergency rooms to dispense to patients or care- givers of patients who have experienced or are at risk of an overdose. Naloxone is a medication that can reverse the effects of opiate medications typically used for pain control and synthetic opioids like fentanyl. ACHI reports that drug overdose deaths in Arkan- sas rose 64% from 2019 to 2021 with 637 overdose deaths in 2021. “Naloxone is both a safe and legal medication, and people who have been prescribed an opioid medication or use opioids in a recreational man- ner are advised to have naloxone on hand,” said Sammy Turner, MD, medical director of Washing- ton Regional’s emergency department. “By being part of the NaloxHome program, Washington Regional is able to fulfill our mission of improving the health of the communities we serve by provid- ing this life-saving medication and educating our community about naloxone use.” Naloxone should be given if someone shows signs of an overdose such as shallow breathing, pinpoint pupils, clammy skin, or blue lips or fin- gertips. Call 911 after administering naloxone, and begin CPR if the person’s heart is not beating or they are not breathing. n