HJAR Jan/Feb 2024

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS I  JAN / FEB 2024 49 For weekly eNews updates and to read the journal online, visit HealthcareJournalAR.com Baptist Health Opens UAMS Milk Bank Depots in Conway, Stuttgart Baptist Health, in support of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Milk Bank, has opened milk depots at two of its medical cen- ters in Conway and Stuttgart. The Conway Baptist Health Milk Depot and the Stuttgart Baptist Health Milk Depot are desig- nated spaces for women to donate milk, which will be sent to the UAMS Milk Bank for screening, pasteurization, and nutritional analysis. After pro- cessing, milk will be sent, according to need, to hospitals throughout Arkansas. Located in the Monroe Building just off UAMS’ main campus in Little Rock, the UAMS Milk Bank, the first facility of its kind in Arkansas, focuses on the health of mothers and newborns in Arkan- sas through encouragement and support of breastfeeding. The new milk bank helps ensure a ready supply of donor milk for sick and vulnera- ble infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) around the state, shortening the time it takes for regional hospitals to receive critical milk supplies and improving outcomes for babies. “We are very excited that UAMS Milk Bank is able to partner with our community hospitals to provide mothers who want to donate their milk with an easy access point to deposit their pumped milk,” said Misty L. Virmani, MD, executive medi- cal director of the UAMS Milk Bank, associate pro- fessor of pediatrics and neonatology, and direc- tor of breastfeeding medicine. “Depots like these will increase community and healthcare provider awareness of the importance of a breastfeeding supportive community to the health of all mem- bers of the community.” Previously, Arkansas hospitals relied on donor milk purchased from milk banks in Texas, Mich- igan, Illinois, and Oklahoma, costing more than $1 million a year. In 2021, the Arkansas Legisla- ture passed Act 225 establishing the creation of the milk bank and a special fund to help support the bank. The Conway Baptist Health Milk Depot is located at 1555 Exchange Ave., and is open Mon- day-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., and can be contacted at (501) 585-2170. The Stuttgart Baptist Health Milk Depot is located at 1703 N. Buerkle St., and is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and can be contacted at (870) 674-6425. For information about how to donate milk to the UAMS Milk Bank, visit uamshealth.com/uams- milk-bank. To contact the Milk Bank, call (501) 686- 5355 or email milkbank@uams.edu . Washington Regional Welcomes OB Hospitalists Ryan D. Gholson, MD, and Charla R. Morgan, DO, recently joined Washington Regional’s OB hospitalist group. OB hospitalists provide care for laboring patients at Washington Regional’s Women and Infants Center until their regular OB/GYN can arrive. They also deliver babies of patients who do not have a regular OB/GYN or if the patient’s regular OB/GYN cannot be present. Gholson earned a medical degree from the Uni- versity of Louisville School of Medicine in Ken- tucky and completed an obstetrics and gynecol- ogy residency at the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa. Gholson has provided OB/GYN services in Arkan- sas and Oklahoma since 2014, most recently with the OBHG hospitalist group. He is board certi- fied in obstetrics and gynecology and is a fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Morgan earned a medical degree at Western University of Health Sciences, College of Osteo- pathic Medicine of the Pacific in California. She completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecol- ogy at Keesler Medical Center, Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi. A retired Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force, she served as flight surgeon with several USAF squadrons, including the Thunderbirds Air Demonstration Squadron. She is board certified in obstetrics and gynecol- ogy and is a fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Baptist HealthMedical Center- North Little Rock Opens Behavioral Health Unit Baptist Health Medical Center-North Little Rock recently opened a new unit that increases access to behavioral healthcare. “This new unit is yet another significant invest- ment by Baptist Health to improve access to behavioral health services,” said Cody Walker, president of Baptist Health Medical Center-North Little Rock. “Within the last year, Baptist Health has opened a new outpatient behavioral health clinic, a memory care clinic, as well as a psychi- atry residency training program all right here in North Little Rock.” The unit was specifically designed to promote optimal mental and physical healing. The unit includes 22 beds, a large group therapy room, individual therapy rooms, and a common area with plenty of natural light. Future plans include offering child and adoles- cent psychiatry services as well as interventional psychiatry options for the immediate improve- ment of individuals suffering from depression. Through innovative services, group therapy, medication, and more, Baptist Health offers inten- sive inpatient psychiatric care for depression, anx- iety, grief, and psychosis for adults 18-65 years of age. For more information, call the Behavioral Ser- vices Call Center at (501) 202-7006. Baptist Health Names New VP of Hospital Operations in North Little Rock Jessica Rivera, MSN, RN, FACHE, has been named the vice president of hospital operations for Baptist Health Medical Center-North Little Rock. Rivera received a Bachelor of Science in nurs- ing and Master of Science in nursing from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, and Lean Six Sigma certification from the University of Michigan. Joining Baptist Health with more than 20 years of operational experience, Rivera was most recently the CEO of Meridian Health in Houston. Prior to her service at Meridian Health, Rivera was chief operating officer/chief nursing officer at Memorial Hermann-Cypress in Cypress, Texas, where she oversaw the opening of the new hos- pital and subsequent expansion. Rivera had been a part of other leading health- care systems such as HCA Healthcare, Honor Health, and Providence Health prior to her time with Memorial Hermann. At Baptist Health, Rivera will lead the North Little Rock hospital’s procedural-based depart- ments, clinical support departments, and ancil- lary services. n