HJAR Jul/Aug 2024

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS I  JUL / AUG 2024 55 For weekly eNews updates and to read the journal online, visit HealthcareJournalAR.com in Little Rock and Arkansas Children's Northwest in Springdale. Proceeds from a la Carte, and the ACH Auxiliary's other fundraising efforts, will go toward expanding Arkansas Children's Hospital. Arkansas Children's Northwest hosted a simi- lar a la Carte event on May 2 at Leger in Benton- ville. Ticket information and a list of participating restaurants are available at ACNWalaCarte.com. Baptist HealthMedical Centers Honored for Organ Donation Efforts Several Baptist Health Medical Centers were recently honored for their continued efforts in educating both staff and community members about the importance of organ, eye, and tissue donation. The honors were presented by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) through its DoNation campaign. Baptist Health Medical Center-Little Rock and Baptist Health Medical Center-North Little Rock were both honored with platinum designation, while Baptist Health Medical Center-Conway and Baptist Health-Fort Smith received gold. Baptist Health Medical Center-Drew County was honored with a silver award, while Baptist Health Medical Center-Stuttgart earned a bronze level. CHI St. Vincent, National Park Service Host ‘Hike to Health’ Series CHI St. Vincent, together with Hot Springs National Park, is hosting “Hike to Health,” a new seasonal wellness opportunity for the pub- lic. The free program allows the public to learn more about Hot Springs and its national parks, while exercising and engaging with CHI St. Vin- cent health professionals. The first event held April 27 began at Whittington Park and featured CHI St. Vincent Cardiologist Jason Pelton, MD, who dis- cussed the benefits of regular exercise on heart health. During the Hike to Health series, Hot Springs National Park Rangers will offer a brief interpretive history talk, followed by the opportunity to speak with a local CHI St. Vincent health professional on rotating health topics. A one-to two-mile guided walk-and-talk will follow. The Hike to Health program is a series that seeks to improve the overall health of Hot Springs and Garland County residents by strengthening their connection to community-based practitioners and public lands as a resource for exercise and rec- reation. The series stems from the National Park Service Healthy Parks Healthy People program. An additional Hike to Health event was held this spring, and is followed by two more in the fall. These events are free and open to the public, and registration is not required. To learn more about CHI St. Vincent or Hot Springs National Park, visit chistvincent.com or nps.gov. NIHAwards $2.3 M to Arkansas Children’s Research Institute, Continuing Discoveries of the Arkansas Center for Food Allergy Research The Arkansas Center for Food Allergy Research (ArCOFAR) at Arkansas Children’s Research Insti- tute (ACRI) received a $2.3 million award from the National Institutes of Health. The seven-year award will equip the center to host therapeutic trials, longitudinal studies and research design concepts aimed at improving the lives of children with allergies to foods including peanuts, milk, eggs, wheat, and tree nuts. Earlier this year, research conducted at the cen- ter led to the first FDA-approved biologic treat- ment for children and adults with allergy to pea- nuts and multiple food allergies. Mercy ‘Tops Out’ Expanded ER, ICU in Fort Smith Mercy hospital leaders, co-workers, Sisters of Mercy, and board members were on hand April 10 to watch the final beam go into place for an expanded emergency room and intensive care unit in Fort Smith. The $186 million project includes expanding the emergency department from 29 to 50 rooms and increasing capacity in the intensive care unit from 38 to 64 in a design that provides better work- flow and flexibility. The new ER will allow for about 25,000 more patient visits per year and include special considerations for infectious disease and behavioral health patients. An additional 140 park- ing spaces will accommodate the expansion, with parking closer to the new ER entrance. Mercy broke ground on the project in February 2022 and anticipates its completion in spring 2025. Arkansas Children’s, UAMS Welcome Jennifer S. Guimbellot, MD, as Section Chief of Pediatric Pulmonary, SleepMedicine Jennifer S. Guimbellot, MD, has joined Arkansas Children’s Hospital and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) as section chief of Pediatric Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine. Guimbellot is also an associate professor of pul- monology at UAMS. Guimbellot holds a dual degree in biochemistry and molecular biology fromMississippi State Uni- versity, where she was a distinguished recipient of the Goldwater Scholarship. She holds a medical degree and PhD from the University of Alabama at Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine. There, she was a graduate of the NIH-funded Medical Scientist Training Program. She served a residency in pediatrics at Colum- bia University Medical Center, followed by a fel- lowship in pediatric pulmonology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to join- ing Arkansas Children's, Guimbellot conducted pediatric pulmonology research and clinical prac- tice in numerous roles, with a focus on precision medicine and cystic fibrosis pharmacology. She was one of two inaugural Children’s of Alabama Scholar Awards for success in pediatric research in 2020, and served on the executive committee for the Section on Clinical Pharmacology and Thera- peutics for the American Academy of Pediatrics. Pat and JimMcClelland Pledge $1MLegacy Gift to Arkansas Children's Pat and Jim McClelland of Little Rock have committed a $1 million legacy gift to Arkansas Children's. St. Vincent’s Anthony Fletcher, MD, Named President of the Association of Black Cardiologists CHI St. Vincent announced that Interventional Cardiologist Anthony Fletcher, MD, has been named president of the Association of Black Car- diologists (ABC). The association formally installed Fletcher as president at its spring 2024 member- ship meeting earlier this month in Atlanta. In this role, Fletcher will oversee the organization’s