HJAR Mar/Apr 2024

42 MAR / APR 2024  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS   Healthcare Briefs embodies the all-hands-on-deck approach that is needed to address behavioral health issues among individuals experiencing incarceration. “Partnering with community members creates a holistic effort for support and treatment,” he said. “We need to avoid silos in our public health approaches. People coming together to solve public health problems will result in more mean- ingful and sustainable solutions.” “Anyone with a substance use disorder is likely to encounter law enforcement,” he added. “Without treatment, people are at much greater risk of continued involvement in the criminal jus- tice system. Therefore, if we can develop better, more integrated behavioral health care systems for individuals who are experiencing incarceration that could have broader implications throughout our state and region.” Research reported in this publication was sup- ported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R61DA059947. UAMS’ Robert Reis, PhD, Recognized by International Academy of Cardiovascular Sciences The International Academy of Cardiovascular Sciences honored Robert J. Shmookler Reis, PhD, a professor and researcher in the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Medicine, with an award that recognizes advance- ments in clinical science. Reis received the Jawahar (Jay) Mehta Annual Award for Clinical Scientist during the organi- zation’s North American Section conference in Tampa, Florida. Reis is a professor in the Department of Geri- atrics and the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. He also serves as a senior research career scientist in the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System. His internationally recognized research focuses on genetic factors in longevity and age-associ- ated diseases. He and his collaborators have also published five papers in the cardiology field, including two in 2023. The most recent paper demonstrated an increase in protein aggregation in hearts and brains after a myocardial infarction, commonly known as a heart attack. Protein aggregation is associated with aging and with neurocognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. Baptist Health College Little Rock Names NewPresident Baptist Health College Little Rock announced that Joel Hicks, EdD, RT(R), is the college’s new president. Prior to joining Baptist Health College Little Rock, Hicks had served since July 2021 as the dean of the College of Nursing and School of Allied Health at Northwestern State University, based in Natchitoches, Louisiana. There, he over- saw all certificate, undergraduate, and graduate programs within the nursing and allied health pro- grams divisions across four campuses. Hicks additionally served as associate dean in 2020 and as the School of Allied Health director from 2017-2020. He also taught at Northwestern State starting in 2010 and was a tenured associ- ate professor within the School of Allied Health. Before working in higher education, Hicks served for almost two decades in healthcare, pri- marily in diagnostic and cardiac imaging. The majority of this clinical time was spent in a heart catheterization lab. Hicks earned a certificate in radiologic tech- nology in 1994 from LSU Health Sciences Cen- ter. He continued his education over a decade later, earning a Bachelor of Science in radiologic sciences in 2006 from Northwestern State and a Master of Science in radiologic technology in 2009 from Midwestern State University in Wich- ita Falls, Texas. In 2016, he completed a Doctor of Education in Developmental Education at Gram- bling State University in Grambling, Louisiana. Stephanie Strode, APRN, Joins Baptist Health Women’s Clinic-Conway Baptist Health Women’s Clinic-Conway recently welcomed Stephanie Strode, APRN, to the clinic’s team of providers. Strode received a Master of Nursing Science from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sci- ences. She is a board-certified women’s health nurse practitioner. Baptist Health Women’s Clinic-Conway, located at 625 United Drive, Suite 420, is open Monday- Thursday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. CARTI Holds Inaugural ‘Day of Hope’ CARTI held its first-ever “Day of Hope” on Feb. 4 to honor and uplift those facing cancer. Contri- butions will benefit the not-for-profit provider’s Robert Reis, PhD Stephanie Strode, APRN Joel Hicks, EdD, RT(R)