HJAR May/Jun 2024

48 MAY / JUN 2024  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS Hospital Rounds CHI St. Vincent, Morehouse School of Medicine Announce Partnership CHI St. Vincent announced a partnership between parent company CommonSpirit Health and Morehouse School of Medicine of Atlanta that will expand CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs’ res- idency program, address a shortage of diverse clinicians, and lead to more equitable healthcare in Arkansas. A news conference, held March 25, announcing the partnership included remarks by leaders at the More in Common Alliance, CHI St. Vincent, and the Morehouse School of Medicine The speakers included, among others, veron- ica Mallett, chief administrative officer/senior vice president, More in Common Alliance, and Chad Aduddell, market CEO, CHI St. Vincent. The event was held at Garvan Woodland Gar- dens in Hot Springs. Arkansas Children’s Celebrates Rare Disease Day with Portrait Exhibit Arkansas Children’s celebrated Rare Disease Day on the rarest day of the year, Feb. 29, by invit- ing the public to view the Beyond the Diagno- sis exhibit and celebrate the beauty of children. Two children from Arkansas have been added to this nationally traveling gallery, raising awareness about the diseases and research needed to help people who live with them. The event was held at the Arkansas State Capi- tol Rotunda in Little Rock. Artists from across the United States have donated their time and talents to Beyond the Diagnosis, painting rare disease patients for this groundbreaking exhibit. Each portrait represents a single orphan disease. The goal is to put a face to all 7,000 rare diseases. This exhibit is traveling to medical schools, research institutes, and hos- pitals around the globe. Baptist Health Foundation Receives $50K fromFamily of Heart Transplant Recipient Baptist Health Foundation recently announced a $50,000 donation from Bob and Jeanne Fitzger- ald in honor of their son, Ryan Fitzgerald, MD, a heart transplant recipient. Fitzgerald, of Radiology Consultants at Baptist Health, serves on the Baptist Health Foundation Board and the Arora Board. The Heart of Faith Fund donation comes 20 years after his transplant, and was also fittingly presented during American Heart Month on Valentine’s Day – a holiday synonymous with all things heart-related. Around 10 years old, Fitzgerald was diagnosed with a coarctation of the aorta, meaning a portion of his aorta was narrower and restricting blood flow to the rest of his body. After a corrective sur- gery at age 11, he continued living without any limitations to his lifestyle. Years later, while in medical school, a blood pressure increase indicated a recurrence of the coarctation and doctors again decided that he would need to undergo a repeat corrective sur- gery. Due to a surgical complication, Fitzgerald’s condition worsened to the point that he would need a heart transplant. He was at Arkansas Chil- dren’s, which did not have a suitable device to fit his body at his age, so he was transferred by ambulance to Baptist Health. While at Baptist Health, Fitzgerald received a heart transplant. Performing the heart transplant was John Ransom, MD, a cardiovascular surgeon at Baptist Health. Steve Hutchins, MD, a transplant cardiologist at Baptist Health, supervised follow- ing the surgery. Fitzgerald’s experiences served as further inspi- ration for him to continue in his medical studies. Baptist Health Foundation’s Heart of Faith Fund supports patients who are facing heart failure, that need a Left Ventricular Assisted Device (LVAD), or that need a heart transplant. The fund helps to cover travel and hotel expenses, equipment for their treatment, prescriptions, and other medical and non-medical needs. It also assists with the operational cost of Baptist Health Heart Failure and Transplant Institute. CHI St. Vincent Hospitals Recognized for Organ Donation Awareness Efforts CHI St. Vincent announced that CHI St. Vin- cent Infirmary in Little Rock, CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs, and CHI St. Vincent North in Sher- wood have earned national recognition for their efforts to increase organ, tissue, and eye donor awareness across the state through the DoNa- tion Campaign. Working with ARORA of Little Rock, an accred- ited organ procurement nonprofit, CHI St. Vincent hospitals in Little Rock, Hot Springs, and Sher- wood earned platinum recognition from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Formerly known as the Workplace Partnership for Life Hospital Campaign, DoNation unites HRSA and the organ donor community with hos- pitals across the country to spread the word about the importance of organ donation and increase the number of registered organ, eye, and tissue donors. Working with ARORA, CHI St. Vincent hospi- tals hold Donate Life walks, regularly discuss organ donation in nursing orientations, promote National Donate Life Blue and Green Day through special events, and observe Organ Donation Month each April with special messages through- out their facilities. CHI St. Vincent and ARORA also collaborate on processes and procedures to inform hospital patients and their families about organ donation options. NIHClinical Trial Conducted in Part at Arkansas Children’s Produces First FDA-Approved Treatment for Multiple Severe Food Allergies A groundbreaking clinical trial sponsored and funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and conducted in part at Arkansas Children's Hos- pital (ACH) unveiled a pioneering treatment help- ing children and adults with potentially life-threat- ening food allergies better tolerate peanut, milk, egg, wheat, and tree nuts. The Phase 3 OUtMATCH study is published in The New England Journal of Medicine , a week after the Food and Drug Administration issued approval for omalizumab to treat multiple food allergies. It is considered the first and only medi- cine for children and adults with one or more food allergies. Stacie Jones, MD, who treats allergy patients at ACH, serves as the principal investigator at Arkansas Children’s Research Institute (ACRI), one of 10 sites in the U.S. conducting the OUt- MATCH study through the Consortium for Food