HJAR Mar/Apr 2025

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS I  MAR / APR 2025 41 For weekly eNews updates and to read the journal online, visit HealthcareJournalAR.com Little Rock schools. The Little Rock Violence Intervention and Safety Innovative Outreach Network (LR VISION) will implement advanced safety technologies, includ- ing behavioral threat assessments, to manage and intervene in potential threats early. It will pro- vide campus digital mapping to enhance emer- gency responses, anonymous reporting systems that are safe and confidential, and comprehensive site assessments to identify and address safety concerns within school infrastructures. LR VISION will create a digital learning plat- form to provide virtual training and education for school faculty and staff, with the UAMS Arkan- sas Trauma Resource Initiative for Schools provid- ing trauma-informed training, Sheppard said. An advisory council made up of teachers, students and community members representing each school will help identify any emerging issues. The Little Rock School District includes 42 school campuses serving over 20,000 students. The City of Little Rock, the Little Rock Police and Fire departments and Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services are among those providing sup- port for LR VISION. UAMS College of Public Health Announces New Doctoral Program The University of Arkansas for Medical Sci- ences (UAMS) Fay W. Boozman College of Pub- lic Health will offer an Environmental Health Sci- ences (EHS) doctoral program beginning in the fall 2025 semester. Students in the multidisci- plinary program will learn how the environment impacts human health. According to Gunnar Boysen, PhD, associate professor in the college’s Department of Environ- mental Health Sciences, students will receive in- depth training in a spectrum of disciplines such as: • Environmental Toxicology. • Environmental Origins of Cancer Exposure Science. • Exposure Assessment. • Nutrition and Dietary Supplements. • Public Health Microbiology. • Geographical Information Systems. • Biomarkers of Exposure. • Climate Change and Public Health. “Environmental Health Sciences is an interdis- ciplinary field that bridges studies of the environ- ment with human health — specifically popula- tion health and behavior,” Boysen said. The department conducted surveys among academic institutions, government agencies and public health industries, which confirmed the need for more environmental health special- ists in Arkansas. Currently, no comparable doc- toral program exists in the state, forcing employ- ers to self-train or recruit out-of-state personnel for specialized positions. Undergraduate and master’s level Environmen- tal Health Science programs have seen a steady increase in enrollment in recent semesters. “Those developments demonstrate a demand for this doctoral program,” Boysen said. The program will position students for a career in the environmental health sciences while also training them on how to conduct original research, analyze their findings and contribute to the advancing environmental health sciences knowledge. “Our doctoral program will be targeted to the field of environmental health sciences’ needs, thereby complementing other Ph.D. program at UAMS and in the state,” Boysen said. For more information about the program visit publichealth.uams.edu/academics/doctoral/ phd-in-environmental-health-sciences. Stephen Stewart, PA-C, Seeing Patients at Baptist Health Family Clinic-DeWitt Baptist Health Family Clinic-DeWitt-A Service of Baptist Health Medical Center-Stuttgart recently welcomed Stephen Stewart, PA-C, to the team of providers. Stewart has been a PA-C since 1995, graduat- ing from the University of Kentucky. In addition to a bachelor’s degree in allied health, Stewart also holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry from Morehead State University, also in Kentucky. Stewart has experience in family practice, emer- gency medicine, urology and orthopedic surgery, quality assurance, and occupational medicine. He is certified by the National Commission on Certi- fication of Physician Assistants (NCCPA). Stewart served in the U.S. Army in the field artil- lery for over eight years, obtaining the rank of captain, and he has over 15 years in the fire ser- vice as a volunteer firefighter. Baptist Health Family Clinic-DeWitt is located at 1703 South Whitehead Drive, and is open Mon- day-Friday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Ross andMaryWhipple Pledge $1.5M to UAMS for Cancer Care, Patient Services, Orthopaedics Ross and Mary Whipple pledged $1.5 million to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), supporting rural cancer care, patient ser- vices, and orthopaedics. The gifts include $1 million to establish the Ross and Mary Whipple Family Community Outreach and Engagement Fund for Excellence in the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, $250,000 to The Orthopaedic and Spine Hospi- tal at UAMS, and $250,000 to establish the Nancy “Jo” Smith Special Services Fund for Excellence. Northwest HealthWelcomes OB-GYNTiffanyWeathers, MD Northwest Health welcomed Tiffany Weathers, MD, to its medical staff. Weathers specializes in obstetrics and gynecology and is accepting new patients at Northwest OB-GYN – Willow Creek, located at 5501 Willow Creek Drive, Suite 202, in Springdale. Weathers has been in practice for more than 15 years. She received a medical education at Uni- versidad Autonoma de Guadalajara School of Medicine in Guadalajara, Mexico. She then com- pleted an obstetrics and gynecology residency at The State University of New York in Albany. She is bilingual in English and Spanish. n Stephen Stewart, PA-C