HJAR May/Jun 2025

48 MAY / JUN 2025  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS Hospital Rounds Join Baptist Health Community Outreach for Free Cooking Classes Each month, Baptist Health Community Out- reach holds a variety of monthly classes to help central Arkansas residents make easy and deli- cious meals at home that won’t break the bank or health goals. The Cooking with Community Outreach classes are taught by Baptist Health registered dietitian Samantha Stadter and are designed to empower participants to gain confidence in the kitchen with simple yet flavorful recipes. During each class, stu- dents will prepare, cook, and taste different dishes using a variety of ingredients. Topics include nutri- tion benefits, ingredient selection, money-saving tips, and more. Classes are held on Thursdays from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Baptist Health Community Outreach, 10117 Kanis Road in Little Rock. Dates and menus include: • Thursday, May 1: cheesy egg muffins and fruit salad. • Thursday, June 12: turkey tacos and mango salsa. Each student will leave class with a satisfied stomach, written recipes and tips, and the com- munity outreach staff will handle kitchen clean up. To register for one of the Cooking with Community Outreach classes listed, visit bit.ly/ BHcookingclass or call Baptist Health Community Outreach at (501) 202-1540. UAMS Receives $2.5 Million for Family Medicine Residency Programs in South Arkansas The University of Arkansas for Medical Sci- ences (UAMS) will expand its residency programs in South Arkansas thanks to a $2.5 million grant from the Arkansas State Legislature. The state’s PEER Joint Budget Committee recently approved a request for $2,550,225 in funding from the restricted reserve fund to sup- port the development of family medicine resi- dency programs in El Dorado and Crossett. The funds will help create 22 new residency slots in hospitals in the two cities as well as one new fam- ily medicine obstetrics fellowship. “Expanding the number of physicians starting their careers in Arkansas through their medical residency increases the chance they will remain in the state to practice, so partnering with hos- pitals around the state to increase the number of residency slots is a pathway for addressing physi- cian shortages in rural Arkansas,” said Stephanie Gardner, PharmD, EdD, UAMS provost and chief strategy officer. “We are grateful for the State of Arkansas providing startup funds for these new family medicine residency programs in Crossett and El Dorado.” The news comes almost one year after UAMS held the grand opening of the new UAMS Health Family Medical Center in El Dorado, part of UAMS’ efforts to reestablish a regional campus in El Dorado. Through the Regional Campuses around the state, UAMS strives to create sustain- able educational and training pipelines to address the state’s shortage of primary care physicians in rural communities. The Crossett program earned accreditation in 2023 and enrolled its first cohort of residents in 2024. The El Dorado program aims to earn accred- itation this year and enroll its first residents in the summer of 2026. Trainees in both programs will complete part of their residency in Little Rock at UAMS and Arkansas Children’s Hospital, though most of their training will be spent immersed in South Arkansas-based rural clinical settings. CHI St. Vincent North Honored with ADHDiamond Award for Stroke Care Performance CHI St. Vincent announced that CHI St. Vincent North has been awarded the Arkansas Depart- ment of Health Stroke Care Performance Dia- mond Award. The Diamond Award is the highest hospital recognition for the Stroke Care Perfor- mance Award, which recognizes hospitals, ambu- lance services, and teams for excellence in patient stroke care. “This award is a true honor and reflects our team's dedication to providing the best possi- ble care for stroke patients,” said CHI St. Vincent North President Megan Bonney. “Every minute counts in stroke care, and we are dedicated to making sure our patients receive quick and com- passionate care, which can make a dramatic dif- ference in outcomes for patients and families.” The Arkansas Department of Health Award is based on data from the Arkansas Stroke Registry for patient discharges between July 2023 and June 2024. The award evaluates key measures such as defect-free stroke care, accurate docu- mentation of stroke bands, and rapid door-to-CT times. These metrics are derived from the Ameri- can Heart Association/American Stroke Associa- tion Coverdell criteria to ensure stroke patients receive the highest quality of care. Hospitals must also be designated through ADH or a national accreditation body to qualify for this honor. In 2024, U.S. News and World Report ranked CHI St. Vincent North “high performing” in three cate- gories: diabetes, kidney failure, and pneumonia. The hospital was honored in 2024 with the American Heart Association’s Gold Plus Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Quality Achievement Award, recognizing its exceptional commitment to stroke care and diabetes management. In 2024, it also received the American College of Cardiolo- gy’s NCDR Chest Pain – MI Registry Silver Perfor- mance Achievement Award and the 2024 Stroke Care Performance Diamond Award from the Arkansas Department of Health. ACNWNames RyanMcDonough, MD, as Chief Medical Officer Arkansas Children’s Northwest (ACNW) has appointed healthcare leader and endocrinolo- gist Ryan McDonough, DO, FAAP, as its new chief medical officer. McDonough will join the ACNW team this spring. McDonough comes to ACNW from Children’s Mercy in Kansas City, Missouri, where he served as chief medical informatics officer and senior medi- cal director, while also holding the position of co- medical director of the Children’s Diabetes Center Ryan McDonough, MD