HJLR May/Jun 2019

44 MAY / JUN 2019  I  Healthcare Journal of little rock   Healthcare Briefs matched in primary care — internal medicine, pediatrics, family medicine or obstetrics/gyne- cology. In internal medicine, 32 matched, the larg- est number since 2006. Several UAMS students received appointments in the new Baptist-UAMS family medicine and internal medicine residency programs at Baptist Health North Little Rock. “This is certainly a positive development in the effort to get more physicians to train in Arkansas and remain in the state to practice,” said College of Medicine Dean Christopher T. Westfall, MD. An increasing physician shortage nationwide and in Arkansas led medical schools across the country to increase class sizes starting about 10 years ago. In a rural state like Arkansas, the physician shortage is especially critical since more than two-thirds of the state’s 75 counties include federally designated Primary Care Health Profes- sional Shortage Areas. Residency positions are funded primarily by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Ser- vices. The agency has not increased the number of residency slots in many years for hospitals that already have programs, leading many medical schools to come up with other ways of financing more slots to accommodate the increasing num- ber of medical school graduates. But hospitals that have never had a residency program may apply for one. That’s what led to new residency slots with Baptist Health North Lit- tle Rock and hospitals in Searcy and Batesville. In 2018, UAMS partnered with Baptist Health to open two programs in North Little Rock, lead- ing to 12 new slots each for the first year of both family medicine and internal medicine residency programs. The three-year programs may apply for CMS funding for the final two years. UAMS also assisted Searcy and Batesville with obtain- ing residencies. “Our mission is to provide physicians for Arkan- sas and our goal is to generate as many positions as we can, whether it’s at UAMS or other sites in the state,” Westfall said. Arkansas Neuroscience Institute Lead Surgeon Dr. Ali Krisht Receives 2019 Herbert Olivecrona Award for Contributions to the Field of Neurosurgery CHI St. Vincent Neurosurgeon Dr. Ali Krisht has been honored as the 2019 Herbert Olivecrona Award recipient for his contributions to the field of neurosurgery with expertise in cerebrovascu- lar, pituitary, and skull base tumor surgery. The international award, commonly referred to as the “Nobel Prize of Neurosurgery,” is awarded annu- ally by Sweden’s Karolinska Institute and is named after renowned neurosurgeon and professor Her- bert Olivecrona, who is credited as the father of modern neurosurgery. Krisht, who leads the world class team of neu- rosurgeons at the Arkansas Neuroscience Insti- tute (ANI), follows in the footsteps of his two men- tors, Dr. M. Gazi Yasargil and Dr. Ossama Al-Mefty, who received the award in 1978 and 2011 respec- tively. Krisht will formally receive the Olivecrona Medal and Diploma at an award ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden in May during the Scandi- navian Neurosurgical Society Meeting, where he will deliver the Olivecrona Lecture. “It is a true honor to be recognized alongside my mentors and those I have learned so much from throughout my career,” said Krisht. “It’s also a recognition of the work still left to do in the field of neurosurgery. Some of the advancements and new techniques we have today were unimagina- ble just decades ago and I am particularly excited to learn what the next generation of neurosur- geons will discover and the impact it will have on patient lives.” In addition to his achievements as a surgeon, Krisht is also a leader in research, new techniques and training, working with neurosurgeon’s from around the world who travel to Arkansas to study at ANI and new state-of-the-art M.G. Yas- argil Research and Education Center slated for completion in April. The new center will focus on improving treatment outcomes, mapping the human brain and preparing a new genera- tion of neurosurgeons with the skills necessary to tackle the most complex cases and further impact patient outcomes. “We are truly blessed here in Arkansas to have such an internationally recognized surgeon like Dr. Krisht to lead our neurosurgery team and continually strive to both improve the field and outcomes for our patients,” said CHI St. Vincent CEO Chad Aduddell. “One of the biggest results of that work can be seen in ANI’s patients. Our patients’ three year survival rates for glioblasto- mas is 34 percent compared to the national aver- age of 8.8 percent. We’re now excited to expand the reach of that expertise with training and men- torship through the new ANI Research and Edu- cation Center.” ANI sees patients from all 75 counties in Arkan- sas, 38 states and countries around the world. The new ANI Research and Education Center is scheduled to open in April. Cara Petrus Appointed as Director for Arkansas Neuroscience Institute CHI St. Vincent has appointed Cara Petrus as director for the Arkansas Neuroscience Insti- tute (ANI). Petrus, who most recently served as the operational project manager for ANI’s tran- sition to the CHI St. Vincent North campus, will now take a leadership role as the institute pre- pares to open the new, world-class Arkansas Neu- roscience Institute Research and Education Cen- ter this summer. The Arkansas Neuroscience Institute is a com- prehensive program incorporating all aspects of neurosurgery and the spectrum of neurological disorders. ANI is led by Dr. Ali Krisht, an interna- tionally renowned neurosurgeon and recipient of the 2019 Herbert Olivecrona Award for his con- tributions to the field. Neurosurgeons from the Mayo Clinic, University of Illinois, Emory Univer- sity, Creighton University, and others from around the globe travel to Little Rock annually to train with Krisht and ANI’s team of neurosurgeons. Petrus received a bachelor’s degree in nutri- tion from the University of Central Arkansas and Ali Krisht, MD