UAMS Hub of Health 2015

HUB OF HEALTHTHE

A P U B L I C A T I O N O F T H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F A R K A N S A S F O R M E D I C A L S C I E N C E S

For a better state of healthUAMS is committed to the people of Arkansas. That commitment is evident in all that we have built in our pursuit of improving the health and health care of Arkansans and of others in the region, nation and world. Our dedicated system of care extends well beyond the walls of our central Arkansas campus. In fact, you can take comfort in knowing that our services can be accessed all over our state, and in real time.

The innovative minds at UAMS have risen to the challenge of delivering top-notch care across distances. Through our intricate network of care, we are touching lives every day all over our region supporting medical centers, physicians and patients in their own communities. Our aim is clear — to provide the best possible quality of care to all Arkansans where they are…closest to home. It’s a simple concept with a remarkable and elaborate circuitry that includes collaborations throughout the region.

We are grateful to those of you who have partnered with us in an effort to continue moving toward a better state of health. Your philanthropic support and advocacy on our

behalf allow us to remain focused on leading health care improvement in Arkansas. As you read incredible stories of healing, learning and research, I hope you will be proud of all that we are accomplishing together.

With deepest gratitude,

Dan Rahn, M.D.ChancellorUniversity of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

UAMSIS THE

HUB OF HEALTH

2 giving.uams.edu For a Better State of Health

Patients, families and students are the core of all we do.

Better care, better health and lower costs. Every day we balance these three elements in our overarching goal of optimizing the health of Arkansans.

Philanthropy is crucial to advancing our mission. The margin of excellence our patients and their families deserve

is attainable only through partnerships with individuals, corporations and organizations.

We continue to build on the investment laid by UAMS’ first philanthropists and advocates in 1879. The story of eight visionary physicians pooling their resources to pave the way for the first medical school in Arkansas is one we steward today.

As we reflect on the lives touched this past year and look to the future, we are proud of the discoveries, cures and advances. We are grateful to all who have been a valuable partner. Together, we pursue excellence in medical

education, treatment and research. We believe you’ll be inspired as you

read the incredible stories that follow. Please join with us, Arkansas’ only comprehensive academic medical center, as we expand our efforts to realize a better state of health.

Thank you for caring about Arkansas,

Patricia S. “Patti” Bailey Chair UAMS Foundation Fund Board

Lance BurchettVice Chancellor for Institutional AdvancementExecutive Director of the UAMS Foundation Fund Board

AnnUAL GIFT DESIGnATIOnSThe power of unrestricted annual support gives UAMS the flexibility to utilize resources when and where they are needed most. By giving to one or more of these areas, you are providing important support for the highest priorities at UAMS.

UAMSIS THE

HUB OF HEALTH

UAMS MEDIcAL cEnTEr As patient and family partners, our medical skills are surpassed only by our people skills

FAy W. BOOzMAn cOLLEGE OF PUBLIc HEALTH Educating a diverse public health workforce and promoting the health of all Arkansans

cOLLEGE OF HEALTH PrOFESSIOnS More program and degree offerings than any other allied health school in Arkansas

cOLLEGE OF MEDIcInE Arkansas’ only medical school – and so much more

cOLLEGE OF nUrSInG Arkansas’ most comprehensive nursing college, with seven programs including the state’s only PhD in Nursing

cOLLEGE OF PHArMAcy From drug discovery to advancing medication therapy, we’re developing future pharmacy leaders

GrADUATE ScHOOL Moving innovative discoveries and treatment to patients and communities to improve health

AcADEMIc AFFAIrS Providing centralized core services to support the educational mission of the University

HArvEy & BErnIcE JOnES EyE InSTITUTE Providing the most specialized training, research and care of the eye

MyELOMA InSTITUTE Internationally recognized for innovative research and high-quality, comprehensive patient care

JAckSOn T. STEPHEnS SPInE & nEUrOScIEncES Spine specialists achieving global balance through surgical and nonsurgical avenues

PSycHIATrIc rESEArcH InSTITUTE The state’s only comprehensive academic, research and behavioral health treatment provider

DOnALD W. rEynOLDS InSTITUTE On AGInG Translating world-class, aging-related research and education to benefit seniors in Arkansas

WInTHrOP P. rOckEFELLEr cAncEr InSTITUTE Offering hope through a full spectrum of cancer research and treatment services

TrAnSLATIOnAL rESEArcH InSTITUTE A nationally funded institute that is accelerating discoveries and improving health in Arkansas

UAMS rEGIOnAL PrOGrAMS The state’s premier provider of community-based health professions education

UAMS’ nOrTHWEST ArkAnSAS cAMPUS Educating and training health care professionals for the growing northwest Arkansas region

3For a Better State of Health giving.uams.edu

Optometrist’s Glaucoma Relieved with New Procedure

For more than 20 years, Mike Tannehill had dealt with ocular hypertension, a condition in which high

eye pressure can eventually lead to glaucoma. The condition is not painful, and he kept it under control with

various drops and oral medications. Whereas a healthy eye would register pressure in the teens or low 20s, it was nothing for him to have pressures in the upper 20s and lower 30s.

That changed in January 2015 when the Mount Ida optometrist’s eye pressures soared into the 40s and 50s.

He first noticed that his vision became foggy, but then came the pain.

“It was debilitating,” he said. “You just want to curl up in a ball.”

Tannehill was referred to Grant Morshedi, M.D., a glaucoma specialist at UAMS’ Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute.

Morshedi said Tannehill was fortunate because he had not yet developed significant optic nerve damage. He tried various treatments for Tannehill, but nothing kept Tannehill’s eye pressures from spiking.

That’s when Morshedi approached his patient with the option of a cataract extraction to open his drainage angles, combined with gonioscopy-assisted transluminal trabeculotomy (GATT). GATT is an innovative, minimally invasive technique that has begun to catch on in glaucoma treatment.

Tannehill had the procedure done on his right eye, then his left eye two weeks later. Just a few weeks after the surgeries, his vision was 20/20 in his right eye and 20/30 in his left.

“With almost every other type of glaucoma surgery a week or two out, patients have blurred vision, discomfort or pain, and limitations,” said Morshedi. “That’s the power to this procedure. He was back up and running.”

It’s all a bit surreal for Tannehill.“I’m ecstatic with what I’ve achieved so far. I’ve had a

better outcome than I could have imagined. Dr. Morshedi is outstanding. I’m more impressed with him than any of the eye specialists I’ve seen before.”

Mike Tannehill, O.D., examines one of his patients at his eye clinic in Mount Ida, Arkansas, where he has practiced optometry for more than 40 years.


Our new optical shop opened

in October 2014, and is located on the first floor

of the Jones Eye Institute at UAMS. It is open 8:00 a.m. –

5:00 p.m., Monday – Thursday and 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. on Fridays. To reach the

optical shop, call 501-686-8114.


Life Continues for Dallas Couple at UAMS

When Rodney and Cortina Orr traveled from their home in Dallas to

UAMS in July 2014, they were seeking a second opinion about treatment options for Cortina, who had just been diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

After one day of testing, Orr developed a fever and was admitted into UAMS Medical Center, where she remained for 65 days. During that time, the Orrs decided to pursue treatment at UAMS’ Myeloma Institute with Yogesh Jethava, M.D., a clinical hematologist.

Rodney, who is a Ph.D., an associate professor and department chairman at Dallas Theological Seminary, suddenly found himself thrust into the role of caregiver in a city more than 300 miles away from home.

Orr wanted to remain in Little Rock to care for his wife, but he also needed to teach his classes in Dallas.

Enter Janice Hart, director of library operations at UAMS. She suggested that Orr could use Skype to teach his classes. Hart and Heather Smith, the director of the Academic Affairs Student Success Center, worked with Orr and the Dallas Theological Seminary to keep the professor in the classroom – at least virtually.

“The UAMS library enabled me to be a caretaker for my wife,” Orr said.

Orr was also apprehensive about how he would remain mentally and physically strong. The Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute Auxiliary and Volunteer Services helped by giving

him free passes to the UAMS Fitness Center.“Every caretaker's greatest concern is that they

might not be able to care for their patient because of their own health issues,” Orr said. “Working out twice a week at the UAMS gym helped me keep my stress levels down so I could be a greater help to Cortina.”

Today, the Orrs are home in Dallas. Cortina is in remission, and Rodney is back in his classroom having never missed a beat with his students.

Myeloma Institute patient, Cortina Orr, with her husband, Rodney, enjoying life again.


74%43%

THE MOST in the world

11,000

Gene Array Analysis DNA Sequencing,

comprises a spectrum ofconditions,including:

MGUS

smoldering myeloma

Amyloidosis

Waldenstrom Macroglobulemia

Castleman Disease

five-year survival rate of

The Myeloma Institute routinely uses advanced diagnostics, such as

for determining optimal patient management and planning of therapy

Multiple MYELOMAAWARENESS RIBBON ISBURGUNDY

The Myeloma Institute has treated more than

every state & more than 50 countries

compared with

for peer institutions

Newly diagnosed myeloma patients treated at the Myeloma Institute have a

The Myeloma Institute has performed more than

Myeloma, also known as multiple myeloma, is a complex cancer of plasma cells in the blood. It develops in the bone marrow.

patients from

9,500 peripheral blood stem cell transplants

Myeloma

At UAMS Research Delivers Hope

Each day, research at UAMS leads to better care and new ways to prevent

disease. Over the years, developments have provided life-saving cancer treatment, allowed parents to bond with their newborns in intensive care, and many other wonders.

This consequential research across Arkansas is what defines an academic medical center.

“Simply put, research is part of UAMS’ DNA,” said Larry Cornett, Ph.D., UAMS vice chancellor for research, noting that UAMS faculty have a passion for discovering new medical treatments and solving public health issues.

Angel Eye Such passion is evident in the UAMS neonatal

intensive care unit, where Sarah Rhoads led development of the web-based Angel Eye Camera System to address concerns about out-of-town parents unable to bond with their babies. Rhoads, a doctor of nursing practice and advanced practice nurse, has continued improving the camera system design after it was first introduced in 2006.

The camera is integrated into infant isolettes and allows parents to see and speak to their babies on mobile and desktop devices. First supported through a gift from the Gertrude E. Skelly Charitable Foundation, Angel Eye today is a commercial success, with purchases by hospitals in Arkansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas. Its success in the marketplace was aided by UAMS BioVentures, which guided licensing of the intellectual property to a spin-off company, Angel Eye Camera Systems LLC, in 2013.

Lung Cancer ResearchRaye Rogers, of Little Rock and Batesville,

provides one of the best examples of cutting-edge genetics discoveries that can mean the difference between life and death. Only a few years ago someone diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer at age 92, like Rogers, probably would have been offered hospice care. Instead, through a clinical trial, researchers identified a genetic mutation that responds favorably to the drug Crizotinib. Doctors found the same mutation in Rogers’ lung cancer cells and prescribed the drug.


One of UAMS’ incredible NICU nurses, Becky Smith, BSN, RNC-NIC, adjusts the Angel Eye camera on an infant’s isolette to ensure parents can see and speak with their baby on their mobile and desktop devices.


“I don’t think I would be here at all, if not for my treatment at

UAMS.” Raye Rogers, lung cancer survivor,

credits the talented physicians and the cutting-edge research going on

daily at UAMS with saving her life.


The cause of osteoporosis

could be very similar to the

cause of other diseases of

advanced age.”

“I don’t think I would be here at all, if not for my treatment at UAMS,” Rogers said.

UAMS’ Mohammed Orloff, Ph.D., hopes to continue the genetic advances in lung cancer and shed more light on why anyone develops the disease. He hopes to identify biomarkers that will improve detection rates, reduce screening costs and determine how environmental factors such as smoking interact with genes to make cancer more aggressive.

Chancellor’s Circle Support

Discoveries require medical expertise and willing patients. Recruiting volunteers to participate in clinical trials and other research is a priority for UAMS and its Translational Research Institute. The institute has taken the lead in planning new recruitment strategies and this year received a $25,000 UAMS Chancellor’s Circle grant to support the effort. A cornerstone of the institute’s plans is development of ARresearch.org, a website with a registry for volunteers to sign up

as potential research participants. The site will talk about the benefits of research participation in plain language and increase participation from the general public.

Research of Marshallese in NWA

Located near the largest number of Marshallese, Hmong, and Hispanic residents in Arkansas, UAMS’ Northwest Arkansas campus has found a niche in community-based research. Researchers there have secured more than $5.1 million from national agencies to help address significant health issues in these rapidly increasing populations, which experience significant inequalities in health access and status.

Josh Maloney, a UAMS pharmacy student on UAMS’ Northwest Arkansas campus, performs a health screening for a Marshallese woman.


Personalized Medicine Tailors Therapies

For centuries, tailors and seamstresses have been measuring people for custom-

made clothing. Personalized medicine, many times referred to as precision medicine, uses a patient’s genetic profile to do the same with an individual’s course of treatment and even preventive care.

The genetic profile can help a patient’s care team select the proper medication or therapy and administer the proper dose or regimen with improved precision.

It also can aid in the early detection of cancer.“If you have colon cancer, then UAMS is the

place to go because we are the only ones who will pick up on the predisposition to having another cancer or cancers in your family,” said Kent McKelvey, M.D., director of Cancer and Adult Genetics Services and the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Professor and Chair of Clinical Genetics.

Every colon cancer patient at UAMS undergoes two tests to screen for a possible genetic pre-

disposition to colon cancer called Lynch syndrome. About 5 percent of colon cancer patients may have Lynch syndrome. This early warning signal can help target other family members for colonoscopies and other diagnostic and preventive measures. McKelvey said the point is to prevent the patient and family members from developing other cancers.

UAMS is the only health service in Arkansas offering these screenings.

UAMS is also developing personalized medicine services to not only screen and indicate preventive measures for conditions such as adult-onset diabetes and high cholesterol, but also help determine the best method of treatment for psychiatric patients.

“Our physicians are using personalized medicine approaches to assist in selecting psychiatric medications for patients with psychiatric disorders,” said G. Richard Smith, M.D., a psychiatrist and founder of the UAMS Psychiatric Research Institute. “Usually, these are patients who either

“I can’t stress

enough how important this field is to our institution...”

PERSONALIZED MEDICINEUnique treatment based upon genetic profile

Becky Carter is one of Dr. Kent McKelvey’s

patients. She is shown with her

father, Hollis Carter.


previously did not respond to treatment or who have severe side effects from frequently used medications.”

Additionally, UAMS psychiatrists are assisting colleagues in other specialty areas, such as orthopaedics and anesthesia to develop treatments to better help patients with both post-surgical pain and chronic pain.

The UAMS Myeloma Institute has long been a world leader in using personalized medicine for the treatment of multiple myeloma. Researchers there developed a way to use a patient’s genes to tell whether the patient has a low- or high-risk form of myeloma and determine the most effective treatment.

Research by UAMS College of Public Health scientists, Gunnar Boysen, Ph.D., Mohammed Orloff, Ph.D., and Joseph Su, M.P.H, Ph.D., is contributing to the science of cancer prevention and individualized treatment of the disease.

Philanthropy plays a key role in providing seed funding for this work. Longtime supporters Patti and John Bailey committed over $1 million to be utilized in cancer, myeloma and psychiatry to usher in this

new era in medicine. Patti Bailey chairs the UAMS Foundation Fund Board.

“The ongoing investment of the College of Medicine Dean’s Society has been instrumental in helping us continue to build our vital biomedical informatics program,” said College of Medicine Dean Pope L. Moseley, M.D.

Biomedical informatics is a vital component in the utilization of personalized medicine. Bioinformatics is the management and analysis of large, complex datasets of medical and public health information to reveal patterns to help precisely tailor therapies to each individual. That is why the UAMS is striving to build a robust, world-class biomedical informatics enterprise.

"As a physician scientist who has focused extensively on biomedical informatics initiatives, I can’t stress enough how important this field is to our institution, our state and our ability to eventually personalize medicine for each of our patients,” said Moseley.

PERSONALIZED MEDICINEUnique treatment based upon genetic profile

Epilepsy Treatment Gives Patient New OutlookCharles Gossow

feels more confident about his health now than he ever has before.

He was 15 when he suffered his first seizure and was diagnosed with a rare neurenteric cyst in the right frontal lobe of his brain. Over the next several decades, he received medication and underwent multiple operations to drain the cyst, but continued to have debilitating seizures.

Through the years, the seizures worsened. Gossow described them as “bizarre” and

said the episodes eventually caused him to pass out every 10 to 12 minutes.

Gossow, of Paris, Arkansas, was referred to UAMS where he met Demitre Serletis, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of neurosurgery. Serletis saw the large, complex, cystic lesion nearly 3 inches in diameter pushing on the surrounding brain structures.

But instead of draining it, Serletis decided it best to remove the lesion. The cyst was near the surface but well encapsulated. Serletis was able to drain and

then completely remove it, including the cyst membranes. Uniquely, under direct microscopic vision and with the help of a neuronavigation GPS-like system, Serletis dissected the walls of the lesion away from the cortical surface while sparing Gossow’s normal cortical tissue beneath.

Nearly two years later, Gossow remains seizure free and the lesion has not recurred.

Gossow credits the professionalism and knowledge of Serletis and his neurosurgery team for his improved health.

“Of all the doctors I’ve dealt with in my life, and it’s been a lot, Dr. Serletis has been the finest I’ve had the pleasure of dealing with,” Gossow said.

Serletis and his colleagues have now established a comprehensive Epilepsy Surgery Program at UAMS, in conjunction with Arkansas Children's Hospital, that offers a much-needed resource to adult/pediatric epilepsy patients and their families in Arkansas. This program uses the latest in advanced technology for invasive seizure monitoring and subsequent treatment, including a Robotized Stereotactic Assistant for neurosurgical procedures.

UAMS is one of nearly a dozen medical centers in North America to have a Robotized Stereotactic Assistant (ROSA) to assist in making neurosurgery less invasive, significantly shorter, all while improving surgical accuracy and minimizing the risk of pain or infection. Through generous philanthropic support from Edwin and Karlee Bradberry, UAMS purchased the ROSA and the Edwin and Karlee Bradberry Center for Robotic Neurosurgery was established. The ROSA is one of the more recent breakthroughs in cranial neurosurgery.


MRI shows the large cystic lesion

Sagittal MRI scan side-view

Coronal MRI scan

( the patient is facing us )

face-on view

showing the lesion

to the patient’s right side

Sample of EEG

a seizure in evolutionrecording showing

15 giving.uams.edu

Patient Cynthia Thompson, who underwent scalp reattachment

surgery, smiles with Mauricio Moreno, M.D., after a recent

checkup in the ENT clinic at UAMS.

“They pulled me out. I knew

I was bleeding, but I didn’t realize I had

no scalp until later.”

“I just remember the machine grabbing my

hair and I was in it.”Cynthia Thompson, 22,

was working at a factory in Russellville, Arkansas, in June 2014 when machinery ripped her scalp from her head. She can recall many of the details clearly.

“They pulled me out. I knew I was bleeding, but I didn’t realize I had no scalp until later,” she said.

She remembers the ambulance ride to a nearby emergency room. Her scalp arrived shortly after she did

thanks to quick thinking from her supervisor who retrieved it from the machine.

Thompson was quickly put on a helicopter to UAMS, the only Level 1 trauma center in the state.

Mauricio Moreno, M.D. is an associate professor and head and neck surgeon in the UAMS Department

of Otolaryngology. He was just finishing a case when he received word that a patient was

in the ER whose scalp had been ripped off.

“Fortunately, I realized they had kept the scalp and all of its tissues in proper condition,” Moreno said.

The machine took off all Thompson’s scalp, most of her forehead, both ears and skin from the back of her neck. Reconnecting the blood supply took the surgeons about three hours working under a high-powered microscope. Then they began reattaching the muscles, tissue, ears and skin.

Some of their help came from an unlikely source — a star tattoo on her neck that was used to line up the scalp.

Nine hours later, Thompson was back in one piece. Her hair started to grow back less than 48 hours after surgery. Moreno said in medical literature he was able to find less than 20 cases that were as complicated as Thompson’s.

Thompson was engaged at the time of the accident and followed through with her wedding a few months later. She and her husband, John, live in Atkins, Arkansas.

“I had the best team of doctors,” Thompson said. “I couldn’t have asked for better care.”

Russellville Woman’s Scalp Reattached by UAMS Surgeon

Cynthia’s hair began to grow back less than 48 hours after surgery.

17 giving.uams.edu

The Best Care Closest to Home

When you drive away from Little Rock, UAMS isn’t behind you. It’s

ahead of you, too.Depending on where you are in Arkansas,

UAMS is right around the corner or one town over, providing the best care closest to home.

That presence is especially strong in northwest Arkansas where UAMS opened its first regional campus in 2007 in Fayetteville to meet the increasing need for trained health care professionals.

In June, the northwest campus welcomed the first 24 students to the doctor of physical therapy program, a part of the UAMS College of Health Professions. It is the first UAMS program housed solely on the Fayetteville campus.

“We intend to graduate physical therapists with advanced technical skills to deliver positive and lasting outcomes for patients,” said Chancellor Dan Rahn, M.D. “We are committed to being present in communities across the state

and to providing the best care closest to home.”UAMS Regional Programs has centers around

the state to provide medical services to Arkansans and education for resident physicians in family medicine and area health care professionals. These centers are in Batesville, Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Helena, Jonesboro, Magnolia, Pine Bluff and Texarkana.

In early 2015, UAMS Northeast in Jonesboro moved to a larger, newer home. By the end of 2015, UAMS Southwest in Texarkana will have moved to a new facility.

“As we continue to expand our programs around the state, we strive to meet specific health care needs of each area through strategic clinical partnerships, expanded educational programs and research that translates into better care,” Rahn said.

Other ways UAMS reaches across the state is through its Centers on Aging, part of the Arkansas Aging Initiative, which is a program of the UAMS Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging. These Centers on Aging are in the same cities as the regional centers and reach aging generations with the highest standards of research, service and care.

Another program with statewide reach allows seniors to age at home. The UAMS Schmieding Home Caregiver Training Program trains family members and paid caregivers caring for older adults in the home.

Well beyond those eight cities, UAMS programs go where the need is.

Mary Vines of Hermitage knows that. She is just one of more than 6,000 women the UAMS MammoVan has helped. A three-room mobile mammography unit, the MammoVan regularly travels to 26 counties that lack FDA-approved

certified mammography facilities. Her mammography showed cancer in each

of her breasts and made life-saving treatment possible. The van screens

AR SAVES

850patients have received t-PA

75% of Arkansans are within

30-minutes of a Primary Stroke

Center

ANGELS

4,252urgent care visits with

telephone triage

10,409nonurgent care with

telephone triage

3,465total telemedicine visits

about 2,000 patients annually.For women with high-risk pregnancies, the

UAMS telemedicine program known as the Antenatal and Neonatal Guidelines, Education and Learning System (ANGELS) has for more than 10 years provided support to them and their physicians at hospitals and clinics throughout the state.

ANGELS is an innovative service that allows family practitioners, obstetricians, neonatologists and pediatricians in Arkansas to consult with UAMS specialists to ensure a healthy pregnancy.

Stroke patients statewide have hope through the Arkansas Stroke Assistance and Virtual Emergency Support (AR SAVES) program that began Nov. 1, 2008, and established partnerships with hospitals in almost 50 towns and small cities in rural Arkansas.

The program uses a high-speed video communications system to help provide immediate, life-saving treatments to stroke patients 24 hours a day. The real-time video communication enables a stroke neurologist to evaluate whether emergency room physicians should use a powerful blood-clot dissolving agent, t-PA, within the critical three-hour period following the first signs of stroke.

Sharp Malak, M.D., M.P.H., and Ronda Henry-Tillman, M.D., talk with patient Mary Vines about her breast cancer surgery.

The MammoVan regularly travels to 26 Arkansas counties that lack FDA-

approved certified mammography facilities.

The MammoVan is outfitted with the most advanced digital mammography

equipment and is staffed by a certified mammography

technologist and a technical assistant.

UAMS MammoVan

The Bibbs family, Leora, Floydell and Floydell, Jr., with their doctor, Gloria

Richard-Davis, M.D., F.A.C.O.G., of the UAMS

Fertility and Reproductive Endocrinology Clinic.

Providing the Best in Patient- and Family-Centered CarePatients and their families are at

the center of everything at UAMS. Our medical team works side by side with

patients and families every day; we listen and we keep patients informed throughout the care process so they can participate in the care and decision-making at every level.

The collaboration between patients, families and providers occurs throughout UAMS whether it’s clinical program development, education or delivering care.

As an academic medical center, UAMS brings internationally recognized health care experts and cutting-edge treatment options to all facets of patient care.

For patients like Leora Bibbs this meant making an impossible dream a reality. She and her husband wanted a baby for years, but began to doubt their odds after multiple miscarriages. The couple had seen advertisements for the UAMS Fertility and Reproductive Endocrinology Clinic, but were hesitant, given all they had already endured. Their fears were soon put to rest.

“With Dr. Gloria Richard-Davis, it was a personal, pleasant experience,” said Bibbs, who is

a certified technologist at UAMS. “You knew she cared. She took the time to talk to my husband and me, to go through our history. She was very sympathetic.”

Following a thorough evaluation and a procedure to remove adhesions, Bibbs became pregnant. Now, she and her husband have a baby boy.

“It’s always elation to help a couple realize their dream of having a baby,” said Richard-Davis. “Getting pregnant is the first step, but we want to make sure our patients keep their babies and are healthy throughout the pregnancy.”

Bibbs and her husband said they are extremely grateful. “We’re still in shock. You get it into your head it won’t happen, then, it does. It feels like a dream.”

The community also plays a vital role in the patient and family experience. Members of the Hat Club of Little Rock learned first-hand about the care provided at UAMS and wanted to get more involved. They joined with the UAMS Consortium to support patients and families in the UAMS Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

As UAMS continues to advance with state-of-the-art facilities and equipment, the human

aspect remains at the heart of our mission. For all the tremendous therapies, procedures, equipment and know-how UAMS possesses, the patient and their family are the true focus.

R.T. Fendley, Associate Vice Chancellor for Clinical Programs, and Whit Hall, M.D., accept a check for $25,000 from The Hat Club of Little Rock to support the NICU.


Debilitating Headaches Reduced After Treating Brain Aneurysm

Fanny Long, of Fayetteville, loves to travel with her husband and two

daughters. With extended family members living all over the country, there is always a place to visit. But her hobby had to take a backseat once she began having frequent, debilitating headaches more than a year ago.

“I would send my family off to travel without me,” Long said. “I’d wonder, ‘What if I get a migraine? What if I have a stroke in the air? Will other doctors know how to treat my condition?’”

Her husband, University of Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long, said it was stressful and emotional, taking a toll on the entire family.

Fanny is no stranger to migraines. But in May 2014, the pain came almost daily for two months. After many tests, doctors found she had an aneurysm. She was then referred to the Department of Neurosurgery at UAMS, led by J.D. Day, M.D.

“We never even considered another place and went to Little Rock the next day,” Fanny said.


“We knew Dr. Day was an internationally known leader in cranial surgery.”

Her aneurysm was located in her carotid artery at the base of her skull, which would have made brain surgery challenging for most. But not for UAMS. A team of UAMS neurosurgeons and interventional radiologists recommended a new, minimally invasive procedure that involves placing a microscopic wire mesh tube across the aneurysm to stop the blood flow and decompress it. The aneurysm gradually shrinks and becomes completely blocked, which was exactly the case for Fanny.

Only at UAMS, will top-tier technology and world-class clinicians combine for phenomenal results. Adewumi Amole, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Radiology in the UAMS College of Medicine, had been using the Pipeline Embolization Device since it was FDA-approved about four years ago, creating superb outcomes for all those in his care.

Less than a year since her surgery, the aneurysm was gone. “I’m living a normal life,” she said.

Her husband is thankful as well. “I’ve told people many times, I’ve got my wife back.”

Top Photo: Fanny Long, UAMS neurosurgery patient, at her home in Fayetteville, Arkansas, is no longer confined to her home in pain from regular migraines.Bottom Photo: Photos show Jeff and Fanny Long (left) and their daughters Stephanie and Christina.

“We never even considered

another place and went to Little Rock the next

day.”


Leaving a Legacy

The power to transform. A gift can be so impactful that it has the ability to alter lives, programs,

even the world.This transformative power has been at work at UAMS

through estate gifts that allow a person’s life’s work to continue making a difference long after their death.

“Anyone can make an estate gift, and they have the power to absolutely transform areas at UAMS,” said Tim Dockery, J.D., LL.M., director of planned giving in the UAMS Office of Development. “Our colleges and institutes wouldn’t be what they are today without the foresight of generous donors who designated UAMS as the recipient of planned gifts.”

Among the many planned gifts UAMS has received in recent years, some have left transformative changes on the campus and in the lives of people served by the university’s programs.

Two such gifts of $100,000 each from the estate of former UAMS faculty member Randolph Murphy, M.D., are making a difference in areas dear to his heart: the UAMS Psychiatric Research Institute and College of Medicine.

Murphy, a retired psychiatrist, went back to college 10 years after completing his Bachelor of Arts degree. He graduated from medical school at the University of Arkansas Medical School in 1952. He practiced family medicine, taught at UAMS and practiced psychiatry at the Arkansas State Hospital in Little Rock.

“Dr. Murphy’s gift will make a positive difference in the lives of many children dealing with childhood trauma, attention deficit disorder and depression who will benefit from ongoing research efforts of our child and adolescent psychiatry faculty,” said PRI director Pedro Delgado, M.D.

Another former UAMS employee, Corinne George, spent 24 years in service to the UAMS Library. She was dedicated to assisting students in their training. She chose to establish a charitable gift annuity, which not only was a source of income during her lifetime, but also provided a donation of the remaining funds to the library upon her death.

She also left generous gifts to the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute and UAMS College of Nursing through bequests in her will. The estate gift from George provides funding for some of the doctoral nursing students to complete their dissertation research more quickly without additional student debt. In addition, her gift is supporting a campaign to establish an endowed lectureship in geriatric nursing leadership.

While many donors make UAMS aware of their planned gifts, some come as a surprise. Such was the case with a $450,000 bequest from Margaret Olvey of Hot Springs designated for geriatric research at the UAMS Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging.

“While we didn’t have the opportunity to meet Mrs. Olvey and learn of her passion for UAMS,” Dockery said, “We are honored she chose to remember our mission in her will and ensure our geriatric research could continue for years to come.”

For those who have made planned gifts to UAMS, the Legacy Society was established to recognize and honor their generosity. A total of $30 million has been committed in future gifts to UAMS by 195 Legacy Society members from 19 states.

“Our Legacy Society members are dedicated to ensuring UAMS’ success in the future. For that, we are tremendously grateful,” Dockery said.

in new scholarships

for students

to support cancer,

myeloma, geriatric

& ophthalmology

research

to support additional

priorities & initiatives

at UAMS

(UAMS greatest needs)

to support

nursing,

psychiatry, &

aging initiatives

for a

Distinguished

Chair

In 2015, UAMS received gifts from the estates of donors that funded:

$740K $610K $2M$800K $550K

avoids splitting and dissecting the very large muscles in the back, which can cause significant pain, increasing the hospital stay and delaying recovery. Kazemi started the procedure last year and has now performed it more than 30 times.

Dicus said he experienced no pain the day after the procedure and was released to go home. Six months later, Dicus is back to work and doing things around the house. He’s looking forward to competing in the 2016 Arkansas Senior Olympics.

“I’m doing everything I couldn’t do before,” he said. “I feel great.”

Senior Olympian Gets Relief from Back Pain

After four spine surgeries, Frank Dicus wasn’t sure he

would ever experience relief from his back pain, but he wasn’t ready to give up.

“I kept searching,” said Dicus, who in 2011 won seven gold medals for field events in the Arkansas Senior Olympics. “I knew there had to be a better way.”

Dicus had been active his whole life, even at the age of 80. However in the last several years he had been plagued by persistent low back and leg pain. His previous surgeries included inserting multiple screws and rods that provided temporary relief. But the pain always returned.

“He couldn’t do much walking without having to sit down, he

couldn’t do the yard work and he was anxious to get back to work,” said Judy Dicus, Frank’s wife.

Dicus found spine and nerve surgeon Noojan Kazemi, M.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Neurosurgery in the UAMS College of Medicine.

“There was evidence of significant scar tissue, nerve pinching and muscle bulges,” said Kazemi. “Instead of going through the same scar tissue and digging through scarred muscle, we decided to use a minimally invasive, lateral technique.”

Kazemi is one of only a few doctors in the state to offer the procedure, which allows surgeons to enter from the patient’s side, instead of the traditional way through the back. This

Frank Dicus, age 77, competing in 2011.

The Thomas and Lyon Longevity Clinic in the UAMS Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging provides primary care for patients who are 65 years and older. Our multi-disciplinary team approach is used to provide the unique care that older adults need. For more information, or to reach this clinic, call 501-686-6219 Monday through Friday between 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m..


Cultivating Tomorrow’s Healthcare Leaders and Researchers

Tomorrow’s medical researchers are today’s curious minds ignited with overwhelming

desire to discover how they can improve the health of their fellow human beings.

One of these curious minds is Nupur Lala, a second-year medical student at UAMS. Lala gained fame by winning the 1999 Scripps National Spelling Bee and subsequently became a highlight in the Oscar-winning documentary “Spellbound.”

After attaining her bachelor’s degree in brain behavior and cognitive science, and master’s degree in cancer biology, Lala spent time in some of the country’s top research enterprises. She then returned to the state where she spent her high school years, Arkansas, to start medical school.

Lala credits UAMS for expanding her opportunities with a quality education through a close-knit community of students, faculty and staff that fosters a culture of success for everyone.

“UAMS focuses on making you a clinician who can work in any setting, from a rural clinic to an academic institution,” said Lala. “That teaching also translates into research by integrating the art and science of medicine with goals of maximizing patient comfort, efficiency and resources. It’s allowed me to gain a stronger sense of how to integrate knowledge of the scientific and social aspects of medicine so that small steps can be taken toward achieving big, actionable changes.”

Many times promising students must be cultivated and shown what a career in science can offer. Through funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), UAMS developed the Initiative for Maximizing Student Development.

Recruiting and graduating more doctoral students from underrepresented and disadvantaged groups increases future faculty members and leaders at universities and academic health centers.

“The more diverse the workforce looking at a particular problem, the more successful you can be at solving it,” said Robert McGehee Jr., Ph.D., dean of the UAMS Graduate School and co-director of the initiative.

Through financial support and mentoring, the program prepares graduate students to move on to a senior level mentor’s lab, where other grants support their work.

The UAMS program currently has 23 participants. It began in 2009 and has funding to continue through 2019. Today, UAMS has forged a network of contacts nationally, and as a result, more imaginative, perceptive minds have joined the research laboratory. In December 2014, the program graduated its first students.

“These students will be the leading researchers, educators and academic administrators of the future,” McGehee said.

Another venture supporting student researchers is the Women’s Giving Circle in the

Nupur Lala smiles after winning the 1999 Scripps National Spelling Bee.

waiting on

Stephanie Garder Quote


UAMS College of Pharmacy. The group recently distributed more than $12,000 in grants to a dozen pharmacy student groups and college faculty to support special research projects.

“It was fun to get a group of women together to support the college and support each other with networking and professional development,” said Nicki Hilliard, Pharm. D., and Giving Circle Chair.

Future academic leadership is also being furthered through the generosity of Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield through two $150,000 grants to the UAMS Center for Dental Education and the UAMS Office of Interprofessional Education (IPE) to expand collaborative practice for UAMS students.

Nupur Lala surrounded by fellow second-year medical

students at UAMS starting on the left, Rebecca Moore , Sean Parham, Gayatri SureshKumar

and Charles Lavender.

“With the new focus on IPE, all of our students are learning with and from each other in multidisciplinary teams so that everyone is responsible for a good patient outcome,” said Stephanie Gardner, Pharm.D., Ed.D., provost and chief academic officer.

An additional $1 million grant from Arkansas Blue Cross established The Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, George K. Mitchell, M.D., Endowed Chair in Primary Care that honors Mitchell — a UAMS graduate and a Arkansas Blue Cross board member and retired president. The chair holder, when appointed, will focus on expanding and brining innovations to primary care.


As a stand-out pitcher for the

Russellville Lady Cyclones softball team, Andrea Kindrick struck out 289 batters and led her team to the 2013 Class 6A State Championship. During the 2015 season she played NCAA Division I softball at the University of Alabama.

It’s a dream come true for the recent graduate – one that almost didn’t happen.

Two years ago, Kindrick began experiencing severe pain in her pitching arm. Though she sought care, no treatments were able to return her to previous performance levels.

Still, Kindrick had high hopes as she entered her senior year. The Cyclones were playing Greenwood in their conference opener.

“During the second inning, the pain became excruciating,” Kindrick said. “I couldn’t grasp the ball like I wanted while pitching.”

Kindrick was in tears from

Treatment Allows Pitcher to Play College Ball

Andrea kindrick, a UAMS orthopaedic patient, pitches in a game before a pinched nerve brought her to UAMS.

the pain. Her parents took her to see Theresa Wyrick, M.D., associate professor in the UAMS College of Medicine’s Department of Orthopaedic Surgery.

“Her main complaints were that she had numbness and tingling in the ring and small fingers,” Wyrick said. “She also had lots of burning pain down the forearm, which worsened when she tried to throw. It immediately seemed like cubital tunnel syndrome, which is a pinched nerve at the elbow – right at the funny bone.”

Wyrick said high-performance athletes are particularly at risk

for developing this pinched nerve because of the repetitive stress across the elbow. The family opted for surgery.

“Because she would be going back to playing a competitive sport, we moved the nerve to a different location, so that it is no longer in front of or underneath the thick area of muscle,” Wyrick said. “That prevents it from pinching the nerve again.”

During her rehabilitation, Wyrick, the trainer and pitching

coaches in Alabama worked together to get Kindrick ready for her freshman year.

“I feel great. It doesn’t hurt,” Kindrick said. “I’m listening to my doctors, trainers and coaches and working my way back gently.”

Andrea kindrick smiles after receiving news that she has been cleared to

practice softball without restriction three months after surgery.


Deep Brain Stimulation Relieves Patient’s OCD SymptomsThomasine Williams of Sherwood, Arkansas, was

constantly washing her hands and rearranging items.She was unable to go anywhere in public without taking a

towel to sit on. She balked at opening doors and using silverware at restaurants. A nursing student, she eventually lost a job as a waitress because of her inability to work in a setting surrounded by people.

Williams sought help in 2010 at UAMS’ Psychiatric Research Institute for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), a diagnosis shared by some 2.2 million Americans.

Erick Messias, M.D., formerly of the Institute’s Walker Family Clinic, said Williams was sitting on her towel in the clinic’s lobby the first time he met her and was unable to even shake his hand.

Messias initially prescribed medications and therapy. After a year with little success, he determined she was a likely candidate for a surgical procedure involving deep brain stimulation for patients whose OCD didn’t respond to medication.

“Deep brain stimulation involves specific areas of the brain being electrically stimulated through electrodes that are surgically implanted,” Messias said.

He consulted with Erika Petersen, M.D., an assistant professor in the UAMS College of Medicine’s Department of Neurosurgery, about the possibility of treating Williams with deep brain stimulation by implanting electrodes in her brain.

The surgery, which took place in June 2014, included placing a battery pack under the skin to keep the electrical current coursing to her brain. UAMS is one of an elite group of around 20 hospitals around the country that have performed the procedure.

A year after her surgery, Williams has shown dramatic improvement, from being unable to even touch others to openly embracing her therapists. She hopes to complete her education requirements in the coming year to obtain her nursing degree.

As for the towel she sat on everywhere she went? It’s safe to say, Thomasine has thrown out the towel.

30 giving.uams.edu

Thomasine Williams, UAMS patient, has made great

strides in overcoming OcD.

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