Housecall Spring 2009

A QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS FOR MEDICAL SCIENCES

telemedicine improves stroke outcomes

spring 2009

House•Call Spring 2009

editor Susan Van Dusen art director Laurie Shell managing editor Liz Caldwell

Welcome

from Chancellor I. Dodd Wilson

O

UAMS is the ability of our physicians to provide much-needed health care services throughout the state, often while remaining on our Little Rock campus. This innovation, known as telehealth, is made possible through the use of technology and partnerships with health care professionals across Arkansas.

Led by Dr. Curtis Lowry, our Center for Distance Health utilizes interactive video and audio teleconferencing to allow UAMS doctors to consult in real time with doctors located from Rogers to Lake Village, and numerous locations in between. Patients who are unable to come to Little Rock are still able to receive the expert opinion of our highly trained specialists through the powerful and efficient use of technology.

Telehealth has changed — and will continue to change — the face of Arkansas health care for years to come. This is evident in one of our newest programs titled Arkansas SAVES (Stroke Assistance Through Virtual Emergency Support), a partnership with the state Department of Health and several Arkansas hospitals.

Arkansas SAVES is intended to improve emergency care for people experiencing a stroke, when quick response with proper medication can potentially limit serious complications. Through telehealth technology, emergency room physicians can consult via video conferencing with a UAMS neurologist, share test results and determine the best treatment option in the shortest amount of time.

You can read more about Arkansas SAVES on Page 8. Partnerships such as these are vital to helping UAMS improve the health of Arkansans from all corners of the state. ne of the cornerstones of

creative director Keith Runkle writers Nate Hinkel Jon Parham David Robinson Susan Van Dusen photographer Johnpaul Jones editorial advisory board Kathy Alexander Jerry Atchley Anne Bynum Cindy Pugh Dale Ronnel Carla Spainhour Judy Snowden Becky Tucker

chancellor I. Dodd Wilson, M.D.

vice chancellor of communications & marketing Pat Torvestad associate vice chancellor of communications & marketing Leslie Taylor assistant vice chancellor of communications & marketing Tim Irby HouseCall is published quarterly by UAMS Office of Communications & Marketing, 4301 W. Markham St. #890, Little Rock, AR 72205-7199 Phone: (501) 686-5686 Fax: (501) 686-6020

Read current and archived issues of HouseCall online at www.UAMShealth.com/housecall

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I. Dodd Wilson, M.D. Chancellor, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

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Spring 2009

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Take it to the Bank

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Work is under way to establish Arkansas’ first cord blood bank

New Web site is designed to be patient friendly

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A Matter of Time

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The Mind’s Eye

Health care providers join forces for stroke patients

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Researchers use a powerful MRI to study the decision-making process

In every issue

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Builders

14

Healers

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Did You Know

18

Scholars

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Partners

Dr. Youmin Wu leads the liver transplant program

Newsworthy happenings at UAMS

Faculty member creates a model for respiratory care education

Sheila Mehaffy watched the Psychiatric Research Institute go from dream to reality

On the cover: Dr. Salah Keyrouz leads a new telehealth program designed to improve stroke outcomes.

Cover photo: Johnpaul Jones uamshealth.com

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Momentum grows on the Northwest Arkansas campus

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Dr. Michele Fox is a leader in the effort to start Arkansas' first cord blood bank, which will house specialized equipment on the UAMS campus.

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th a kn heal Fox hing s d e i l l n e b a h . ta arch . Mic n es realized Dr ts in rese efforts i g e r efi nk a r reachin ng i a k b a ben d re fa bloo ndb and ving grou ide cord eniable e-sa f f i l d d w n sor o d e n a s t u e a g f t e n s ro ar an ali hey MS p herapy s he “ T ormou ox, a UA T l F en f Cel x’s with lity,” said irector o r, Fo i a g d e b l a d c min al . an t m cap e s y u n y r g i r c ,d s di olo is c word nception path sion Me tential e h t o u o p c sf ng Tran ugh the spreadi own mis picture. o n d e h he g T as be breakin ouded t h n the io d cl ured ical c miss port an initially e s ed e up has he m donors up s ight hav ng. Fox t , t m sas rk i r of men that rkan mbe ’s wo govern A t u i n g d » g in n e A g of stat a growin of keep g effort. e n n i c i d az an back unity an port is trailbl m i m e h com alize th of t dge e r e o g wh uttin he c House•Call t n o ate

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Striking a Cord In March

bank

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2007, state legislators unanimously approved legislation to allow Arkansas to begin storing and researching blood cells harvested from umbilical cords following the birth of healthy children.

Those cells are used in transplants for cancer patients who do not have a bone marrow donor, but they also have tremendous promise for regenerating diseased or injured organs, including dead heart muscle, bone and spinal cord tissue. The umbilical cord, placenta and amniotic fluid, all of which are typically discarded after birth, are rich in stem cells that can be withdrawn without destroying embryos.

Included in the legislation was an initiative to set up a statewide cord blood banking network — an integral part of the effort with the goal of aiding in the collection and transportation of donated cord blood.

“The public has shown great interest in donating cord blood for research or to be banked, but the only way to do that has been to pay for costly storage through a private bank,” Fox said.

“For example, the nearest cord blood bank is in St. Louis, and it’s credited with saving more than 550 lives annually,” Fox said.

Check-Off On It An anonymous donor has guaranteed $250,000 in matching funds to help establish the cord blood bank and network, a goal Fox said is well on its way to being met through several fundraising efforts.

No funding was included in the original legislation, but an income tax check-off program was part of the package. The program allows contributions from taxpayers to the Newborn Umbilical Cord Blood Initiative to be automatically deducted from their refund checks for whatever amount they wish to give.

“Our hope is that by having this option available to Arkansans, an initial funding stream is created that will open up the flood gates for this valuable program,” said Tim Clark, an Arkansas businessman whom Gov. Beebe appointed chairman of the Arkansas Commission for the Newborn Umbilical Cord Blood Initiative. The 11-member commission, to which Fox serves as a consultant, was created in the initial legislation to lead the effort to establish the cord blood bank and network.

Fox said the program was successful in its first year with more than 1,100 tax refund donations, but she expects higher numbers this tax season.

The tax program, along with a public relations effort featuring spokespeople Ginger Beebe, Arkansas’ first lady, and Clark, looks to secure more funding and the licensing the bank and network needs to be operational later this year.

Bank it Here Equipment to establish and run the bank is being been purchased with the support of donors and leadership at UAMS. Since UAMS is home to one of the largest adult blood cell transplant centers in the country, Fox’s division will host the central bank and be the main storage site under the UAMS umbrella. Once in operation, the cord blood bank will be linked with national and international networks of cord blood banks that supply these cells for transplant all over the world.

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Fox’s mission has been spreading the word, drumming up support and breaking down misconceptions.

With further research and an efficient cord blood banking system, more than 100 million Americans and 2 billion people worldwide could potentially be treated or cured. For more information or to make a donation, contact Brooke Ivy at (501) 686-7203 or bivy@uams.edu.

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New UAMShealth.com is filled with patient-friendly features By Susan Van Dusen

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hether you are seeking general health information or treatment for a specific condition, UAMS’ new Web site is just a click away.

“UAMShealth.com was designed from a patient’s perspective,” said Lannie Byrd, UAMS Web Center director. “We tried to capture every aspect a patient would need when searching for health care information or services.”

The site will include many features designed to increase convenience, including online prescription refills and online bill pay. Printable maps provide detailed information on navigating the UAMS campus, and an

online giving form makes it easy to donate to UAMS’ institutes and colleges with a Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Discover card.

Visitors can easily locate information about physicians specially trained to treat specific conditions and can access contact information for UAMS’ many outpatient clinics.

“The interactive tools are some of the most outstanding features of the new site. Visitors can access the information they need in any number of ways,” Byrd said.

An extensive medical library includes articles on conditions from allergies to cancer, along with audio podcasts, videos, interactive quizzes and risk assessment tools.

Calculators are available to help users determine such things as their body mass index, their baby’s due date, their child’s estimated adult height and more.

When a search topic is entered, the site automatically displays links to UAMS news, medical services, health articles and multimedia, giving visitors several options from which to choose.

“We are so pleased to have launched this new site in conjunction with the opening of the new UAMS hospital,” Byrd said. “It will be a valuable tool for our patients and visitors.”

“We tried to capture every aspect a patient would need.”

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J A Matter

of Time

UAMS and rural hospitals join forces to provide a life-saving stroke drug

By David Robinson

oseph Fritz was going about his morning household chores in Clarksville when he noticed his mother, Hilda, slumped in her chair.

His first thought, which turned out to be correct, was stroke. “One side of her body was totally unresponsive,” Joseph recalled of that Nov. 12, 2008, day.

The emergency response that followed was historic for Arkansas and a first for UAMS’ Center for Distance Health. Less than two weeks earlier, Johnson Regional Medical Center in Clarksville had joined a new program led by UAMS that improves rural residents’ likelihood of surviving and recovering from stroke.

Like all patients with stroke symptoms, it was critical that Hilda be treated within three hours for the best chance of survival and a good outcome. As part of the new Arkansas SAVES (Stroke Assistance Through Virtual Emergency Support) program, the local ambulance’s EMTs had received special stroke training. The EMTs relayed their stroke assessment to the emergency room while en route, and the doctor was ready for Hilda when she arrived. A battery of tests followed, including a CT scan of the brain.

Each step helped lead to the correct stroke diagnosis, but the most important step involved a board-certified vascular neurologist based at UAMS.

Proper Assessment About 80 percent of strokes are ischemic, meaning clogged blood vessels are starving the brain of oxygen. Under a neurologist’s guidance, patients can receive the clot-busting drug called t-PA. Patients who receive the drug for ischemic stroke within three hours have the best chance of recovery.

Hemorrhagic stroke occurs when a blood vessel ruptures and bleeds into surrounding brain tissue. t-PA cannot be used for a hemorrhagic stroke, as it is likely to worsen the condition and could even be fatal. »

“Without the drug therapy, my mom wouldn’t have had a chance to recover.”

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Dr. Salah Keyrouz is medical director of Arkansas SAVES.

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After consultation with a neurologist, doctors in rural hospitals have the assurance of administering the potentially life-saving t-PA drug.

“Differentiating between these two types of stroke is important; only ischemic strokes could benefit from t-PA” said Dr. Salah Keyrouz, a UAMS neurologist and the Arkansas SAVES medical director.

Many smaller hospitals like the one in Clarksville have t-PA, but the drug has stayed on the shelf.

The risk of using it is simply too great without consultation with a neurologist.

This situation inspired UAMS — through its Center for Distance Health — and the forward thinking of the Department of Human Services 10

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Division of Medical Services to create the SAVES program, which eventually will connect rural hospitals across the state with life-saving expertise of neurologists on call 24 hours a day.

The McGehee-Desha County Hospital in Southeast Arkansas joined the SAVES program in February, to the excitement and relief of John Heard, that hospital’s chief executive officer.

“I can’t think of one time in the six years I’ve been here that we’ve used t-PA,” Heard said. “Could it have been given? Of course. But we didn’t have the SAVES program, which is imperative.” uamshealth.com

Called Into Action When Hilda’s CT scan and other tests indicated an ischemic stroke, the attending physician called a special hotline to activate the Arkansas SAVES Telestroke System. The call went to a nurse at the UAMS Center for Distance Health Call Center who then linked — via a video connection — an on-call neurologist with the Johnson Regional Medical Center’s ER physician.

In Hilda’s case, Keyrouz received the call at UAMS. He had immediate access to the local hospital’s lab results, a high-resolution CT brain image and a real-time, high-definition video/audio connection with the ER physician, Dr. James Goodman, and Hilda.

Keyrouz confirmed the diagnosis and t-PA was used.

Hilda, 92, had lost her speech and ability to swallow, as well as other muscle functions. She’s now regained her ability to speak and swallow, but she’s still recovering in a local rehabilitation clinic, and Joseph is grateful she has the opportunity.

“Without the drug therapy, my mom wouldn’t have had a chance to recover,” Joseph said. “I thought that I had lost her.”

The Arkansas SAVES system relies on the state Health Department’s hospital preparedness highspeed video network transmission lines that provide the live video communication. The telemedicine equipment links neurologists — two at UAMS and one at Sparks Regional Health System in Fort Smith — with rural hospital emergency rooms. The neurologists, who are on call 24 hours a day, also have telemedicine equipment at their homes.

“This is cool stuff,” Heard said. “This is going to save a lot of people’s lives.”

Still, Heard and other experts stress that Arkansas will need to do even more to improve its stroke ranking.

“Prevention should be our ultimate quest,” Keyrouz said. “But short of that, Arkansas SAVES is the best program we have for treating strokes in Arkansas.”

“This is going to save a lot of people's lives.”

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He noted that high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, age, high cholesterol and lack of exercise are all risk factors for stroke. It’s important that the public be aware of the signs and symptoms of a stroke, such as sudden weakness, numbness, unsteady gait and speech problems.

 Arkansas SAVES Facts

The Arkansas SAVES Program began Nov. 1,

2008, with a contract with Arkansas Department of Human Services, Division of Medical Services and the UAMS Center for Distance Health.

Partner hospitals so far include: Booneville

Community Hospital, Johnson Regional Medical Center, Mena Regional Health System, McGeheeDesha County Hospital and DeWitt Hospital.

Hospitals expected to join the program by July

include: Helena Regional Medical Center in HelenaWest Helena, Baxter Regional Medical Center in Mountain Home, White River Medical Center in Batesville and Baptist Health-Arkadelphia.

Three neurologists are on call 24 hours a day to

provide their life-saving expertise via a telemedicine link with community hospital emergency rooms. They are: Dr. Salah Keyrouz, the Arkansas SAVES medical director; Dr. James Schmidley, professor of neurology at UAMS; and Dr. Margaret Tremwel, a neurologist at Sparks Regional Health System in Fort Smith.

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T

he UAMS satellite campus in Fayetteville is finding widespread support and its first students are expected to arrive this fall.

In 2008, more than $3 million was pledged toward the UAMS expansion. Those funds are helping pay for renovations to the former Washington Regional Medical Center building to accommodate the campus. The UAMS Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Northwest also will move its existing health education and medical care programs into the facility this year. Fundraising is continuing with a $17 million goal to fully renovate and prepare the facility.

“We’re finding our donors understand how important this effort is to the region and the entire state,” said Dr. Peter O. Kohler, vice chancellor for the northwest Arkansas region. “It will allow us to increase our enrollment in a way not possible on our Little Rock campus and produce more physicians, nurses, pharmacists and allied health professionals in the future.”

Giving was highlighted in November 2008 when a trio of Arkansas philanthropists gave a total of $1.5 million toward the effort. Donations of $500,000 each were announced from Don Tyson and the Tyson Family Foundation, the Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation and Johnelle Hunt. That gift was announced two days after a $300,000 gift to the project from the Walton Family Foundation.

There also was a $100,000 gift in August 2008 from the Northwest Arkansas Community Foundation, a group whose mission is encouraging philanthropy across the region.

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“It is exciting to see the momentum building behind the UAMS satellite campus because of the long-lasting impact it will have on the state,” said Johnelle Hunt, widow of J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. founder J.B. Hunt and a longtime member of that company’s board of directors, on the day the gift was announced.

Opening Soon Renovations will be under way this spring, Kohler said. By September, the AHEC is expected to move into its new home. A month later, about five or six medical students will arrive in what Kohler termed a trial run for the campus.

Ultimately, the campus will have 250 to 300 students along with resident physicians when full enrollment is reached. He said that will not happen until 2012, when the renovation work is complete with laboratory equipment and other resources to accommodate the pharmacy, allied health and other students who will fill out enrollment.

Kohler said medical and pharmacy students will complete their first two years of school at the UAMS campus in Little Rock. Then some could transfer to the satellite campus to complete the last two years.

Northwest Arkansas was identified as the prime location for the campus because it has enough potential clinical partners — including hospitals, clinics and pharmacies — where students and resident physicians gain experience with the latest medical technology or treating real patients in supervised settings. The UAMS campus in Little Rock and UAMS programs around the state Find out more at that host clinical www.uams.edu/nw. education for For the satellite campus, students and UAMS plans residency resident physicians programs in internal medicine, obstetrics/ are not able to gynecology, pediatrics, accommodate psychiatry and surgery, in enough new addition to a family medicine program that already exists students, Kohler in the AHEC. said.

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UAMS builders

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“Our donors understand how important this effort is to the region and the entire state.”

Dr. Peter Kohler is leading UAMS' effort in northwest Arkansas. uamshealth.com

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UAMS Healers

Transplant surgeon's expertise is a lifesaver for liver cancer patient

By David Robinson

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C

“The other doctors couldn’t find the cancer, but with the blessing of the good Lord, Dr. Wu did.” all it luck or divine intervention, but

Danny Stobaugh found UAMS’ Dr. Youmin Wu in the nick of time.

The day after Thanksgiving 2007,

pathologist, radiologist, radiation oncologist and hematologist/oncologist.

“This is the real strength of UAMS,” Wu said.

“There’s no place else in this region that can provide

Stobaugh was so jaundiced that he was taken to a

a patient like Mr. Stobaugh such a sophisticated

Little Rock hospital. His blood tests told doctors he

multidisciplinary effort.”

had cancer, but exploratory surgery failed to find it.

After undergoing radiation and chemotherapy,

As he approached his third week in the hospital, he

Stobaugh received a transplant on March 25, 2008.

was visited by Dr. Kent Westbrook, a longtime friend

who also is a cancer surgeon at UAMS.

said Stobaugh, who expected to die from the cancer

before seeing Wu. “I don’t think people realize what a

Westbrook suggested that Stobaugh go to UAMS

and see Wu, who established UAMS’ liver transplant

“I’m here today thanks to the Lord and Dr. Wu,”

treasure UAMS is; I sure didn’t.”

program in 2005. In early January 2008, Wu diagnosed Stobaugh with a rare cancer of the liver, hilar cholangiocarcinoma.

“The other doctors couldn’t find the cancer, but

with the blessing of the good Lord, Dr. Wu did,” said Stobaugh, 59, who spent his investment banking career in Little Rock and Russellville and is now retired with his wife, Paula, in Gulf Shores, Ala. “The cancer was in the bile duct; it was a very rare cancer.”

Even more fortunate for Stobaugh, Wu happened to be one of the few surgeons in the world with a track record for helping patients beat hilar cholangiocarcinoma.

Wu’s documented success, published in Liver

Transplantation, helped convince the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) to put Stobaugh on a waiting list for a donor liver. UNOS had initially

Building on Success Since arriving at UAMS in 2005, Dr. Youmin Wu has built a liver transplant program with near perfect one-year survival rates. His team includes Dr. Frederick Bentley, a liver transplant surgeon, and Dr. Gary Barone, a kidney and pancreas transplant surgeon who also assists with liver transplants.

In January, the Scientific Registry for Transplant Recipients reported that UAMS’ one-year patient survival rate was 98.25 percent, compared with the national average of 87.85 percent. UAMS has performed almost 100 liver transplants since its program was established three years ago.

“We have an experienced team that works well together,” Wu said. “Their expertise ensures the best possible outcome for our patients.”

rejected the request because so few patients survive the cancer, even with a new liver.

Wu’s approach required marshaling a force

of UAMS specialists, including a hepatologist, uamshealth.com

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?

Did You

Know

J. Thomas May

ALS Research Center

A Pine Bluff banker was recently honored by the naming of laboratories dedicated to finding new treatments for a crippling neurodegenerative disease.

The J. Thomas May Center

for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Research has a focus on translational medicine, meaning that it seeks to move new treatments quickly

WilsonEducationBuilding

When visitors enter the UAMS campus, one of the first sites they see is a new building bearing the name of UAMS Chancellor I. Dodd Wilson. The naming was announced at a ceremony in late 2008.

The two-floor I. Dodd Wilson Education Building includes 16 classrooms and two auditoriums to accommodate growing enrollment in the five colleges and graduate school at UAMS. The naming recognizes more than two decades of growth at UAMS during Wilson’s tenure, first as College of Medicine dean and since 2000 as chancellor.

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from the laboratory to the clinic.

The center is supported by more

than $1 million in gifts to UAMS in honor of May, who is chairman and chief executive officer of Simmons First National Corp. and Simmons First National Bank. He has been diagnosed with ALS, a condition that typically strikes otherwise healthy people and robs them of all voluntary muscle function.

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Art on Display

Fans of renowned glass artist James Hayes can view the largest permanent collection of his art at the UAMS Psychiatric Research Institute.

Hayes, an Arkansas native, created the series to be displayed throughout the psychiatric facility. The 44 wall hangings were designed to honor donors who have made significant contributions to the Institute.

Dr. G. Richard Smith is chairman of the UAMS Department of Psychiatry and director of the Psychiatric Research Institute.

New Approach to Heart Surgery

Patricia Ernst of Jacksonville became a UAMS first when she recently underwent two procedures at once to alleviate blockages in three of her coronary arteries.

Ernst normally would have received three heart bypasses but instead received a rare hybrid: two stents inserted by UAMS cardiologist Dr. Behzad Molavi, and one bypass by Dr. Gareth Tobler, a cardiothoracic surgeon.

A stent is a wire mesh tube that holds arteries open to improve blood flow.

Rarely do patients have a cardiologist and cardiothoracic surgeon working in concert to offer both procedures, and this is believed to be the first time it was performed in Arkansas. uamshealth.com

Dr. Jeanne Wei

Institute on Aging Director Named Dr. Jeanne Wei has been named executive director of the UAMS Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging and chairman of the Donald W. Reynolds Department of Geriatrics in the College of Medicine, where, since 2002, she has served as professor and executive vice chairman.

As a geriatrician, cardiologist, scientist, teacher and academic administrator, Wei has more than 20 years of experience in developing academic programs and clinical initiatives. She is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in internal medicine and in the subspecialties of cardiovascular medicine and geriatric medicine.

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UAMS scholars

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Kathy Rye was honored for her contributions to respiratory care education.

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Breathing Easier UAMS faculty member creates a national model for respiratory care education By Jon Parham

“The clinical preceptor becomes part role model, part mentor.”

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the clinical portion of their national registry exam in 2007-2008, compared to the 56 percent national rate.

Rye said the clinical phase of the respiratory care program is the cornerstone of a student’s education experience. Thus it is critical that the preceptors are effective teachers.

Students gain their basic knowledge in the classroom. They also learn treatment and therapy techniques using manikins, Rye said. But nothing compares to observing and working with real patients in a supervised setting.

During this experience, the clinical preceptor becomes part role model, part mentor. “I still remember my mentor’s enthusiasm for the profession,” Rye said. “It is the characteristics of preceptors and the clinical environment that they create that makes the learning experience rewarding and productive for all participants.”

Love of the profession and the “patient first” focus are important traits in preceptors, she said.

Rye, who joined the UAMS faculty in 1993, started developing the preceptor program while she was a graduate student. Since its adoption, more than 200 therapists have been trained to serve as preceptors in Arkansas.

“Most of the preceptors I talk to find the experience rewarding. They feel like through working with the students, they are giving back to their profession,” she said.

She now gets regular There are about calls and e-mails from 400 respiratory respiratory care programs care educational programs in the across the country, United States. seeking advice on setting up or developing their Find out more at www.uams.edu/ own preceptor education chrp/respiratorycare. programs.

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K

athy Rye was in her late teens when her grandfather developed progressive lung disease.

Living nearby, she had to watch as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease affected the breathing and quality of life for the man who once taught her to ride a horse. Rye said it ultimately guided her career into respiratory therapy.

“I saw the difference the various respiratory therapists he saw were making in helping him cope with the effects of the disease,” Rye said.

She was in college by the time he died and soon changed her major from elementary education to respiratory care.

Today Rye is director of clinical education and an associate professor in the UAMS respiratory care program. She was recently selected by her peers for the Specialty Practitioner of the Year Award from the Education Section of the American Association for Respiratory Care.

Rye was recognized in part for developing a clinical preceptor program that helps respiratory therapists who host students in hospitals or clinics to be effective teachers, while also giving the students clinical experience.

“She was very intuitive about what was needed in the clinical setting to make a successful experience for students,” said Erna Boone, chairman of the UAMS Department of Respiratory Care and Surgical Technologies. “Kathy’s award was a huge endorsement for the quality of program we have.”

The proof also is in the numbers. More than 90 percent of UAMS respiratory care students passed

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A new MRI scanner will give researchers a glimpse into the brain’s decision-making process

By Nate Hinkel

I

magine asking someone a question and then receiving a detailed image of where the person’s answer was processed in the brain.

It might sound like science fiction, but it’s already happening at the UAMS Psychiatric Research Institute, thanks to the addition of a powerful new MRI scanner.

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“This instrument will significantly advance our research into addiction and other challenging behaviors,” said Dr. Warren Bickel, director of the Psychiatric Research Institute’s Center for Addiction Research.

In the final weeks before the new $32 million, 110,000-SF Institute opened late last fall, a specialized uamshealth.com

The scanner is able to produce a magneticfield 60,000 times stronger than the Earth's.

forklift meticulously lifted the 10,000-pound 3 Tesla MRI scanner into a custom-designed hole in the wall at the Helen L. Porter and James T. Dyke Brain Imaging Research Center. The scanner, which cost about $3 million, contains a superconducting magnet that is able to produce a magnetic field 60,000 times stronger than the Earth’s. uamshealth.com

Ask and Receive The human brain is small compared to the rest of the body’s internal organs, weighing only roughly three pounds. But the control it maintains over the rest of the body, including all forms of movement and behavior, is immense.

That’s why it is so important to understand the inner workings of the brain and to be able to study it thoroughly.

The 3 Tesla system will be used for research by the Psychiatric Research Institute as well as for clinical diagnoses by the Department of Radiology. Research will include the assessment of brain function associated with the decision-making process of subjects in the MRI scanner.

“We’ll present them with questions while they are in the scanner and be able to observe increasing blood flow associated with neural effort,” said Jeff Pitcock, a neuroimaging data analyst with the Institute’s Center for Addiction Research. “We’ll see how these people make decisions and be able to collect images of where the blood flow is increasing or decreasing.”

Mind Over Matter Pitcock, whose job it is to design functional imaging projects and analyze their data, says the scanner will provide new and important information regarding the future of mental illness treatment.

“What it does is offer researchers a very safe and non-invasive technique to identify areas of the brain that may be responsible or correlated with illness or disruptive behaviors,” Pitcock said. “That’s the first step into being able to translate the research into a clinical intervention of some sort.”

Being able to determine the exact cause and location of a problem within the brain often requires major surgery. The MRI will allow clinicians and researchers to witness the human thought process in action, without making a single incision.

“More specifically, it will permit us to The 3 Tesla MRI system is one of only see how the brain of two in Arkansas, as the addicted person a similar unit is being operates differently used by the UAMS Department from the rest of us,” of Radiology.

Bickel said.

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Jeff Pitcock stands next to the 3 Tesla MRI Scanner.

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UAMS partners

W

hen bipolar disorder struck her daughter about 15 years ago, Sheila Mehaffy was both disappointed and inspired by what followed.

She learned, like so many others in Arkansas, that mental illness treatment options were severely limited.

And the stigma associated with the disease only aggravated the situation — even her daughter’s private insurance did not cover her condition.

January 2005, also credits the tireless work of Dr. G. Richard Smith, chairman of the UAMS Department of Psychiatry and the Institute’s director.

“Dr. Smith traveled all over Arkansas to visit with potential supporters and the public at large to help them understand the need for a Psychiatric Research Institute,” Mehaffy said. “Dr. Smith and members of his staff and the volunteers all worked very hard, and as a result we began to see contributions

Uncommon

Focus

Sheila Mehaffy was part of a determined group of supporters for the Psychiatric Research Institute

By David Robinson

Eventually her daughter found treatment at UAMS, and today she is a healthy, active wife and mother of three.

Mehaffy, meanwhile, became part of a group of private supporters dedicated to helping UAMS build a new Psychiatric Research Institute. Many in the group were bound by similar experiences with mental illness in their families and friends.

“Mental illness treatment and helping our state overcome the stigma became a real passion of mine,” she said.

Despite their commitment to raising funds for the new Iinstitute, success came slowly. The group encountered misunderstandings about mental illness that stymied its efforts. Still, the UAMS supporters and leaders from the UAMS Department of Psychiatry persevered and incorporated an education component in November 2003 called the Beautiful Minds Program.

Mehaffy was one of the founders of the monthly program, which continues today with luncheonlectures on mental illness topics at the Country Club of Little Rock and Pleasant Valley Country Club.

Mehaffy, who became a member of the UAMS Psychiatric Research Institute Advisory Board in 22

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grow. It was tremendously exciting to watch.”

About $10 million in private funds were raised, and on Dec. 2, 2008, Mehaffy and hundreds of other supporters celebrated the grand opening of the new Psychiatric Research Institute building. The 40-bed, $32 million facility, whose six stories encompass 110,000 square feet, is one of only nine institutions in the country combining research and education with inpatient and outpatient care.

Mehaffy, a graduate of Randolph Macon Woman’s College in Lynchburg, Va., loves gardening in her free time, and she’s active in her church, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Little Rock. But she also continues to make time for UAMS, and although the Psychiatric Research Institute is now complete, she’s excited about being part of its future.

“The Psychiatric Research Institute has lots of volunteer opportunities, and I’m looking forward to helping in any way that I can,” she said.

“Mental illness treatment and helping our state overcome the stigma became a real passion of mine.”

uamshealth.com

Shelia Mehaffy championed the cause of mental illness after it touched her own family member. uamshealth.com

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4301 W. Markham St. #890 Little Rock, AR 72205

G etting to Know You Gloria Wright

For the past four years, Gloria Wright has managed a small army of volunteers, all in service to the UAMS Medical Center. She takes into account each volunteer’s skills, talent and passion and finds a position just right for them.

How many people are members of the Auxiliary: 323 Job title: Director of the Department of Volunteer Services and Auxiliary Job duties: Lifting, standing, walking, bending … the Volunteer Department gets involved with lots of projects that require physical activity. I also handle development of the volunteer program and leadership and support of the Auxiliary. I recently was assigned responsibility for the hospital’s Tenenbaum Foundation Patient and Family Resource Center.

What opportunities are available for volunteers at the hospital: We have an increased need for more Wayfinders to help visitors navigate the new building and the campus. We also need hostesses in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, animal-assisted therapy partners, waiting room volunteers and concierges in the new Patient and Family Resource Center.

Hometown: McGehee, Ark.

What do you like to do in your spare timE: My husband, John, and I are ballroom dancers.

Our passion is Argentine Tango.

Where do you volunteer in the community: I’m an active volunteer at Second Presbyterian Church.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be: Buenos Aires, Argentina