Achievements in Healthcare

“Arkansans are very fortunate to have outstanding medical centers from one end of the state to the other. I’m not sure they realize the quality of the institutions we have, and the institutions are providing their best at a time when it’s financially difficult to do so due to the economic state in our country. But our hospitals are committed to providing the best quality healthcare to our citizens and they are doing so. We are very proud of that,” said Phil Matthews, president and CEO, Arkansas Hospital Association. The association has about 100 hospital members.

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute recently received a nearly $10.5 million-dollar grant from the National Institutes of Health. The grant will be used to construct the expansion of the research floors of the institute.
Dr. Peter Emanuel, director of the institute, Alan Sugg, president of the University of Arkansas System and UAMS chancellor Dan Rahn were joined by Gov. Mike Beebe last month to announce the grant, which is a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The grant will fund an additional 33,660 square feet of research laboratory space; construction is expected to be complete mid-2011.
Emanuel said the cornerstone of the Cancer Institute is research. “Completion of these two research floors will be a huge step in expanding our research capabilities and our ability to search for the causes and future treatments of many types of cancer.”
For more information about UAMS, log onto uamshealth.com or call (501) 686-7000; for information about the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, log onto cancer.uams.edu.

Baptist Health recently performed a procedure using the NanoKnife system. The hospital was the fourth in North America to offer the new technology. The NanoKnife system uses a “series of microsecond electrical pulses — instead of extreme heat, freezing, radiation or microwave energy — to permanently open cell membranes in cancerous tumors, prompting the death of the targeted cancer cells”; the technology is known as irreversible electroporation.
Dr. David Hays used the NanoKnife to treat a patient with a cancerous tumor in the liver; ultrasound or CT (computed tomography) was utilized to insert the NanoKnife’s probes. Once the cancerous cells die, they are dissolved and removed from the body through its own natural process. Healthy tissue will grow in place of the tumor.
Hays said the system allows for a “very advanced and selective way of attacking cancer in the liver, kidney and other sensitive organs without exposing patients to traditional invasive surgeries” and chemotherapy and radiation therapies. “Using the NanoKnife system provides us with the potential of better precision and faster treatment as well as for fewer complications.”
For more information about Baptist Health, log onto baptist-health.com or call (501) 227-8478.

St. Vincent Health System has recently become one of the only health care facilities in the country to operate a world-class, community-based, neuroscience institute. The Arkansas Neuroscience Institute is a comprehensive program that utilizes all aspects of neurosurgery and treats an extensive array of neurological disorders. The facility is headed by renowned physicians Dr. Ossama Al-Mefty, Dr. Ali Krisht and Dr. Ian Dunn, who lead a team of highly skilled neurosurgeons in skull-base surgery, vascular neurosurgery, neuro-oncology, spine and spinal cord surgery, epilepsy surgery and surgery for movement disorders. With a focus in cranial neurosurgery, Drs. Krisht and Al-Mefty have gained international reputations for their work with rare tumors and aneurysm treatment. Dr. Dunn has published more than 30 peer-reviewed papers and written more than 20 book chapters. His clinical interests include skull base surgery, pituitary surgery, spinal neurosurgery, and cerebrovascular surgery.
For more information on this state-of-the-art facility, log onto stvincenthealth.com/ani.

Last year, Arkansas Heart Hospital was named as one of the first recipients in the nation — and the only Arkansas recipient — to have earned the Medical Partners International 2009 C.A.R.E.S. (Compassion, Attitude, Respect, Environment, and Service) designation. This award is given based on a nationally-standardized survey provided through HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) that measures patients’ perceptions of the care they receive in health care facilities. Fields considered in the decision-making process include: nurse care, doctor care, dietician care, and environmental service group care. Arkansas Heart Hospital was the only hospital in the state to achieve this designation, and one of only 33 to receive the award in the entire country.

For more information about Arkansas Heart Hospital, log onto arheart.com.