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Arkansas Seeing Boom in Healthcare Construction
Aging healthcare buildings around the state are receiving more than a half billion dollars of reconstructive surgery.
Across Arkansas, hospitals and clinics are expanding, updating, and in some cases, completely rebuilding their facilities in preparation for greatly increased healthcare demand in the coming decades.
Costs from some of the largest projects at major medical centers — St. Mary's Hospital in Rogers, Washington Regional in Fayetteville, Sparks Regional in Fort Smith, and St. Vincent and UAMS in Little Rock — plus smaller projects at Arkansas Children's Hospital and Baptist Health in Little Rock collectively total more than $600 million to be spent in the next couple of years.
BY JENNIFER BOULDEN |
Arkansas Seeing Boom in Healthcare Construction
Aging healthcare buildings around the state are receiving more than a half billion dollars of reconstructive surgery.
Across Arkansas, hospitals and clinics are expanding, updating, and in some cases, completely rebuilding their facilities in preparation for greatly increased healthcare demand in the coming decades.
Costs from some of the largest projects at major medical centers — St. Mary's Hospital in Rogers, Washington Regional in Fayetteville, Sparks Regional in Fort Smith, and St. Vincent and UAMS in Little Rock — plus smaller projects at Arkansas Children's Hospital and Baptist Health in Little Rock collectively total more than $600 million to be spent in the next couple of years.
BY JENNIFER BOULDEN |
Implantable Devices Work Wonders
The idea seems fairly simple: put a device inside the body that would help maintain normal sinus rhythm.
But is "cardiac resynchronization therapy device implantation" simple?
It isn't.
Three leads snake through the venous system and into muscle of the heart, then a lead wraps around the back end of the heart into the left ventricle.
Then you have implantable cardioverter defibrillators and another piece of whiz-bang technology.
What's the purpose of these devices?
BY JEREMY PEPPAS |
Implantable Devices Work Wonders
The idea seems fairly simple: put a device inside the body that would help maintain normal sinus rhythm.
But is "cardiac resynchronization therapy device implantation" simple?
It isn't.
Three leads snake through the venous system and into muscle of the heart, then a lead wraps around the back end of the heart into the left ventricle.
Then you have implantable cardioverter defibrillators and another piece of whiz-bang technology.
What's the purpose of these devices?
BY JEREMY PEPPAS |
Physician Spotlight: Dr. Brendan Stack
Dr. Brendan Stack is one of the rare 1-percenters.
Sure he's the James Y. Suen, MD, Chair in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at UAMS, an internationally recognized expert in thyroid problems and has nearly as many letters after his name as the alphabet, but what makes him so special?
"I'm a college dropout, I did two years," Stack said, with a laugh. "Less than 1 percent of people go to medical school without a bachelor's degree. Conversely 15 percent of people go to (it) with graduate degrees. It is sort of like a bell curve."
BY JEREMY PEPPAS |
Physician Spotlight: Dr. Brendan Stack
Dr. Brendan Stack is one of the rare 1-percenters.
Sure he's the James Y. Suen, MD, Chair in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at UAMS, an internationally recognized expert in thyroid problems and has nearly as many letters after his name as the alphabet, but what makes him so special?
"I'm a college dropout, I did two years," Stack said, with a laugh. "Less than 1 percent of people go to medical school without a bachelor's degree. Conversely 15 percent of people go to (it) with graduate degrees. It is sort of like a bell curve."
BY JEREMY PEPPAS |
Planned Construction Projects to Redevelop University Avenue
The plans are ambitious.
On one side of University Avenue, St. Vincent is locked into a $40 million expansion project that when completed will be a four-level facility and include a 19,000-square-foot emergency department.
The project calls for more than just a new emergency department. Also in the works are upgrades to patient rooms and changes to the Jack Stephens Heart Center, with a new cardiovascular intensive care unit. The orthopedic center will feature two new surgical suites and four additional general surgical suites. The anticipated completion date for the construction is April 19, 2009.
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Planned Construction Projects to Redevelop University Avenue
The plans are ambitious.
On one side of University Avenue, St. Vincent is locked into a $40 million expansion project that when completed will be a four-level facility and include a 19,000-square-foot emergency department.
The project calls for more than just a new emergency department. Also in the works are upgrades to patient rooms and changes to the Jack Stephens Heart Center, with a new cardiovascular intensive care unit. The orthopedic center will feature two new surgical suites and four additional general surgical suites. The anticipated completion date for the construction is April 19, 2009.
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Saved by Surgery
Arkansas Children's Hospital and its pediatric cardiac surgery team again made national television in December.
The Discovery Channel's new show, "Surgery Saved My Life," featured a December episode, "Train-wreck Heart," with Dr. Jake Jaquiss, Dr. Elizabeth Frazier and Allison Lowery, a 17-year old patient in Alexander. Lowery is the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. John Lowery.
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Saved by Surgery
Arkansas Children's Hospital and its pediatric cardiac surgery team again made national television in December.
The Discovery Channel's new show, "Surgery Saved My Life," featured a December episode, "Train-wreck Heart," with Dr. Jake Jaquiss, Dr. Elizabeth Frazier and Allison Lowery, a 17-year old patient in Alexander. Lowery is the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. John Lowery.
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Stuttering Clinic Hosts Boxing Great Jermain Taylor
You might have thought Jermain Taylor had something else to do or somewhere else to be that Tuesday afternoon in December.
After all, Taylor was going to be defending his world middleweight championship later that week in a boxing match against Kassim Ouma.
So it was a little surprising that Taylor, instead of working on his jab, was speaking at the UAMS/UALR Stuttering Clinic.
BY JEREMY PEPPAS |
Stuttering Clinic Hosts Boxing Great Jermain Taylor
You might have thought Jermain Taylor had something else to do or somewhere else to be that Tuesday afternoon in December.
After all, Taylor was going to be defending his world middleweight championship later that week in a boxing match against Kassim Ouma.
So it was a little surprising that Taylor, instead of working on his jab, was speaking at the UAMS/UALR Stuttering Clinic.
BY JEREMY PEPPAS |
Cardiophonics Improves Telemedicine Technology
Physicians and many cardiology patients are certainly familiar with conventional ambulatory cardiac monitoring to detect heart arrhythmias, but a Maryland-based company's new software advances take telemedicine a step further – detecting dangerous heart rhythms and producing an electrocardiogram for immediate physician review.
"What we're doing today is actually attaching an EKG file to e-mail and sending it directly to your doctor.
BY SHARON H. FITZGERALD |
Cardiophonics Improves Telemedicine Technology
Physicians and many cardiology patients are certainly familiar with conventional ambulatory cardiac monitoring to detect heart arrhythmias, but a Maryland-based company's new software advances take telemedicine a step further – detecting dangerous heart rhythms and producing an electrocardiogram for immediate physician review.
"What we're doing today is actually attaching an EKG file to e-mail and sending it directly to your doctor.
BY SHARON H. FITZGERALD |
Around Arkansas
Harrison Looks to the Future with :
Hospital Expansion
Finding North Arkansas Regional Medical Center in Harrison is easy — just follow the giant construction cranes that tower over the town of 12,152 people.
"I didn't even think of that," said former COO Chris Whybrew, who has since left the hospital for a similar position at an Arizona hospital. "I come to work another way and it didn't occur to me to say 'look for the construction.'"
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Around Arkansas
Harrison Looks to the Future with :
Hospital Expansion
Finding North Arkansas Regional Medical Center in Harrison is easy — just follow the giant construction cranes that tower over the town of 12,152 people.
"I didn't even think of that," said former COO Chris Whybrew, who has since left the hospital for a similar position at an Arizona hospital. "I come to work another way and it didn't occur to me to say 'look for the construction.'"
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Medicare Part D Update
Embarking on its second year, the Medicare Part D prescription benefit is taking the lessons learned from the first 12 months and building upon its success.
"The first year, if you measure by almost all indices, went very, very well," said Jeff Nelligan, CMS director of media affairs. "We have guaranteed more than 38 million Medicare beneficiaries now have some form of prescription drug coverage."
BY CINDY SANDERS |
Medicare Part D Update
Embarking on its second year, the Medicare Part D prescription benefit is taking the lessons learned from the first 12 months and building upon its success.
"The first year, if you measure by almost all indices, went very, very well," said Jeff Nelligan, CMS director of media affairs. "We have guaranteed more than 38 million Medicare beneficiaries now have some form of prescription drug coverage."
BY CINDY SANDERS |
Verizon, VA, UAMS, MEMS Partner on Wireless Project
Verizon Wireless has been in the Arkansas market less than a year, but the company has already made an impact on local healthcare when it worked with UAMS, the VA and Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services on a way to send information from the field to the hospital.
The system allows for paramedics to transmit heart rhythms wirelessly to handheld devices like a Treo or BlackBerry.
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Verizon, VA, UAMS, MEMS Partner on Wireless Project
Verizon Wireless has been in the Arkansas market less than a year, but the company has already made an impact on local healthcare when it worked with UAMS, the VA and Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services on a way to send information from the field to the hospital.
The system allows for paramedics to transmit heart rhythms wirelessly to handheld devices like a Treo or BlackBerry.
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The ABCs of Diabetes
BRINKLEY—Educating people on diabetes isn't easy, but according to Denise Reynolds, an RN at the White River Rural Health Center, the solution is "helping them make the small changes."
The key word being small.
"A serving of juice is four ounces," Reynolds said, pointing to various examples of serving sizes. "A small tortilla or slice of bread is one serving. Meat is three ounces. Think about that. The 12-ounce steak you might eat out is actually enough for four people."
BY JEREMY PEPPAS |
The ABCs of Diabetes
BRINKLEY—Educating people on diabetes isn't easy, but according to Denise Reynolds, an RN at the White River Rural Health Center, the solution is "helping them make the small changes."
The key word being small.
"A serving of juice is four ounces," Reynolds said, pointing to various examples of serving sizes. "A small tortilla or slice of bread is one serving. Meat is three ounces. Think about that. The 12-ounce steak you might eat out is actually enough for four people."
BY JEREMY PEPPAS |
InRoomMD Fills Vacation (And Work) Niche
When Andy Jacobson's wife fell ill while staying at the Four Seasons Hotel in Las Vegas in April 2003, a concierge dialed a local physician who dropped by their room within the hour.
Intrigued by the concept of a doctor who makes house calls, Jacobson asked the physician, Dr. Cary P. Logan, about his specialty boutique practice. After a little more discussion about filling a much-needed niche for travelers, the two established InRoomMD.
BY LYNNE JETER |
InRoomMD Fills Vacation (And Work) Niche
When Andy Jacobson's wife fell ill while staying at the Four Seasons Hotel in Las Vegas in April 2003, a concierge dialed a local physician who dropped by their room within the hour.
Intrigued by the concept of a doctor who makes house calls, Jacobson asked the physician, Dr. Cary P. Logan, about his specialty boutique practice. After a little more discussion about filling a much-needed niche for travelers, the two established InRoomMD.
BY LYNNE JETER |
Staff Named at Arkansas Children's Hospital PULSE Center
Dr. Christopher Smith, MD, associate medical director at Arkansas Children's Hospital, recently became the medical director of the hospital's new PULSE (Pediatric Understanding and Learning through Simulation Education) Center, according to Beth Petlak, vice president of business development.
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Staff Named at Arkansas Children's Hospital PULSE Center
Dr. Christopher Smith, MD, associate medical director at Arkansas Children's Hospital, recently became the medical director of the hospital's new PULSE (Pediatric Understanding and Learning through Simulation Education) Center, according to Beth Petlak, vice president of business development.
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Gilliam Honored by Professional Association
The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc., has named Arkansas Children's Hospital Director of Infection Control Craig Gilliam a "Hero of Infection Prevention" for 2007.
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Gilliam Honored by Professional Association
The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc., has named Arkansas Children's Hospital Director of Infection Control Craig Gilliam a "Hero of Infection Prevention" for 2007.
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Diabetes Foundation Receives Check
CenterPoint Energy recently presented a check of $13,224 to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, Greater Arkansas Chapter.
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Diabetes Foundation Receives Check
CenterPoint Energy recently presented a check of $13,224 to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, Greater Arkansas Chapter.
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Standridge Named IABC/Arkansas President
Ron Standridge, public relations coordinator for the Central Arkansas Radiation Therapy Institute (CARTI), has been named president of the Arkansas Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC/Arkansas) for 2007.
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