LITTLE ROCK — Nanotechnology scientists at two Arkansas research institutions have developed a method of detecting, tracking, and killing cancer cells in real time with carbon nanotubes.

 

The discovery opens the prospect of a new, major front in the fight to eradicate cancer with promise for a new generation of cancer treatment beyond surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.

 

Dr. Alex Biris, University of Arkansas at Little Rock chief scientist at the Nanotechnology Center and assistant professor of applied science in UALR's Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology, and Dr. Vladimir P. Zharov, professor and director of the Phillips Classic Laser and Nanomedicine Laboratories in the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, published their findings in the latest issue of the Journal of Biomedical Optics.

 

By using Raman spectroscopy, they showed that it is possible not only to monitor and detect nanomaterials moving through the circulation, but also to detect single cancer cells tagged with carbon nanotubes. In this way, they can measure their clearance rate and their biodistribution kinetics through the lymph and blood systems.

 

Zharov emphasized that in vivo Raman flow cytometry is promising for the detection and identification of a broad spectrum of various nanoparticles with strong Raman scattering properties, such as cells, bacteria, and even viruses.

 

In their research, Biris, Zharov, and UAMS colleague Ekaterina Galanzha, M.D., injected a single human cancer cell containing carbon nanotube material in the tail vein of a test rat. They were able to follow the circulation of the carbon nanotubes in the blood vessels to the rat's ear, tracking the cell through the rat's blood stream, lymphatic system, and tissue with a Raman spectrometer.

 

FORT SMITH — The Sparks Board of Trustees has announced their decision to discontinue discussions with Jackson Hospital Affiliates.

 

On March 30, 2009, the Sparks Board of Trustees approved a non-binding letter of intent for the purchase of Sparks by Georgia-based Jackson Hospital Affiliates, a division of Jackson Healthcare, LLC. The date targeted for a definitive agreement was originally May 2009.

 

LITTLE ROCK — Daniel A. Knight, M.D., with more than two decades of experience in family medicine, has been named the new chairman of the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine in the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Medicine.

 

Knight, an associate professor with tenure who has been on the UAMS faculty since 1989, has served as acting chairman of the department since June 2008 and previously for a period in 2006-2007. His new appointment is effective July 1.

 

Knight received his medical degree in 1985 from the UAMS College of Medicine. He completed his family medicine residency at UAMS, serving as chief resident from 1987-1988.

 

From 1989-1999, Knight was a volunteer faculty in the UAMS Department of Family and Preventive Medicine while serving as a family physician and an emergency room physician in central Arkansas. He joined the UAMS faculty full time as an assistant professor in 1999 and was promoted to associate professor with tenure in 2005.

 

During his tenure at UAMS, Knight served as director of the College of Medicine's family medicine resident physician training program. He directed a revision of the family medicine residency program that led to full accreditation status by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. This was followed by a four-year re-accreditation of the program in 2006.

 

Knight serves on numerous College of Medicine and UAMS committees and on the board of the Arkansas Academy of Family Physicians. He has received several Red Sash Awards for teaching students and the College of Medicine Residency Educator Award in 2007. Other honors include the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors' 2007 Program Director Silver Recognition Award.

 

LITTLE ROCK — St. Vincent Family Clinic is pleased to announce that Stephen A. Humbard, a Family Practice physician has begin seeing patients at the St. Vincent Family Clinic/Chenal. He earned his medical degree at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, College of Medicine in Little Rock.

 

Dr. Scott Kapulskey Joins Staff At St. Bernards Senior Clinic

JONESBORO — Dr. Scott Kapulskey has joined the medical staff at St. Bernards Senior Health Clinic, a facility which provides comprehensive health assessments, consultations and treatments for older adults.

 

A board certified geriatrician, he is a native of Freehold, N.J., who earned his medical degree from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Rutgers Medical School. He served a residency in family practice medicine at Memorial Hospital of Burlington County, N.J., where he also served as chief resident during his third year of residency.

 

He comes to Jonesboro from Lumberton, N.J., where he served as medical director at Medford Leas Continuing Care Retirement Community in Medford, N.J. There, more than 600 residents were cared for by Kapulskey as they moved through the continuum of care. He opened his own practice as a family physician upon completing his residency and says serving families is both his vocation and his avocation. He has fashioned his practice after that of the "old-time family doctor." However, he always has been drawn to geriatrics.

 

Board certified in both geriatrics and family practice, Kapulskey for the last 12 years served as the chief of the section of geriatrics at Virtua-Memorial Hospital of Burlington County in Mount Holly, where he worked cooperatively with attending physicians, geriatric nurses and hospital staff to improve client-centered programs and services, as well as staff-focused education programs. Kapulsley is a member of the American Geriatrics Society, the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Family Physicians.

 

Before moving to Jonesboro, he was active in the New Jersey Academy of Family Physicians, Burlington County Academy of Family Physicians and the Burlington County Medical Society. He has made numerous media appearances as a geriatric and family medicine expert.

 

LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging today received $33.4 million from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, the second-largest gift ever awarded to UAMS.

 

Reynolds Foundation Chairman Fred W. Smith and Foundation President Steven L. Anderson announced the gift to Reynolds Institute Director Jeanne Wei, M.D., Ph.D, UAMS Chancellor I. Dodd Wilson, M.D., and many other dignitaries and employees at a ceremony on the UAMS campus.

 

The lion's share of the funds, $30.4 million, will pay for construction of four additional floors (55,000 square feet) on top of the existing Reynolds Institute on Aging, and a pedestrian walkway that will connect the building to the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute a block away.

 

The Reynolds Foundation also awarded $3 million to the Arkansas Aging Initiative, a program of the UAMS Reynolds Institute on Aging that oversees eight Centers on Aging across Arkansas.

 

The $30.4 million gift was given on condition that the Reynolds Institute on Aging raises an additional $5.6 million through other sources as a restricted fund to support its programs.

 

Wei, who also serves as chairman of the Reynolds Department of Geriatrics at UAMS, said she hopes to begin construction on the expansion in mid-2010.

 

The existing Reynolds Institute on Aging facility is 101,000 square feet. Its construction was made possible as part of a $29.7 million investment from the Reynolds Foundation in 1997. Not counting today's gift, the Reynolds Foundation has given UAMS $51.4 million, of which $48.1 million has gone to the Reynolds Institute on Aging.

 

Claudia J. Beverly, Ph.D., R.N., director of the Arkansas Aging Initiative, said the $3 million will be used to replicate the home caregiver training model that was developed at the Schmieding Senior Health Center, a Center on Aging satellite in Springdale. The Caregiving program will be replicated initially in four of the Arkansas Aging Initiative's Regional Centers.

 

LITTLE ROCK — Two University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) ophthalmologists were honored today at a double investiture ceremony at the UAMS Harvey and Bernice Jones Eye Institute.

 

Richard Harper, M.D., received the Sally McSpadden Boreham Chair in Ophthalmology, and Paul Phillips, M.D., received the Stella Boyle Smith/Gissur J. Petursson, M.D., Chair in Ophthalmology.

 

The two doctors have a combined 28 years invested at the UAMS Jones Eye Institute, with Harper joining in 1993 and Phillips in 1997.

 

The Sally McSpadden Boreham Chair was established by a gift from Boreham with the goal of supporting research, education and patient care in ophthalmology. Boreham was a silent philanthropist who supported several organizations in addition to the Jones Eye Institute, including hometown institutions like the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith and the First Presbyterian and First Baptist churches there.

 

The Stella Boyle Smith/Gissur J. Petursson, M.D., Chair was established by a gift from Smith to support an ophthalmologist or a basic scientist in reducing vision loss through research, education and patient care in adults and children. She credits her beloved former ophthalmologist Petursson, a retired 26-year veteran of the UAMS staff who now volunteers at the Jones Eye Institute, with "saving her life" by restoring her vision. Smith was also one of the first major donors that helped establish the Arkansas Center for Eye Research.

 

Harper, a tenured professor of ophthalmology and director of the Low Vision Clinic, received his medical degree from the University of Oklahoma and completed his residency at UAMS. He is nationally renowned for his innovative work in educating residents and has guided the residency program to become one of the most sought after programs in the South. In 2008, Harper became the fourth Lutterloh Professor after being invested with Charles Hartzell Lutterloh and Charles M. Lutterloh Medical Education Excellence Professorship.

 

Phillips, a tenured professor of ophthalmology and chief of ophthalmology at Arkansas Children's Hospital, completed a fellowship in pediatric ophthalmology at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He also completed a fellowship in neuro-ophthalmology at Emory University Eye Center in Atlanta. Phillips is well known for his expertise in treating the tiniest of patients as well as adults with strabismus and neuro-ophthalmological disorders.

 

LITTLE ROCK — The children's inpatient unit at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Psychiatric Research Institute began accepting patients this week, marking the first time in 30 years that UAMS has provided inpatient psychiatric care to children.

 

With the move of the Department of Pediatrics to Arkansas Children's Hospital in 1980, UAMS has focused primarily on the treatment of patients 18 and older. However, the need for a facility to deal with the mental health issues of children has become increasingly apparent over the years. The opportunity to aid children dealing with a variety of illnesses, from post-traumatic stress to anxiety and mood disorders, came about with the opening of the Psychiatric Research Institute in December.

 

The Psychiatric Research Institute has 40 beds dedicated to patients requiring hospitalization due to some form of mental illness. The children's unit, located on the fifth floor, has 10 individual rooms, some of which have an extra bed that will allow a parent to remain with their child overnight.

 

The children's inpatient unit will treat children ages 2 to 12 and represents a new approach to treating children with mental illness. The unit will take a multidisciplinary approach, relying on specialists in psychiatry, psychology, nursing, social work and education as well as speech, language and occupational therapy.

 

"We designed the unit to be child friendly, from the day room, which has toys, board games and a big-screen TV, to the small and colorful furniture in the activity room," said Molly Gathright, M.D., the attending physician for the unit. "Parents and siblings will be encouraged to visit their loved ones, and the staff will collaborate with the parents or guardians to make sure the children receive the treatment they need."

 

Gathright and the unit's staff will use a unique approach involving collaborative problem solving, working with the children to identify their individual needs based on how they interact with others. Once the patient is discharged, the institute staff will continue to follow the child to integrate the treatment plan with community-based caregivers.

 

Many of the children in the inpatient unit will be dealing with complex mental issues, said G. Richard Smith, M.D., director of the Psychiatric Research Institute and chairman of the UAMS Department of Psychiatry.

 

UAMS provided psychiatric treatment to children on an outpatient basis into the 1990s.

 

JONESBORO — Nineteen St. Bernards nurses were recognized recently by being named 2009 Living the Mission award recipients.

 

The award is given annually to nurses nominated by their peers as beinghealthcare providers who demonstrate exceptional commitment to nursing andoutstanding patient care and who truly live the mission of St. Bernards — providing Christ-like healing to the community through education, treatment and health services.

 

Living the Mission nurses for 2009 include 10 from Jonesboro, two each from Paragould and Pocahontas and one each from Brookland, Harrisburg, Hoxie, Peach Orchard and Wynne.

 

Jonesboro nurses include Janet Bowers, RN, surgery, who has worked at St. Bernards 21 years; David Butler, RN, emergency, 10 years; Crystal Crawford, RN, 1 East, one year; Kevin Dunham, RN, quality, 19 years; Phyllis Furnish, RN, cardiovascular intensive care unit, 19 years; Donnita Hosman, RN, hospice, two years; Nancy Lowry, RN, 5 East, 36 years; Gina Powell, RN, Center for Weight Loss and Diabetes Management, two and a half years; Brenda Stoker, 2 East, nine years; and Teresa Wilson, RN, noninvasive cardiology and nuclear medicine, 17 years.

 

Paragould residents include Tina Liddell, RN, gastroenterology lab, 20 years, and Brandy Eaton, LPN II, 4 East, three years.

 

Pocahontas residents are Jessica Baltz, clinical nurse specialist (CNS), transitional care facility, one year; and Melanie Golliver, RN, 3 East, two and a half years.

 

Others honored include Joyce McCann, RN, 3 North, Brookland, 18 years; Mary Brown, RN, one day surgery, Harrisburg, 20 years; Sherry Freeze, RN, dialysis, Hoxie, 25 years; LaDona Niedermeier, LPN II, 2 North, Peach Orchard, nine and a half years; and Brent Clayton, RN, 1 Main, Wynne, two years.

 

JONESBORO — Dr. Cristina Rosca, M.D., has joined the medical staff at St. Bernards Senior Health Clinic.

 

A board certified geriatrician, Dr. Rosca is a native of Bucharest who earned her medical degree at University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Carol Davila, in her home country before coming to the United States for further training. She served a residency in internal medicine at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, where she also served as chief resident in internal medicine. After that, she served a second residency - one in geriatrics - at Loyola University/Hines VA Hospital in Chicago.

 

Board certified in three areas - geriatrics, internal medicine and palliative care - she comes to St. Bernards from Mercer County Hospital in Aledo, Ill. There she served as an attending physician in internal medicine, geriatrics and palliative medicine, working with patients in the hospital setting, in outpatient clinics, in extended care as well as hospice and home health care. She also served as medical director of hospice and palliative care at that facility as well as medical director at Mercer County Nursing Home.

 

At Mercer County Hospital, she served as chief of the medical staff and chairman of the internal medicine department. In addition, she was the medical staff representative on the Mercer County Hospital Governing Board.

 

She blends what she calls "the best of both worlds" in terms of her training and her practice, drawing heavily on the clinical aspects of patient care learned in Romania and evidence-based medicine learned in the United States.

 

Dr. Rosca has special interest in fall prevention and in memory clinic work, has authored numerous articles and has made presentations on a wide variety of medical topics.

 

Batesville — Marion A. "Tony" Thompson, FACHE, Associate Administrator of Facilities, White River Health System (WRHS), recently became a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), the nation's leading professional society for healthcare leaders. Thompson is privileged to use the FACHE credential, which signifies board certification in healthcare management and ACHE Fellow status.

 

Thompson completed his baccalaureate degree at the University of Central Arkansas in 1979, and his Master of Science degree at the University of Mississippi in 1985. Thompson joined the dedicated team of healthcare professionals at WRHS in 1998. During his tenure with WRHS, Thompson has had a variety of management responsibilities including responsibility for the WRMC Professional Building and Cancer Care Center and the Josephine Raye Rogers Center for Women and Imaging construction projects. Thompson was also responsible for the Stone County Medical Center expansion and renovations completed in 2005, and has worked closely with the Stone County Medical Center staff, Board and volunteers to plan the rebuilding of the facility following the February, 2008, tornado.

 

Fellow status represents achievement of the highest standard of professional development with only 7,500 healthcare executives hold this distinction nationwide. To obtain Fellow status, candidates must fulfill multiple requirements, including passing a comprehensive examination, meeting academic and experiential criteria, earning continuing education hours and demonstrating professional/community involvement. Fellows are committed to ongoing professional development and undergo recertification every three years.

 

BENTON — Saline Memorial Hospital recently announced Dr. James E. Shuffield as the new Medical Director of Heart and Vascular Services.

 

Dr. Shuffield has been privileged and actively practicing at Saline Memorial since September 2008. Dr. Shuffield is one of eight interventional cardiologists from Heart Clinic Arkansas who, in addition to Saline Heart Group, provide around the clock coverage for cardiac emergencies in Saline County.

 

Dr. Shuffield attended medical school at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, School of Medicine and completed his research and clinical fellowships in cardiology at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis in 1991. He has been board certified in internal medicine / cardiovascular disease since 1993. He specializes in diagnostic and interventional cardiology.

 

In addition to his new role as Medical Director over the cardiovascular catheterization lab and non-invasive testing, Dr. Shuffield is currently seeing patients at Heart Clinic Arkansas's Benton Clinic.

 

CONWAY — Todd Ferrand of Conway, RN, BSN, is the new administrator of the Conway Regional Rehabilitation Hospital. He began work June 1.

 

Mr. Ferrand is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the 26-bed inpatient, acute care rehabilitation hospital. The hospital provides functional recovery close to home as well as onsite physical, occupational and speech therapy services.

 

Prior to accepting the position, Mr. Ferrand worked as a nurse with Conway Regional HomeCare. He also worked in Conway Regional's outpatient services department. Mr. Ferrand has previous experience as a program director/nurse manager of a 10-bed geriatric mental health unit.

 

Mr. Ferrand describes the new position as "the perfect balance" because it allows him to combine his patient care and health care management experience. He said he is looking forward to working with Medical Director Patricia Knott, MD, and the staff of the hospital.

 

A native of Louisiana, Mr. Ferrand holds a bachelor of science in nursing degree from Northwestern State University at Natchitoches, LA. He and his wife, Melinda, have two children: Chandler, 13, and Andrianna, 10.

 

MOUNTAIN VIEW — Stone County Medical Center celebrated the ground breaking for the construction of the hospital in Mountain View, Arkansas. The new facility will replace the portion of the hospital destroyed by the February 2008 tornado.

 

Pedro Garza, Regional Director for the U.S. Department of Commerce and Economic Development, was the keynote speaker. Mr. Garza pointed out the importance of healthcare to communities and discussed the EDA's mission of community and economic development. Other speakers included Brother Steve Johnson, Leo Sutterfield, Dr. Barry Pierce, Gary L. Bebow, White River Health System Administrator, and Renie Taylor, SCMC Administrator. The project is expected to be complete by May 2011.

 

Patient safety and privacy are important factors in the design of the new hospital. The first floor includes new Emergency, Radiology, Respiratory Therapy, Laboratory, and Pharmacy Departments. The Cafeteria, Gift Shop, Administrative Office, and space for Employee and Community Health Education will also be located on the first floor. The second floor features 25 private rooms and an area specifically designed for Physical and Occupational Therapy. A significant benefit of the hospital's layout changes will be improved staff efficiency. Patient care services will continue throughout the project using the existing space and modular buildings specially designed for healthcare.

 

Stone County Medical Center is an affiliate of White River Health System, a multi facility not-for-profit organization providing healthcare services to residents in a seven county area of North Central Arkansas.