Mercy Opens New Orthopedic Hospital in Fort Smith

FORT SMITH: More than 200 people gathered on a beautiful fall day to celebrate a new destination for healthcare in Fort Smith. After more than two years of planning and construction, the 24-bed Mercy Orthopedic Hospital opened to patients in October. The facility is thoughtfully designed to cater specifically to patients in need of total joint replacement.

Baby boomers (the generation born between 1946 and 1964) are an estimated 76 million strong – about 26 percent of the population. As these Americans grows older and enjoy longer life spans, the need for orthopedic services is increasing. Healthcare think tank Sg2 estimates the number of inpatient orthopedic procedures done in Arkansas will increase by 22 percent in the next five years.

The Mercy Orthopedic Hospital is unique to the region and represents not only greater access to care for those in the community but also an opportunity to attract patients from outside the area.

The 69,000 square foot hospital is two stories and attaches seamlessly to the existing surgery center.The hospital’s first floor includes:

10,138 square foot outpatient rehabilitation clinic with a therapy pool serving more than 100 patients per day Pre-operative screening area where patients will come prior to surgery for a physical, EKG, x-ray and lab screening Surgery waiting and registration Café serving breakfast, lunch and a light dinner with seating for 50 and patio dining available. The second floor consists of: 24 fully-furnished patient rooms designed for the comfort of post-surgical patients Shell space for 12 additional beds bringing the potential hospital capacity to 36 beds Chapel Waiting/vending area for families

Intensivist Joins Sparks Health System

FORT SMITH: Fiorella Nawar, MD, is now providing care for patients in the Intensive Care Unit at Sparks Regional Medical Center.

She most recently practiced medicine at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, New Jersey. She has spent much of her career in ICU’s caring for surgical and pulmonary patients.

As an intensivist, Dr. Nawar will work closely with a patient’s primary care physician, as well as critical care nurses and other medical staff to provide superior care for the hospital’s most seriously ill patients such as those suffering from cardiac arrest, respiratory failure, strokes, or infections.

Nawar earned her Doctor of Medicine from Lebanese University in Beruit in 2005. She is fluent in English, French and Arabic.

Neurosurgeon Adib Abla Joins UAMS

LITTLE ROCK: Neurosurgeon Adib Abla, M.D., has joined the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and will see patients at the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute.

Abla offers both surgical and minimally invasive endovascular (interventional) therapy for aneurysms, AVMs (arteriovenous malformation), cavernous malformations, and carotid disease. He performs surgical bypass for ischemic disease and unclippable, uncoilable aneurysms and offers interventional intraarterial therapy for acute stroke.

Abla is also an assistant professor of neurosurgery in the UAMS College of Medicine. He came to UAMS from the University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine where he completed a vascular neurosurgery fellowship and was a clinical instructor in the Department of Neurological Surgery.

Abla received his medical degree at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in Pittsburgh in 2006. In 2013, he completed a neurosurgery residency and a cerebrovascular and skull base fellowship at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix.

NEA Baptist Clinic Expands Hilltop Clinic and Urgent Care

JONESBORO: NEA Baptist Clinic is undergoing an expansion of the family practice and urgent care facilities at their Hilltop location – located at 4901 E. Johnson, across the street from their new medical campus.

The expansion of the Hilltop clinic includes the addition of space – approximately 2300 sq. ft, including 9 exam rooms, a procedure room, 2 offices and a separate entrance and waiting room for Occupational Medicine. Ryan Brenza, DO, will be joining Melissa Yawn, MD, MRO, Jeffery Barber, DO, MRO, and Tim Shown, DO.

Ryan Brenza, DO, has practiced with NEA Baptist Clinic for more than 3 years. He is a board certified family practice physician with more than 10 years of experience in emergency care, family medicine and occupational medicine.

Patients who are established at the Trumann Clinic can also choose to continue receiving care at that clinic with Dr. Brannon Treece and new physician, Dr. Ronald Barnett, both board certified in Internal Medicine\Pediatrics.

NARMC EMS Paramedic is named Arkansas Paramedic of the Year

HARRISON: North Arkansas Regional Medical Center EMS Paramedic John Robinson was given the honor of being named Arkansas Paramedic of the Year. This honor, which is awarded each year at the Arkansas State Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Conference, is bestowed upon a paramedic who’s dedication, motivation and drive places them at the top of the industry. Robinson, a 21 year veteran paramedic with NARMC EMS, was selected for the honor by a selection committee who reviewed packets of information on paramedics from across the entire state.

Robinson was born at North Arkansas Regional Medical Center, raised in Western Grove, and currently lives in Diamond City with his family. .

Dr. Brian Baltz Joins Dr. Dennis Parten at Monette Family Practice Clinic

MONETTE: Brian Baltz, M.D., has joined Dr. Dennis Parten as a primary care physician at Monette Family Practice Clinic in Monette.

Baltz earned his Medical Degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock and has been in private practice at Pocahontas Medical Clinic for the last two years.

Prior to that he completed a family practice residency through the Area Health Education Center-Northeast at St. Bernards, serving as chief resident during his last year. He holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Arkansas in microbiology and a master’s degree from UAMS in physiology and biophysics.

Parten has served as a family practice physician in Monette for the last 26 years, having founded the Monette clinic in 1988. He holds an M.D. degree from UAMS and completed a family practice residency through the Area Health Education Center-Northeast at St. Bernards.