Hospital Newsmakers

Three AHA member hospitals are ranked among the Top 100 Rural Hospitals in America, according to The Chartis Center for Rural Health. Receiving the honor are Ouachita County Medical Center (Camden), Baxter Regional Medical Center (Mountain Home), and Baptist Health-Stuttgart. Rural hospital performance is assessed on 36 indicators in eight major areas: Inpatient Market Share, Outpatient Market Share, Quality, Outcomes, Patient Perspective, Cost, Charge, and Finance.

Arkansas Children’s is the recipient of a $2.25 million, four-year commitment from the Windgate Foundation to help support the health care system’s nursing recruitment and retention efforts. This gift will help fund recruitment of talented nursing staff and provide valuable career and educational opportunities to retain the system’s current nursing staff.

CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® and certification as both an Advanced Primary Stroke Center and a Primary Heart Attack Center. Certification required an unannounced onsite review during which reviewers evaluated compliance with related certification standards, conducted interviews, and documented onsite observations.

Conway Regional Health System is one of only 10 U.S. health care organizations to earn a 2021 Press Ganey Pinnacle of Excellence Award for Physician Engagement. The award recognizes organizations that achieve and maintain consistently high levels of excellence in physician engagement for at least three years.

Jose Echavarria, MHA, has been named CEO of Northwest Medical Center Springdale after holding the position on an interim basis since October. Echavarria was previously the hospital's Assistant CEO for the Northwest Health market, where he focused on strategic initiatives to advance the health system. He also served as Administrator of St. Joseph Medical Center in the Houston, Texas area. Echavarria holds a Master of Health Administration degree from Trinity University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology earned at Texas A&M University.

The Arkansas Rural Health Partnership (ARHP) will have new leadership as of May 1, 2022. Rex Jones, currently the CEO of Magnolia Regional Medical Center, will leave that position April 24 to accept the position of ARHP CEO. He will succeed Mellie Bridewell, who will continue to serve the nonprofit as President. ARHP will continue its partnership with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, and as ARHP’s CEO, Jones will work with the UAMS strategy team on initiatives and collaborations focused on improving health care access and delivery in rural Arkansas. Juli McWhorter, MSN, BSN, RN, is the new CEO at Willow Creek Women’s Hospital and the Northwest Health Physicians’ Specialty Hospital, both part of the Northwest Health system. She has been with Northwest Health for more than 30 years, most recently serving as Willow Creek’s Chief Operating Offer and Chief Nursing Officer. She earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Nursing from Western Governors University.

The Arkansas Hospice Foundation presents Party at the Plaza, a community-oriented celebration of food, art, music, and family fun Saturday, April 23, at the Argenta Arts District and Argenta Plaza on Main Street in North Little Rock. The event will run from 2:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., and admission is free. Concerts, awards ceremonies, and contests, including the Pawty at the Plaza Dogtown Dog Costume Contest, will be part of the fun. All proceeds benefit the mission of Arkansas Hospice.

David Mantz, MBA, was named CEO of Dallas County Medical Center in January. Mantz previously served as COO at Mainline Health Systems; he was also the former CEO at Chicot Memorial Medical Center. Mantz earned his Master of Business Administration/Healthcare Administration at Columbia Southern.

Jefferson Regional and Kindred Rehabilitation Services recently announced their new joint venture, a 76-bed hospital that will be located in White Hall. The facility will combine a 40-bed inpatient rehabilitation site with an additional 36-bed behavioral health unit. The hospital is set for completion in 2024.

Brian Cherry, MHA, is the new CEO at CHI St. Vincent Sherwood Rehabilitation Hospital. He most recently served as vice president of operations at Calvert Health in Prince Frederick, Maryland, and prior to that served as Assistant Vice President of Patient Services and other positions at Baptist Health headquartered in Little Rock. He earned his Master of Health Administration degree at UAMS, and his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Arkansas.

A preliminary drawing of the new inpatient rehabilitation and behavioral health hospital that Jefferson Regional and Kindred Healthcare are planning to build in White Hall.

AHA DIAMOND AWARDS: CALL FOR ENTRIES

Entries are now being accepted for the 2022 Arkansas Hospital Association (AHA) Diamond Awards, honoring excellence in health care marketing. The annual Diamond Awards are co-sponsored by the AHA and the Arkansas Society for Healthcare Marketing and Public Relations. This year’s recipients will receive their awards during the November 10, 2022, Awards Luncheon at the Hot Springs Convention Center.

The 2022 Diamond Awards recognize excellence and encourage improvement in the quality, effectiveness, and impact of health care marketing and public relations in the state of Arkansas. Awards will be presented in several categories, including advertising, annual report, foundation, publications, and writing. Diamond Awards’ divisions include hospitals with 0-25 beds (CAHs), 26-99 beds, 100-249 beds, and 250 or more beds. Emphasis will be placed on the budget for each entry within each division.

Nominations and entries, accompanied by appropriate documentation, must arrive at AHA headquarters no later than July 8, 2022, by 4:00 p.m. A discounted entry fee is available for those who submit their entries by the early bird deadline of May 20, 2022. A brochure providing details of the awards competition was distributed to hospital CEOs and marketing and public relations directors. The brochure can also be found on the AHA website (arkhospitals.org).

Join us June15-17

In Person for the Arkansas Hospital Education and Research Trust Hospital Executive Leadership Conference

Plan now to join us June 15-17 for the AHERT in-person Hospital Executive Leadership Conference, to be held at the Embassy Suites NWA in Rogers, Arkansas. Registration information for the event will be mailed soon. Check AHA’s website, arkhospitals.org, for details.

Family Friendly Activities Include:

• Indoor Driving from Hitting Bays at Top Golf • Networking Receptions • A Night at the Ball Park with the Arkansas Naturals

Learn from Experts, Including:

Thom Mayer, MD, Medical Director for the NFL Players Association, will discuss Health Care Leadership from his view at the front lines and the NFL.

Tania Glenn, PsyD, will lead a workshop on Resilience through Chaos, and she will help us define and learn how to build personal resilience toward living the best life possible.

Phil Gwoke, Strategist, will discuss the intricacies of recruiting and retaining Millennial employees.

ACHE Workshop, 3 Face-to-Face Credit Hours

Mitchell Kusy, PhD, Organizational Development Scholar, will present Top Strategies to Erode Toxic Behavior and Build Teams of Everyday Civility in Healthcare. Toxic behaviors in the health care workplace can affect not only team effectiveness, but also patient safety and critical decision-making. Learn how to stop toxic behaviors in the workplace and earn ACHE credits.

Speakers include:

Thom Mayer, MD

Tania Glenn, PsyD

Phil Gwoke