Arkansas Medical News January/February 2016

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PHYSICIAN SPOTLIGHT PAGE 3

Ned Pillow, MD Jim Pillow, MD Gill Pillow, MD ON ROUNDS Wearable Medical Technology Will Be Medicine’s Gutenberg Moment Tony Seupaul, MD, chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, uses a wearable electronic device, a FitBit, that measures not just physical activity, but the amount of REM sleep he gets each night. ... 4

The Partnership for a Healthy Arkansas Launched to Improve Healthcare and Lower Costs

Partners in Health Collaborative Include Washington Regional Medical Center, UAMS, Baptist Health, St. Bernards Healthcare and Arkansas BCBS

By BECKy GILLETTE

Four of the largest non-profit health providers in the state have joined with Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) to create The Partnership for a Healthy Arkansas, a Shared Service Organization (SSO) designed to be an innovative collaboration to improve healthcare quality and lower healthcare costs for patients and providers throughout Arkansas.

The healthcare provider partners include Baptist Health, St. Bernards Healthcare, The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), and Washington Regional Medical System.

The organization isn’t a business merger. But it is a meeting of the best minds from the five different organizations all focused on meeting the daunting challenges of improving patient care while reducing costs in a state that ranks 49th in the nation in health outcomes – which is linked to having one of the lowest per capita incomes in the country.

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Advances Are Making Common Eye Surgeries Faster and Safer Eye care experts in Arkansas report that even though the demand for eye surgery is increasing dramatically because of the aging population, advances in eye surgery including routine surgeries like those for removing cataracts can be done more quickly and safely ... 5

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HealthcareLeader Top National Awards for Arkansas Heart Hospital Result from PatientFocused Care Culture Bruce Murphy, MD, PhD, CEO, Arkansas Heart Hospital

By BECKy GILLETTE

The Arkansas Heart Hospital (AHH) didn’t start out with the intention of winning national awards. The focus has been on providing an environment for high patient satisfaction, adherence to protocol, value based purchasing and superior treatment outcomes.

AHH has done those things so well that it has ranked for two years as the number one hospital in the country by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) in the formula used to determine whether hospitals receive a bonus or a penalty for reimbursements.

Patient-focused care is an overused phrase (CONTINUED ON PAGE 6)

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PhysicianSpotlight

Pillow Brothers Share the Load Practicing Together in Medically Underserved Area of Delta

Three Pillow Brothers and Two of Their Wives Make Medicine a Family Affair The biggest challenge is the work load. They are often You can’t get far in medidouble booked. cal circles in Helena\West Hel“It is bearable, but diffiena without running into a Dr. cult,” Jim said. “I was here at Pillow. That is because there six yesterday morning and went are five of them in the comhome at 7 p.m. and was still munity: Gill Pillow, MD, and not done with charts. One day Ned Pillow, MD, dual certified a week is like that. With Elecin internal medicine and peditronic Medical Records, it is atrics, are in practice with their slow, slow, slow. It is hard to see brother Jim Pillow, MD, who the volume we see and chart like is a general practitioner. Ned’s we have to. It requires a lot of wife, Jill Pillow, MD, is a peditake home work at times.” atrician and Gill’s wife, Jessica Another difficulty is that Pillow, MD, is a dermatologist. they have a lot of complicated What is it like having three patients who need to be seen by brothers practicing together in a specialist quickly. But it can the same office? take two to six months to get “It is actually pretty neat appointments in Little Rock, because we get along,” Jim Pilwhich is the primary place for low said. “We own and manage patient referrals. the clinic, so we get to make the The three brothers grew business decisions ourselves. It up on a farm. Their father was is majority rules. I don’t think a farmer and their mother was a we have had any discord ever. schoolteacher.

I couldn’t imagine having it “We had an uncle and a any other way. We have talked great uncle who were family about bringing in another partphysicians growing up,” said ner at times. But we decided, Gill Pillow. “Our oldest brother, no, we want to keep it the way Jim, had always intended to eiit is. As long as we get along, it ther farm or become a doctor works pretty well. Plus I’m the and I believe Ned, the youngThree Pillow Brothers practice together at the Pillow Clinic in Helena\West oldest and what I say goes.” est, intended to go into mediHelena: Dr. Gill Pillow is shown sitting, with his brother Dr. Ned Pillow (left) and The Pillow brothers took Jim Pillow standing behind him. cine early on. I had planned on advantage of the Commubeing a veterinarian until late nity Match program that pays into college and then switched that time, Brooke said, ‘This feels like medical school tuition for physicians who my major to pre-med/microbiology. Jim home. I’m happy here.’ And now we have agree to practice in an underserved rural and I entered medical school at UAMS at been here 12 or 13 years.” community for at least three years. the same time and were in the same class It makes for interesting conversations “That is great,” Jim said. “We wanted throughout medical school. Ned and his around the dinner table. But Jim said they to come back here anyhow. And it is great wife, Jill, were medical school classmates actually avoid shop talk during family that not just the three brothers, but also several years behind us.” gatherings. our three wives wanted to live here. I told People are frequently confused as to “We have Sunday dinners together,” my wife, Brooke, that if after the three which brother is which, even though they Jim said. “We share as a family. The kids years was up, she didn’t want to stay, I look nothing alike. They’ve gotten used to all get along. It makes it fun to be here.” wouldn’t tether her to this place. But after being accidentally called or paged by hosBy BECKy GILLETTE

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pitals or other clinics. Five physicians with the same last name in town makes it very confusing for everyone.

But the family finds harmony in sharing the work that is critical to so many patients in the area.

“We work very well together as a team,” Gill said. “We all get along well, and share the same work ethic, morals and philosophy on life in general. Working with family makes it easier to ask one another for medical advice in the clinic, bounce ideas off each other and get a quick curbside opinion about a patient. We fill in for each other on days off and vacations, think similarly, and share similar medical training, so we can easily take over for one another when necessary.”

Gill said they all decided to come back to Phillips County for different reasons. He came back because he loves the atmosphere of the Delta area, the open farmland and the setting of a small town environment. He would have gravitated to a similar setting had he not come back to Helena, but it’s been nice to come back to where he grew up as a child.

Gill said there are a lot of things that make work rewarding for him: the cohesiveness of their clinic staff, seeing patients around town and saying hello, taking care of the families of people that he grew up with, and working with his family every day.

The Pillow family has been in this area of Arkansas since the late 1880s, but most had moved off until the Pillow doctors returned after medical school. Jim and Brooke have four children, Gill and Jessica have one child and Ned and Jill have three. With eight children between them, it seems assured that the Pillows will be a leaving quite a legacy in Helena\West Helena both with their offspring and the thousands of patients who have received the healthcare they need.

From industry conferences and continuing educational units to fun ways to support the area’s many non profits ... check the online calendar for healthcare happenings. www.ArkansasMedicalNews.com

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Wearable Medical Technology Will Be Medicine’s Gutenberg Moment

Digital Medical Technology Will Result in the “Democratization of Medicine”

By BECKY GILLETTE

Tony Seupaul, MD, chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, uses a wearable electronic device, a FitBit, that measures not just physical activity, but the amount of REM sleep he gets each night.

“For me as a physician who works shifts, Dr. Tony sleep is important beSeupaul cause the sleep cycle can be disrupted,” Seupaul said. “That is a nice way to track and see what kind of sleep I’m getting. It will tell you if you are restless in the night. Wearable motion sensors like FitBits are relatively inexpensive for the technology they provide. It is a fair amount of data on your wrist. For the first time, we really have technology that is affordable, portable and readily available for a lot of people to take advantage of.”

Wearable medical technology is being deployed in Arkansas to save lives.

At the Walker Heart Institute Cardiovascular Clinic in Fayetteville, a “life vest” is used as an alternative to an implantable defibrillator.

“Patients can live their lives while wearing the LifeVest Defibrillator knowing that if life threatening dysrhythmia occurs, their life will be preserved,” said Boris V. Bogomilov, MD, director of electrophysiology. “We have at least one example of a patient life being saved.

Boris V. It is a very useful device Dr. Bogomilov to provide a safety net for patients.”

The potential uses for wearable technology go far beyond the LifeVest. In fact, wearable medical technology will result in drastic changes.

“It will be akin to what happened in 1439 when Gutenberg invented the mobile type printing press,” said Bruce Murphy, MD, PhD, president/CEO, Arkansas Heart Hospital. “At that time, the only people who could read were high priests. In only 120 years, Shakespeare was writing the best English the world will ever see.

“This is medicine’s Gutenberg moment. We are now unleashing the high priest learning to masses by allowing easy access to diagnosis. It is being called the democratization of medicine. That is the

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The way we deliver healthcare outside of the hospital is rapidly changing. Forward-thinking practitioners are collaborating with other providers to improve the patient

future of the medicine when people take charge of their own problems. We will still need doctors. Doctors will be there to confirm the diagnosis and deliver the therapy.

But patients will come in and say, ‘I have a strep throat,’ and will know that is true because an app let them test their saliva.”

Murphy said access to diagnostic capabilities will empower people. Patients won’t be writing prescription themselves, but will probably know the drug of choice to treat their condition.

“The collision of simultaneous megatrends will drastically, radically and almost instantaneously change medicine,” Murphy said. “That collision has to do with the advent of what I would call digital biology: the integration of artificial intelligence and data collection to guide health. It is the future of medicine.”

There has been much discussion about the future of medicine being population management or disease management that has led to the efforts to ration healthcare by segregating patients into a medical home or an accountable care organization.

“We don’t believe that is the future of medicine,” Murphy said. “We believe the future is individualized medicine. Within a very short period of time, patients will be in charge of healthcare through wearables to monitor their heart rate, EEG, and blood pressure. Artificial intelligence will allow them to make decisions about their healthcare, sometimes in conjunction with a physician. This will lead to the price of medicine going dramatically going down, which we believe will be real turning point.”

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These devices aren’t just a science fiction fantasy; wearables are here now. For example, there is a smart phone app that can allow a parent to take a photo of a child’s ear and be able to tell if the child has otitis media. There are dermatological apps that can look at a skin lesion and report whether it is a skin lesion, rubella, rubeola, an allergy or melanoma.

“There are wearable t-shirts in other parts of the world available now to give you continuous Bluetooth data on your heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen saturation,” he said. “Someone on a farm hill in Wisconsin can have vital signs monitored continuously by healthcare providers states away. That is available now.”

Murphy said the eruption of digital biology has been very elegantly put into two books by Eric J. Topel, The Patient Will See You Now and The Creative Destruction of Medicine.

“Those two books show this is reality of the future, and that future has already been realized in other places, although not necessarily in Little Rock,” Murphy said.

“I think it is a great thing.”

However, he predicts physicians will hate it.

“Now there is a great paternalism in medicine,” Murphy said. “I’m the doctor.

I’m in charge. The worst patient a doctor wants to see is one who has info they have kept on themselves. Really, I have to look at that? I’m the doctor. You have to embrace the fact that the role of the physician is dramatically changing. The importance of the physician in a diagnostic process is greatly diminishing. Considering that the average time to get an appointment with a doctor is 21 days and the average office wait time for a patient before seeing a doctor is two hours, patients will like it better.”

The wearables will be used for more than just diagnosis and monitoring. Like the FitBit, they can be a coach for a patient. Wearable continuous EEG monitors can be used for patients with mental problems such as depression and anxiety.

Some of the work to develop the next generation wearable medical technology is being done in Arkansas. The Center for Nano-, Bio-, and Info-Technology Sensors and Systems at the University of Arkansas is working on a $9 million National Science Foundation grant that includes research and development of wireless biosensors for human physiological monitoring. Researchers at the center have already developed and tested two similar but slightly different biosensors that can measure important physiological signs.

Integrated into “smart” fabrics – garments with wireless technology – these sensors will monitor a patient’s respiration rate and body temperature in real time and thus provide point-of-care diagnostics to healthcare professionals and greater freedom for patients. arkansasmedicalnews

.com

Dr. Tayyeba Ali, a cornea and ueitis specialist and assistant professor at the Harvey and Bernice Jones Eye Institute/University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, is one of only two cornea surgeons in the state trained to implant an artificial cornea.

When you need it.

Advances Are Making Common Eye Surgeries Faster and Safer More Options Now Than Ever

By BECKY GILLETTE

Eye care experts in Arkansas report that even though the demand for eye surgery is increasing dramatically because of the aging population, advances in eye surgery including routine surgeries like those for removing cataracts can be done more quickly and safely. And advancements in other types of eye surgery are helping more people preserve their eye sight.

“Around the state, most of the doctors I talk to are getting pretty efficient at doing cataract surgery,” said Robert Berry MD, an ophthalmologist with Eye Care Arkansas. “The surgery is getting better and faster. Arkansas has a greater share than most other states of the 10,000 or so people who turn 65 every day in the country. It is a little older population and somewhat poorer. But most of the doctors I know still have plenty of room to meet the demand for cataract surgery, which is a repetitive operation highly dependent on fast turnover, minimal complications and the efficient use of operating room time.”

In previous years, cataracts were taken out and replaced with rigid implants. There are now implants which are less rigid and foldable so they can be inserted with smaller incisions.

“We can do modern cataract surgery now with no stitches and no shots,” Berry said. “We just use eye drops for anesthesia most times, although doctors still use a shot for people who have trouble holding the eye still. When possible, we like to avoid risks of putting a needle behind eye and damaging something. When we just use topical anesthesia, and no shot behind the eye or stitches, patients can get off the table, reach down, pick up something heavy and not hurt anything.”

For years patients have been saying to Berry when scheduling a surgery, “You arkansasmedicalnews

.com

are going to do it by laser, right?” But he said while laser surgery is easier on the doctor, it is more expensive and that expense is not covered by most insurance or government programs.

“The 12 eye doctors together here had a big discussion and interviewed companies that sell the Femto laser,” he said.

“But we took a look at the literature to see if there is proof the clinical outcome is better, and it really hasn’t been proven better than hand surgery.”

There have also been real advances in retina surgery, particularly for macular degeneration. An injection in the eye to treat macular degeneration is now the most common surgery done in the U.S. – more common than bypass surgery or any other surgery. Berry said that is because people with macular degeneration may need an injection once a month for many years.

“There are ten retina doctors here at the Eye Care Arkansas, and they tell me they do up to 1,000 of those injections per year each,” Berry said. “There are lots of people with macular degeneration and the number of elderly is growing. That requires lots of injections for a treatment that is a major step forward for common retinal disease. It works well for macular edema, too.”

Another important advance is minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) which involves inserting a device to help relieve pressure in the eye. There are a number of new products including micro stents of titanium one millimeter long that can be implanted in the eye.

“MIGS is going to be one of the things for the future,” Berry said. “As MIGS gets better and better, more and more doctors will go through the training to do it. However, there aren’t that many

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Top National Awards for Arkansas Heart Hospital, continued from page 1 spoken by many facilities and many healthcare workers, and most don’t really know the definition, said Bruce Murphy, MD, PhD, President\CEO, AHH. “Our definition of it is bringing our resources to the patient so the resources of diagnosis and treatment are available no matter where the patient lives in Arkansas, whether it is in Little Rock or one of our many satellite clinics,” Murphy said. “The other part is to make the patient and the patients’ family feel they are part of your family. That is the real meaning of patientfocused care. We have a culture in our hospital and clinics that embodies that. We are extremely careful we don’t contaminate our culture with people or employees who don’t know what we are about and how we do things.”

The entire 112-bed hospital is an intensive care unit. Every nurse is a critical care nurse. New nurses undergo a threemonth proctorship under an experienced nurse, and only work when that nurse is working.

“You find out quickly in that time if their ethics, and work-related culture fits our culture,” Murphy said. “If not, at the end of three months, we tell them they need to try somewhere else. It is about learning our procedures of critical care but, more importantly, it is about learning our culture so we can empower our nurses.”

A top objective is to empower nurses to practice at the highest level of their legal

scope of practice. That gives them ownership in the outcome for patients.

“If they are practicing at the highest level and are able to use our protocols to make decisions independently based on how the patient is doing, and have order sets in place to allow that, nurses take ownership of the situation and the outcome,” Murphy said. “She wants to come back for the next shift and work on that same problem. The doctors are with a patient ten to 30 minutes a day. Nurses are with a patient 12 hours a day. Empowering nurses to operate at a high level of practice is a dead ringer for patient satisfaction and superior outcomes.”

Murphy said another vital factor is focused care, which is superior to general care. But that doesn’t mean they only see heart patients at the AHH. Other subspecialties are represented such as general surgery, orthopedics, renal disease, and pulmonology. Often patients will have co-morbidities such as heart disease and diabetes. By having other subspecialties represented, it is less likely patients will have to be transferred to another facility.

“We don’t do neurosurgery, gynecology or deliver babies,” Murphy said. “All other subspecialties are represented. We do have a focus on cardiology and cardiovascular surgery, but have many other product lines.”

They have a full-time diabetes team that does nothing but diabetes. It is likely

one of the few hospitals in the country that does a hemoglobin A1C on every patient admitted. Between 25 to 45 percent of patients admitted has diabetes. They make a new diagnosis of diabetes five to ten times a day.

Another unusual thing about the AHH is that it has a cardiologist as CEO. Murphy previously was a “cath lab jock” who spent 28 years in a very intense and stressful environment. Affordable Care Act regulations put in place in 2010 prevent physicians from increasing their ownership role in hospitals where they practice. To bring the hospital under local ownership after it was put up for sale by an out-of-state group, Murphy had to surrender his medical license.

“I couldn’t practice medicine and be seen as a provider of care,” he said. “I had to relinquish my medical license for me to have any part in administration. It was a difficult choice. But I have no regrets. This is one of the best things that ever happened to Bruce Murphy.

“People are asking me continuously if I regret not being able to go down to the cath lab and do procedures. No. Becoming an administrator has been a very good transition for me. The stress is different in the administrative role. It is more self-imposed stress rather than the outcomes of the patient right in front of you.”

Having clinical cardiology experience, he has found, is a very powerful tool to

help the other parts of the executive management team with the clinical impacts of various programs, new devices, and even the bulk buying of certain devices needed.

It is not always a dollar and cents decision.

Having clinical insights brings another level of analysis.

Because most of the population in Arkansas that needs cardiology services is older and rural, the AHH has 30 satellite clinics. Six of those clinics are full-time clinics.

“The demographics are that there is much less heart disease in Little Rock than smaller places like Arkadelphia,” Murphey said. “If you are going to take care of cardiology patients, many of whom are elderly and low-income, they are out in the countryside. They often don’t have transportation to travel to Little Rock. You have to go to small towns to take care of them. In spite of the fact that we are a metro-located hospital, our patients are mostly rural. It is a very interesting dynamic.”

Murphy, who was born in El Dorado, has had influence far beyond Arkansas.

Earlier in his career, he published a number of scientific papers in cardiology and peripheral medicine, and spoke at some of the world’s top cardiac conferences. He performed live satellite transmitted cases from AHH to these conferences, as well.

Murphy travels extensively to be sure that the AHH has the best technology available.

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ARKANSAS on the MEND

BY BECKY GILLETTE

Tools of Restoration

Vocational Programs Place 82 Percent of Blind Students in Jobs

By BECKY GILLETTE

Imagine that because of an illness or injury, you are suddenly blinded and don’t know how you will be able to cope with living independently and being able to support yourself and your family.

When Sharon Giovinazzo lost her eyesight at age 31 – 15 years ago – due to MS, she had those kinds of questions.

“I was the first blind person I knew,” Giovinazzo said.

“I thought I was going to sit in a rocking chair on the porch for the rest of my life wearing a pair of dark sunglasses. There are days I wouldn’t mind sitting in a rocking chair. But blindness does Sharon Giovinazzo not need to be a death sentence.

People who are blind just need the right tools and technology, and they WSB is a project of the Lions Clubs, can earn a living, take care of themselves but also gets funding from other areas and their family, and have a good life.” such as states across the country who Giovinazzo is a shining example of pay for vocational rehabilitation services, that. In August 2015, she became presigrants and private donations. dent of World Services for the Blind “We are a fee-for-service organiza(WSB) in Little Rock, which since its betion,” said Giovinazzo, who is a veteran. ginning in 1947 has become a national “There is a federal program that pays for center for providing services to more than individuals who are more than 55 who 13,000 blind people from all 50 states and have a vision loss to go through our pro58 foreign countries. About 82 percent of gram.” graduates from vocational programs are The sprawling WSB campus takes up able to get jobs that help them live an acan entire city block in Little Rock. The tive and productive life. average vocational student stays for nine “Technology is a wonderful thing,” months. As they learn, one success builds Giovinazzo said. “I use computers, iPhons upon another. and iPads that have software that trans“I liken it to a construction worker lates what you see on the screen into voice. who can’t build a home without the Technology really does level the playing proper tools,” Giovinazzo said. “We are field. There is a whole menu of items we offer such as keyboarding, learning Braille, how to use a calculator, basic communications, and techniques of daily living.”

Programs at WSB include pre-vocational training such as learning how to walk with a red and white cane, how to navigate the home safely, and how to cook – all things necessary to manage your home in order to live independently. That is followed for people who want to join the workforce with vocational training that allows them to go out and secure employment.

“We are a supplement for people who are blind,” she said. “We are there to pick up the pieces when medicine can’t help them anymore. Grandma with macular degeneration may just need to learn to navigate around the house. Or someone who is blinded at age 25 by being thrown through a windshield can be helped to put back the pieces of his life to go on and have a career, be in the workforce, buy a home, and have a family. Someone might just need magnification devices or to learn how to navigate around the house or safely cook. Our list of programs are vast.” arkansasmedicalnews

.com

giving people the tools to build a solid foundation for a life around them. They can pack up the tools, go out and secure the employment they want and the life that they want.”

In addition to the services provided on campus, WSB also provides training free for people in their homes. It has a partnership with the state program I Can Connect, which provides telecommunications equipment for people with sight and hearing loss.

Their flagship employment program, in place since 1967, is a partnership with the IRS where students accepted and trained for the program are guaranteed jobs upon completion of the program. Recently, thanks to a generous grant from the Lions Club International Foundation, WSB added a call center training program in customer service and adaptive technology. One great thing is that some of those jobs are available for telecommuters. That is particularly valuable for someone who lives in a rural area without access to public transportation.

“More call centers are hiring at home agents,” Giovinazzo said. “That is a model we can pick up and duplicate.”

William Heaston, who has served in a variety of state and regional positions in the Lions Club, said Arkansas has much to be proud of being home to WSB. “A lot of people can’t believe we have a center like this in Arkansas that serves people who are blind all over the country and the world,” said Heaston, who is

on the board of directors for WSB. “WSB has become the most comprehensive rehabilitation and training center for blind or visually impaired adults in the world.

If you help just one individual, it makes a difference in the world. That is the way I look at it. We have served a lot of people.

“The talents of a person who are visually impaired is amazing. They are very, very smart. They catch on really fast. They go through the trauma of being blind, and through training and learn mobility, how to cook and sew, make a bed, and how to gain employment. It gives you a warm feeling in your heart that you have helped an individual to be sustainable and independent.”

The Mid-South Lions Clubs also provide low vision services, as well as surgeries to restore sight, to people in Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee. “We do this at no cost to patients,” said Brad Baker, CEO of the Mid-South Lions.

How can you help?

• Refer patients with vision impairment to WSB. • Donate money either once or on a regular monthly basis.

• Adopt a dorm room and help with decorating.

• Donate furniture for the dorm rooms or lobby.

• Volunteer to help with a work project on campus.

For more visit www.wsblind.org

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The Partnership for a Healthy Arkansas Launched, continued from page 1 Washington Regional Medical System President and CEO Bill Bradley, chairman of the new organization, said the five groups share a common commitment to deliver the best healthcare and health value to Arkansas citizens.

“Because all members of this collaboration are headquartered in Arkansas and we are all rooted in a not-forprofit mission, we share a synergy and a focus on improving the financing and delivery of healthcare to Arkansans, resulting in better healthcare for all,” Bill Bradley Bradley said.

The partnership came about after extensive discussions on how best to improve healthcare in the state. Chris Barber, president and CEO of St. Bernards Healthcare in Jonesboro, who was elected vice-chairman of the partnership, said the organizations came to the conclusion that collaboration on innovative health improvement and efficiency initiatives across the state was the right approach. Barber said an advantage is the partnership allows each entity to retain their focus on their communities’ needs while learning best practices from each other.

Examples of potential collaborative efforts include information technology, customer call centers, patient care management and coordination, expensive bio-medical equipment maintenance, and quality and financial data analysis.

The partnership is focusing on three main areas to achieve cost savings and performance improvement: Operational Shared Services, Population Health Shared Services and Clinical Improvement Shared Services.

“Specific programs in these three areas will reduce duplication, share the cost of expensive operations and improve our performance for the benefit of patients and insurance plan members,” said Baptist Health President and CEO Troy Wells, who was elected secretary/treasurer of The Partnership. “To be successful, we will engage our affiliated physicians as leaders and partners in many initiatives.”

Wells said UAMS and Baptist Health are already working together, with physicians, to reduce duplication and improve quality.

UAMS vascular surgeons and physiatrists are staffing Baptist Health clinical programs, assisting with vascular surgery needs and also admitting inpatient rehabilitation patients.

UAMS collaborates with St. Bernards and Washington Regional through its regional programs, and partners on family medicine residency training and telemedicine.

Other areas where this new partnership will be working with physicians to achieve similar outcomes include high-risk pregnancy, geriatrics, and dialysis.

The partnership has stated its goal is to facilitate cooperation between the health systems and Arkansas BCBS to provide the best care at the lowest cost for the state’s most financially vulnerable individuals, as well as those residents who receive employer-sponsored coverage, whether self-

funded or fully insured.

Having Arkansas BCBS participate in this effort is unique among such organizations nationwide. Steve Spaulding, senior vice-president of Enterprise Networks, Arkansas BCBS, said they share a lot in common with the hospitals and even physicians in the state in being focused on providing value to the people who live here.

“A lot of times in our efforts to provide that value, we duplicate some services that we believe could be consolidated and done better, representing more value for the customers we and the hospitals take care of,” Spaulding said. “Hospitals are interested in providing the best quality care possible. We are interested in making sure we purchase the best value in healthcare for our customers from those providers. It only makes sense we should try to create more value in collaboration with each other as opposed to an arm’s length relationship trying to create value independent of one another.”

Roxane Townsend, MD, vice chancellor of clinical programs for UAMS and CEO of UAMS Medical Center, said the state is fortunate to have the leading health systems and the state’s largest health insurer join together.

“With the rapid changes in healthcare, it is Roxanne more important than ever Townsend to provide quality healthcare at the lowest possible cost,” Townsend said. “By working together, we can share

best practices and reduce duplication to achieve these goals.”

She said UAMS and Baptist Health already are working together to reduce duplication in two clinical areas: vascular surgery and inpatient rehabilitation. More areas of clinical cooperation are under consideration. In addition, UAMS collaborates with St. Bernards and Washington Regional through its regional programs, partnering on family medicine residency training, telemedicine and a variety of clinical programs including family medicine, geriatrics and high-risk pregnancy.

The partnership was the second SSO announced for Arkansas in 2015. Earlier CHI St. Vincent, one of the state’s largest healthcare providers, and Conway Regional Medical Center formed the Arkansas Health Alliance which pledged to be active statewide in creating alliances to help both small and larger hospitals become leaner and more efficient.

To learn more: Washington Regional Medical System, http://www.wregional.com/ University of Arkansas for Medical Services, http://uamshealth.com/ Baptist Health, https://www.baptisthealth.com/ Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, http://www.arkansasbluecross.com/ St. Bernards Healthcare, https://www. stbernards.info/

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GrandRounds St. Bernards Master Plan Will Change the Face of Downtown Jonesboro JONESBORO – St. Bernards Medical Center is moving forward on a $130 million master plan that will change the face of downtown Jonesboro.

To be completed in four phases, the plan calls for construction that will give St. Bernards a new “front door” on Jackson Avenue and will involve changes and additions to the medical center’s Ben E. Owens Cancer Treatment Center and the Heartcare Center; construction of a new surgical and intensive care tower and a new emergency department configuration with access from Church Street; and renovation and refurbishing of the present medical center structure, including patient rooms.

Work already has begun on the initial phase – that of the cancer center.

When completed, it will bring all components of the St. Bernards cancer service line together in a single facility on the main campus while providing space for future growth. Both radiation oncologists (Drs. John Lynch and John Allgood) and medical oncology/hematology specialists (Drs. Mazen Khalil, Marc Montè and Aamer Farooq) will have offices and clinic space in the same building.

Square footage will be added to the

tions within the present medical center, including enhancements of patient rooms, public areas and kitchen and dining areas.

Fellowship-Trained Dermatologist Thomas Jennings, MD, PhD, Joins UAMS top level where the medical oncology/ hematology clinic and a 27-chair outpatient infusion area will be located. The center also will include a laboratory for blood testing and a chemotherapy pharmacy which will prepare all physician-ordered antineoplastic drugs on site.

Beginning early January, patients being treated at the cancer center will not be able to access the building from Jackson. Rather, they will enter from the ground level in the parking garage.

Phase 1 work is anticipated to take approximately 11 months, with all facets of the cancer treatment center fully functional by October of 2016. Total cost of Phase 1 work will be approximately $9 million.

Phase 2 will include changes at the Heartcare Center that will allow for expansion of invasive services, the addition of both a new electrophysiology lab and a new hybrid lab and renovation of cur-

Advances Are Making, continued from page 5 patients because new drops work better than old ones. So we do less glaucoma surgery, and what glaucoma surgery we do is more effective.”

Another fairly new and exciting development is the use of the artificial cornea, like the Boston keratoprosthesis, said Tayyeba Ali, MD, a cornea and ueitis specialist and assistant professor at the Harvey and Bernice Jones Eye Institute/ University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Ali is one of only two cornea surgeons in the state trained to implant the artificial cornea.

“This is exciting for patients with repeated former transplants that have failed or with pathology that is expected to fail after a routine transplant,” Ali said.

Previously, all types of corneal pathology would require a full-thickness corneal transplant from a donor. Now, Ali said, as doctors have learned more about the anatomy of the cornea, techniques to perform partial thickness, lamellar transplants have changed the way physicians address corneal transplantation. It has become more routine to simply remove the part of cornea that is damaged, thus transplanting less donor tissue.

“The benefits include a theoretical decreased risk of rejection and results in a quicker time to recovery and full visual potential, as it is a less invasive procedure,” Ali said. “We replace less of the host cornea. It is a safer, ‘better’ surgery, when it is indicated.”

The field of ophthalmology is very arkansasmedicalnews

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dynamic. Ali tells her patients that the great news is that there are options available that patients didn’t have access to before.

“But, sometimes the best option is to do nothing,” Ali said. “It is important and key to have a thorough screening examination and know which patient would be a good candidate for some of these unique procedures. There are complications and significant issues to look for when treating patients with these newer techniques and technology. It is not that this is to be used on everybody.”

Ali completed her fellowship training in cornea and uveitis at the number one ranked eye hospital in the country, the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami.

While there, she saw some of the complications that can result from these newer surgeries. “Sometimes watchful waiting is not a bad idea,” Ali said.

To learn more: Massachusetts Eye and Ear, http://www.masseyeandear. org/specialties/ophthalmology/ cornea-and-refractive-surgery/ keratoprosthesis UAMS Harvey and Bernice Jones Eye Institute, http://eye.uams.edu/

rent cardiac catheterization labs.

The first floor of the Heartcare Center will be used for non-invasive cardiac procedures. The second level will house all invasive services, with construction bringing to six the total number of cath and EP labs. The third level – now simply shelled in – will be developed as a 30unit patient prep and recovery area and a separate family waiting area.

Projected start date is spring of 2016, with completion expected in the winter of 2017. Approximate cost of Phase 2 is expected to be $8 million.

Phase 3 will involve construction that gives St. Bernards a new “front door” and changes the face of downtown Jonesboro. It will include a five-story surgical and intensive care tower that faces Jackson Avenue and new entrances for emergency services with access from Church Street.

The 245,000-square-foot tower will feature entrance into an atrium on the ground level with access to admissions and registration and visitor-friendly amenities such as a coffee shop, education rooms, a chapel, improved wayfinding for families and visitors and support services for surgery and critical care areas.

The first level of the tower will house 14 surgical suites, along with support programs such as pharmacy and the GI Lab. Emergency services will be accessed from Church Street and will have separate entrances for ambulance and ambulatory patients. There will be seven bays for private ambulance service, separate parking for emergency vehicles (such as law enforcement, etc.) and a covered entrance for patients who arrive via private vehicle. That area will include ample private parking for community emergency needs.

A helipad will be built atop the ambulance bay, giving St. Bernards two helicopter landing sites. The present helipad will be used primarily for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and women’s and children’s services patients, while the one at the emergency department will be used mostly for emergency and surgical services.

Total cost of the tower/emergency services project is expected to be about $75 million. Work on Phase 3 will begin with site prep after St. Bernards has access to the Blessed Sacrament school property in the fall of 2016. Work on the tower itself is expected to begin in 2017,with completion in the winter of 2018/19.

The final phase will include renova-

LITTLE ROCK – Thomas Jennings, MD, PhD, has joined the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) as a specialist in Mohs micrographic surgery for skin cancer.

He sees patients in the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute’s Dermatology CanDr. Thomas cer Clinic, which offers a Jennings full range of treatments for early melanoma, basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, and other skin cancers.

Jennings also is an assistant professor in the UAMS College of Medicine’s Department of Dermatology where he is director of dermatologic surgery.

He earned both his medical degree and a doctorate of philosophy in biochemistry and molecular biology at UAMS. He graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Hendrix College.

After finishing an internship in internal medicine and a residency in dermatology at UAMS, Jennings completed a fellowship in procedural dermatology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is certified by the American Board of Dermatology.

North Arkansas Regional Medical Center Receives IQI Award LITTLE ROCK – North Arkansas Regional Medical Center received a $69,350 performance bonus payment from Arkansas Medicaid and AFMC as part of the annual Inpatient Quality Incentive (IQI) program during a ceremony Oct. 8 at the Statehouse Convention Center. More than $3.7 million in performance bonus payments were made to 24 Arkansas hospitals for the 2015 IQI program. This year’s program showed a significant increase in both the number of hospitals and total payments – in 2014, 13 hospitals received $2.6 million.

This is the ninth year IQI has given incentive payments to hospitals.

This year, IQI recognized hospitals that showed improvement in obstetrics and tobacco use screening and treatment. Hospitals were required to meet specific goals for at least 80 percent of eligible measures, including sending blood samples of newborns to the Arkansas Department of Health for screening and offering treatment for tobacco use. The IQI advisory board, AFMC and Arkansas Medicaid selected the measures. Hospitals must also pass validation of their reporting to qualify.

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GrandRounds St. Bernards Announces Changes on Executive Leadership Team JONESBORO - St. Bernards has announced changes involving its executive leadership team. Dr. Kasey Holder has been named vice president of medical affairs. Connie Hill has been named vice president of patient services. And Lori Smith has Dr. Kasey Holder been named vice president of human resources.

Holder grew up in Paragould, earned a bachelor’s degree from Arkansas State University and a Medical Degree Connie Hill from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. After completing a family medicine residency at the UAMS Area Health Education Center-Northeast in Jonesboro, she served on the AHEC facLori Smith ulty and more recently as the director of the hospitalist program at St. Bernards. She also has served as chief of family medicine at St. Bernards.

In her role as vice president of medical affairs, she will serve as a physician representative for the medical staff.

Hill is a registered nurse practitioner who also holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from Vanderbilt University and an MBA from the University of Colorado at Denver. Before joining the St. Bernards leadership team, she served as chief executive officer of Cardiology Associates. She has extensive experience in both caring for patients and in clinic management. She recently was honored as a finalist for Nurse of the Year in the Healthcare Heroes program sponsored by Arkansas Business.

Hill will play a key role in establishing missions, long- and short-range planning, policy development and priority setting for the medical center. She will oversee heartcare service lines as well as coordinate appropriate utilization of nursing resources in the provision of patient care.

Smith has been named vice president of human resources. Originally from Caraway, she holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Arkansas State University and an MBA from William Woods University in Fulton, Mo. In her role as vice president of human resources, she will be responsible for planning, administration and overall supervision of the human resources department, the employment center, recruitment, corporate payroll employee risk management, employee engagement and corporate leadership development.

Smith comes to St. Bernards after serving as director of human resources at Optus, Inc. She also has worked for Dana Corp. in Jonesboro, Columbia, Mo., Cape Girardeau, Mo., and Eliza-

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bethtown, Ky. She previously worked for St. Bernards as director of human resources.

Saline Memorial Hospital Terminates Letter of Intent BENTON – Saline Memorial Hospital’s Board of Directors has voted to terminate their letter of intent for a partnership with Capella Healthcare.

CEO Bob Trautman said that with their improving financial performance, continuing to remain independent, at this time, was a good option for the hospital. He said it was a very difficult decision and was in no way a reflection on Capella. Both sides are both going to remain open for any potential future discussions about partnerships. He said they appreciate the Board’s thoughtful consideration of the decision as well as the patience of the hospital’s employees and medical staff throughout the due diligence.

Andy Slusser, EVP, Chief Development Officer for Capella, said they were disappointed to learn of the Board’s decision, but are pleased that they remain open to potential future discussions.

Vincent Leist Elected to AHA Board LITTLE ROCK - Vincent Leist, CEO of North Arkansas Regional Medical Center (NARMC) in Harrison since July 2011, has been elected to the Arkansas Hospital Association (AHA) Board of Directors. Leist was nominated to the board by Vincent Leist AHA-member institutions located in AHA’s Northwest Hospital District. His nomination was ratified by the AHA House of Delegates during the Association’s 85th Annual Meeting and Trade Show.

He will serve on the board representing the 15 AHA-member hospitals and health systems located in the district.

The AHA, based in Little Rock, is a hospital advocacy organization, which represents 102 Arkansas hospitals and related healthcare institution members which are dedicated to improving the availability and quality of healthcare services provided to Arkansans living in communities across the state.

PUBLISHED BY: SouthComm Business Media, Inc. MARKET PUBLISHER Pamela Harris pharris@medicalnewsinc.com 501.247.9189 LOCAL EDITOR Becky Gillette bgillette@medicalnewsofarkansas.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR Susan Graham susan@medicalnewsinc.com 931.438.8771 GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Katy Barrett-Alley Amy Gomoljak Liz Loewenstein CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Becky Gillette, Lynne Jeter, Cindy Sanders CIRCULATION subscriptions@southcomm.com —— All editorial submissions and press releases should be emailed to: pharris@medicalnewsinc.com —— Subscription requests or address changes should be mailed to: Medical News, Inc. 210 12th Ave S. • Suite 100 Nashville, TN 37203 615.244.7989 • (FAX) 615.244.8578 or e-mailed to: subscriptions@southcomm.com

Sparks Health Opens New Orthopedic And Spine Center FORT SMITH – Sparks Health System and the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting for the new Orthopedic and Spine Center at Sparks Regional Medical Center this past fall.

In the newly remodeled unit on the 5th floor, are the spacious hallways and bathrooms and the open therapy space that resembles more of a community recreation room than a hospital. Combined with a simplified process for joint replacement therapy and a fun, local historical theme to motivate patients, the new unit is changing joint replacement surgery in the River Valley.

With minimally-invasive robotic-assisted surgery and a cohesive treatment plan, Sparks Health System’s new Orthopedic and Spine Center has simplified joint replacement surgery, in just three steps. First, patients attend a pre-surgery class led by the joint care coordinator. Patients can ask questions, get answers, and learn a lot -- like how to choose a coach, and how to prepare their home for their recovery after surgery.

The second step is on the day of surgery. The joint replacement staff will help patients feel comfortable and guide them through the entire process. The third step is the recovery process where patients will work with a physical therapist before heading home.

Sparks has the same great physicians and nurses, but the new program encompasses wellness, early mobility, family involvement, education, personal responsibility, group interaction and minimally invasive and rapid-recovery techniques for better outcomes following joint replacement or spine surgery.

To attend a free seminar about Joint Replacement Surgery, register online at SparksHealth.com or call (479) 709-DOCS.

SOUTHCOMM BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. Chief Executive Officer Chris Ferrell Chief Financial Officer Ed Tearman Chief Operating Officer Blair Johnson Director Of Financial Planning And Analysis Carla Simon Vice President Of Human Resources Ed Wood Vice President of Content Patrick Rains Vice President Of Production Operations Curt Pordes Chief Revenue Officer Dave Carter Director Of Digital Sales & Marketing David Walker Controller Todd Patton Creative Director Heather Pierce Arkansas Medical News is published bi-monthly by Medical News, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of SouthComm Business Media, Inc. ©2016 Medical News Communications.All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Medical News will assume no responsibilities for unsolicited materials.

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Arkansas-Based Company Provides Innovative Healthcare Solutions SOAPware is a national developer of solutions for the healthcare industry.

SOAPware, an Arkansasbased company, serves over 75 different medical specialties as well as practices up to 100 physicians within large organizations and has been innovating healthcare for over 20 years.

SOAPware originated from a core team of seasoned progressive thinking physicians and technology experts in Arkansas who work tirelessly to advance health technology in order to improve healthcare and the quality of life by empowering medical professionals and patients with innovative technology and services.

The SOAPware Meaningful Use Certified software was designed in a real world setting, making SOAPware the preferred EHR for medical professionals all across the United States and around the world! In fact, SOAPware was recently ranked #1 in the nation for Quality of Care by physicians!

In the rapidly-shifting market of healthcare

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At SOAPware, you can expect: • Exceptional Software SOAPware empowers medical professionals and patients with innovative technology and services.

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providing complete cancer care Celebrating survivorship with the Seed of Hope ceremony In Arkansas, there’s only one place that provides complete cancer care. It’s where you’ll find 9 out of the 10 Arkansas physicians named to Newsweek’s Top Cancer Doctors’ list. Plus, you will have access to more clinical trials, the newest technology and genetic testing for personalized treatments.

At the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the state’s top minds work side by side with patients and their loved ones to ensure caring and compassion — from diagnosis to survivorship.

We are UAMS, and we’re here for a better state of health. UAMShealth.com

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