The Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) announced the election of new members to its board of advisors. Ray Dillon of Little Rock serves as board chair. Additional officers are Natalie Rockefeller, vice chair; Hatim Smouni, treasurer; and Penny Burkhalter, secretary.
The new board of advisors members are:
Viviane Ajarrista of Little Rock
Mercy Health Foundation Northwest Arkansas has added three new members to its 24-member board of directors.
Joining the board are Dr. Sonal Bhakta, vice president for medical affairs at Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas in Rogers; Chandra Holt, executive vice president and chief merchandising and integration officer for Walmart.com in Bentonville; and Latriece Watkins, executive vice president of consumables for Walmart U.S. in Bentonville.
CHI St. Vincent Infirmary has appointed Dr. Jill Flaxman as medical director of perioperative services to provide leadership and vision for a wide range of surgical services. Flaxman brings both administrative and physician perspectives to the new role with experience in clinical practice, managed care, quality improvement, and healthcare information technology.
The Blue & You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas announced a $286,000 grant to the Northwest Arkansas Council Foundation to address the recent spike in COVID-19 transmission in the Latinx and Marshallese populations in Northwest Arkansas.
The funds will be used to hire and train community health navigators to conduct outreach within Latinx and Marshallese communities. This grant is part of a larger program intended to limit the spread of COVID-19 through a coordinated response for testing and other support in hard-to-reach populations of Northwest Arkansas.
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) has developed and begun using high-accuracy antibody testing to determine the magnitude of COVID-19 infection in Arkansas and inform the decisions of policymakers.
As part of the research program, UAMS will collect blood samples from nearly 7,500 Arkansas adults and children through October. By early August, a robotic-assisted immunoassay machine will enable processing of 2,500 samples per day for workplace, school and other community settings. UAMS researchers are now processing only up to 180 samples per day by hand.
