Andrea Woods, JD, is the new chair of Conway Regional Board of Directors.
She succeeds Rev. Cornell Maltbia as board chairman. Maltbia continues on the board. “We have been blessed to have such an engaging leader as Rev. Maltbia as our chairman, and I look forward to Andrea bringing her own brand of decision-making and compassion to leadership of the board,” said Matt Troup, Conway Regional Health System president and CEO.
Woods is known for her public and community service. She has been a member of the Conway Regional Board of Directors since 2016. She was chair of the 32-member Conway Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors in 2017.
“Jerry Adams asked me to consider volunteering for Conway Regional. I hesitated because I am not a doctor. I am not a nurse. Like many, I only saw the healthcare system from the perspective of the emergency room when our son broke his arm,” said Woods. Regarding serving as a volunteer on the board, Woods said, “I was amazed. Each day for the team at Conway Regional is in service to a calling, not a job. Compassion, kindness, and self-sacrifice are the essence of every one of these men and women, and I am motivated by them to give what I can to make a difference.”
Her most memorable experiences include the health system’s “Immersion Program.” “Every board member spends a full day in the hospital, dawn to dusk, experiencing healthcare from the perspective of our surgeons, social workers, nurses, nutrition staff, and other employees. You are immersed in the hospital from the inside-out, and you get to see how your votes in the board room help our patients and our team.”
As board chair, she wants to follow the example of the outgoing chair. “Healthcare is extremely complicated and always in a state of change. I hope to follow Cornell’s example by focusing on strategy and supporting our board of directors in thinking outside the box while maintaining a clear focus on providing the highest quality, compassionate healthcare.”
The public should watch for growth in specialty services that support a comprehensive approach to care and meet the needs of patients. “Intensive Care, Cardiovascular, Neurology, Gastroenterology, Oncology, and Infectious Disease are exciting potential areas for growth,” said Woods. “Conway Regional will also support regional primary care physicians by providing the tools and specialized care their patients need.” This is made possible because of the willingness of leadership and employees to respond to change. “I expect this resilience and growth to continue and strengthen as we face future challenges together,” said Woods.
Woods has served as corporate counsel since 2005 and became an executive vice president for Nabholz in 2012. She is also on the board of directors for the company’s parent group, The Nabholz Group Inc.
A native of Fayetteville, Woods received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Kansas and earned a juris doctor degree with honors from Capital University Law School in Columbus, Ohio. She has served as assistant city attorney in North Little Rock and assistant prosecuting attorney in Fairfield County, Ohio. Woods was recently appointed as a member of the Arkansas Judicial Discipline & Disability Commission and is in her second term on the Arkansas Bar Association’s Board of Governors.
In another change, Carol Angel, MD, a Conway anesthesiologist, is the new chief of the Conway Regional medical staff. Angel succeeds Greg Kendrick, MD, whose term on the board expired in December. She has been in practice as an anesthesiologist in Conway for the past 22 years.
During Maltbia’s term as chairman on the board, Conway Regional was named a “Best Place to Work” by Arkansas Business twice and was listed among Modern Healthcare’s 2018 “Best Places to Work in Healthcare.” The board also approved a $40 million dollar expansion project in November. Maltbia and the board also oversaw the addition of clinics in Pottsville and Russellville to the Conway Regional Primary Care Network, and the additions of a new CT scanner, a cardiac catheterization laboratory, a neuroscience center, a pain management clinic, and a sports medicine clinic.
Jim Rankin, president of Trinity Development, one of the oldest and largest land development companies in Conway, is the new vice chairman of the board. Other returning members of the board are Andrew Cole, MD, Thad Hardin, MD, Barbara Williams, RN, PhD, Jeff Standridge, Tom Poe, and Wayne Cox.