The kidney and liver transplant programs at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) were honored with the John M. Eisenberg Award for Local Achievement in Patient Safety and Quality from The Joint Commission and National Quality Forum.
Katelyn Faust, MSN, RN, the transplant program’s quality and process improvement manager, attended the inaugural UNIFY conference in Washington, D.C., and accepted the award on behalf of UAMS Health on Sept. 16.
The UAMS Health program was recognized for improving access to organ transplantation for underserved rural communities in Arkansas. The UAMS Health Solid Organ Transplant Program established satellite transplant clinics in El Dorado, Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Helena-West Helena, Jonesboro, Pine Bluff, and Texarkana to improve access to care for patients around the state and reduce the need for costly travel to UAMS clinics in central Arkansas.
“These satellite clinics are strategically located in regions with the highest concentrations of transplant patients,” said Lyle Burdine, MD, PhD, director of solid organ transplants at UAMS. “By going out into the state to meet our patients, rather than asking them to come to Little Rock, we are not only improving our patients’ quality of life, but we are also adding years to their life as well."