HJAR Nov/Dec 2019

28 NOV / DEC 2019  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS   Healthcare Briefs mechanism section in the Division of Cancer Pre- vention and Control. In 2008, Birrer was appointed professor of medicine at the Harvard School of Medicine. He assumed the position of director for both Gyne- cologic Medical Oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Gynecologic Oncol- ogy Research Program at the Dana Farber/Har- vard Cancer Center. In 2017, he accepted the position of director of the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he served as professor of medicine, pathology, and OB-GYN. Recognized nationally and internationally as an expert in gynecologic oncology, Birrer’s primary research interest is in characterizing the genom- ics of gynecologic cancers to improve the clinical management of these diseases. His clinical inter- ests include ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer, and cervical cancer. Birrer has approximately 400 publications, including peer-reviewed manuscripts, book chap- ters, and review articles. He served as chair and chair emeritus of the Department of Defense Ovarian Cancer Research Program, chair of the Committee for Experimental Medicine of the Gynecologic Oncology Group, chair of the Trans- lational Science Working Group of the Gyneco- logic Cancer Intergroup, and a member of the Gynecologic Cancer Steering Committee. Mercy Celebrates Multispecialty Clinic in Springdale Mercy co-workers and community mem- bers gathered to celebrate and bless the next- to-last piece in Mercy’s multiyear expansion, a 63,000-square-foot clinic featuring primary and specialty care and a 24-hour ER just off Interstate 49. The clinic is called Mercy Springdale. Mercy has invested $47 million in the clinic, its largest in Northwest Arkansas, as part of a $277 million expansion announced in April of 2016. The last piece of the expansion is a seven-story tower at Mercy Hospital that will open in phases in October and November. Mercy Springdale initially will add more than two dozen primary care and specialty physicians to an underserved area of Springdale, with more joining the clinic over time. Mercy determined the need for a medical campus in the area after a two-year study that looked at population trends, community health outcomes and limits in access to care. The facility also includes a 22,000-square-foot emergency room featuring 12 exam rooms. In addition to a trauma room, the ER has two tri- age rooms, an isolation room (for infectious dis- eases or other issues) and three rooms to accom- modate patients with behavioral health needs. A helipad on site will allow for critical care trans- ports to Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas in Rogers and other facilities. An imaging department will serve both the clinic and ER sides with X-ray, computed tomog- raphy (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Michael Birrer, MD, PhD Mercy Springdale Ribbon-Cutting

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