HJAR Jan/Feb 2026

32 JAN / FEB 2026  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS   Healthcare Briefs Arkansas Center forWomen & Infants’ Health Begins Calling PostpartumMoms Nurses at the Arkansas Center for Women & Infants’ Health at UAMS have started calling post- partummoms across Arkansas to ensure that they and their babies are off to a healthy start. This initiative, known as the Proactive Post- partum Call Center, launched its pilot phase on May 1, initially calling all postpartum women who delivered at UAMS. It is now expanding to those who delivered at other hospitals in Arkansas, once those hospitals have signed agreements to facilitate access to patients’ contact information and medical history. So far, six other hospitals are participating, with hopes of all 33 birthing hospi- tals participating by the end of the year. The center brings together UAMS programs and partnerships that are designed to combat maternal and infant mortality. It was created by a $5 million congressional appropriation to UAMS in March 2024 in response to the state’s high num- ber of maternal and infant deaths and findings from the Arkansas Maternal Mortality Review Committee, which showed that most pregnancy- associated deaths in Arkansas occur during the postpartum period. UAMS Institute for Community Health Innovation Receives $11.7 Million COBRE Award for Maternal Health Research The UAMS Institute for Community Health Inno- vation will expand research for maternal health in Arkansas by establishing the Maternal and Reproductive Community Health Excellence (MaRCH) research center funded through the National Institutes of Health’s Center of Biomed- ical Research Excellence (COBRE). The MaRCH research center will focus on train- ing and supporting new researchers who develop innovations in maternal and reproductive health in Arkansas. The grant, which amounts to about $11.7 million over five years, will support at least three new maternal and reproductive health researchers each year. This is one of the first COBRE grants in the United States focused on maternal health. Additionally, as part of the project, the insti- tute will bring together researchers and thought leaders from across the nation for a conference in spring 2026 on maternal and reproductive health. Bradley Houston, MD, Joins UAMS Department of Urology Bradley Houston, MD, a board-certified urolo- gist, has joined the UAMS Department of Urol- ogy as an assistant professor. He comes to UAMS from Arkansas Urology in Conway. Houston earned a medical degree and a Master of Public Health degree at UAMS, and completed a general surgery internship and a urology resi- dency at the University of Tennessee Health Sci- ence Center in Memphis. He also has a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Arkan- sas in Fayetteville. German Corrales, MD, Joins UAMS Health Neighborhood Clinic Family medicine physician German Corrales, MD, has joined UAMS and will see patients at the UAMS Health Neighborhood Clinic on Capital Mall in Little Rock. He will also serve as an assis- tant professor in the UAMS College of Medicine Department of Family and Preventive Medicine. A native of Argentina, Corrales is fluent in both English and Spanish. He earned a medical degree from Universidad Nacional de Cordoba in Cor- doba in Argentina. He served a clinical observer- ship and was a postdoctoral research fellow in the anesthesiology and perioperative medicine department at the MD Anderson Cancer Center and completed a residency in family medicine at UAMS, where he was elected chief resident dur- ing his final year of residency. He is certified by the American Board of Family Medicine. MinaMichael, MD, Joins Baptist Health Rehabilitation Institute – Conway Internal medicine physician Mina Michael, MD, has joined Baptist Health Rehabilitation Insti- tute–Conway. Michael earned a medical degree from Cairo University in Egypt and completed residency training at St. Agnes Hospital in Balti- more, Maryland. Previously, he served as medical director of inpatient rehabilitation at Saint Mary's Regional Medical Center in Russellville. TheWhite House Just Turned U.S. Obesity into a Pharma Goldmine By Dianne Marie Normand Hartley Soon we’ll be celebrating a thinner, but still- malnourished America. President Trump announced a deal in Novem- ber that is “a triumph for American patients.” Flanked by Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk Big Pharma executives and MAHA leadership, he revealed a historic agreement to slash the prices of the blockbuster GLP-1 weight-loss drugs Wegovy and Zepbound. Prices that once averaged over $1,300 a month would soon fall to $245, with future pill versions capped at $149. Medicare will now cover these drugs for obesity, and state Medicaid pro- grams will have the option to follow suit. The president and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. touted a negotiating “win-win.” This was not a victory for public health — it was a victory for the pharmaceutical industry, wrapped in populist language. The press conference Bradley Houston, MD Mina Michael, MD