telemedicine - UAMS Medical Center

A QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS FOR MEDICAL SCIENCES spring 2009
telemedicine
improves stroke
outcomes

House•Call
Spring 2009
editor
Susan Van Dusen
art director
Laurie Shell
managing editor
Liz Caldwell
Welcome
from Chancellor I. Dodd Wilson
On e o f t h e cor nerstones o f UAMS is the ability of our
physicians to provide much-needed health care services
throughout the state, often while remaining on our Little
Rock campus. This innovation, known as telehealth, is made
possible through the use of technology and partnerships with health care
professionals across Arkansas.
Led by Dr. Curtis Lowry, our Center for Distance Health utilizes
interactive video and audio teleconferencing to allow UAMS doctors to
consult in real time with doctors located from Rogers to Lake Village,
and numerous locations in between. Patients who are unable to come
to Little Rock are still able to receive the expert opinion of our highly
trained specialists through the powerful and efficient use of technology.
Telehealth has changed — and will continue to change — the face
of Arkansas health care for years to come. This is evident in one of our
newest programs titled Arkansas SAVES (Stroke Assistance Through
Virtual Emergency Support), a partnership with the state Department of
Health and several Arkansas hospitals.
Arkansas SAVES is intended to improve emergency care for people
experiencing a stroke, when quick response with proper medication can
potentially limit serious complications. Through telehealth technology,
emergency room physicians can consult via video conferencing with a
UAMS neurologist, share test results and determine the best treatment
option in the shortest amount of time.
You can read more about Arkansas SAVES on Page 8. Partnerships
such as these are vital to helping UAMS improve the health of
Arkansans from all corners of the state.
creative director
Keith Runkle
writers
Nate Hinkel
Jon Parham
David Robinson
Susan Van Dusen
photographer
Johnpaul Jones
editorial advisory board
Kathy Alexander
Jerry Atchley
Anne Bynum
Cindy Pugh
Dale Ronnel
Carla Spainhour
Judy Snowden
Becky Tucker
chancellor
I. Dodd Wilson, M.D.
vice chancellor
of communications & marketing
Pat Torvestad
associate vice chancellor
of communications & marketing
Leslie Taylor
assistant vice chancellor of
communications & marketing
Tim Irby
HouseCall is published quarterly by
UAMS Office of Communications &
Marketing, 4301 W. Markham St. #890,
Little Rock, AR 72205-7199
Phone: (501) 686-5686
Fax: (501) 686-6020
Read current and archived issues of
HouseCall online at
www.UAMShealth.com/housecall
I. Dodd Wilson, M.D.
Chancellor, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
2 House•Call uamshealth.com

Spring 2009
4
7
8
20
Take it to the Bank
Work is under way to establish Arkansas’ first cord blood bank
UAMShealth.com
New Web site is designed to be patient friendly
A Matter of Time
Health care providers join forces for stroke patients
The Mind’s Eye
Researchers use a powerful MRI to study the
decision-making process
12
In every issue
12
14
16
18
Builders
Momentum grows on the Northwest Arkansas campus
Healers
Dr. Youmin Wu leads the liver transplant program
Did You Know
Newsworthy happenings at UAMS
Scholars
Faculty member creates a model for respiratory care education
18
22
Partners
Sheila Mehaffy watched the Psychiatric Research Institute
go from dream to reality
On the cover: Dr. Salah Keyrouz leads a new telehealth
program designed to improve stroke outcomes.
Cover photo: Johnpaul Jones
22
uamshealth.com House•Call 3

Dr. Michele Fox is a leader in the effort
to start Arkansas' first cord blood bank,
which will house specialized equipment
on the UAMS campus.
4 House•Call uamshealth.com

to the
take it
bank
Cord blood bank at UAMS will save
lives and enhance research
By Nate Hinkel
Dr. Michele Fox knows the potential
benefits in research and health care if her
groundbreaking efforts in establishing a
statewide cord blood bank are realized.
“They are undeniable and far reaching
with enormous healing and life-saving
capability,” said Fox, a UAMS professor of
pathology and director of Cell Therapy and
Transfusion Medicine.
Though the potential is crystal clear, Fox’s
mission has been spreading the word, drumming
up support and breaking down misconceptions
that might have initially clouded the picture.
And it’s working. Fox has secured the
backing of state government, the medical
community and a growing number of donors
who realize the importance of keeping Arkansas
on the cutting edge of this trailblazing effort. »
uamshealth.com House•Call 5

take it
bank
to the
Striking a Cord In March
2007, state legislators
unanimously approved
legislation to allow Arkansas
to begin storing and
researching blood cells
harvested from umbilical
cords following the
birth of healthy
children.
Those cells
are used in transplants
for cancer patients who do not
have a bone marrow donor, but they also have
tremendous promise for regenerating diseased or
injured organs, including dead heart muscle, bone and
spinal cord tissue. The umbilical
cord, placenta and amniotic fluid,
all of which are typically discarded
after birth, are rich in stem cells
that can be withdrawn without
destroying embryos.
Included in the legislation was
an initiative to set up a statewide
cord blood banking network — an integral part of
the effort with the goal of aiding in the collection and
transportation of donated cord blood.
“The public has shown great interest in donating
cord blood for research or to be banked, but the only
way to do that has been to pay for costly storage
through a private bank,” Fox said.
Bank it Here Equipment to establish and run the
bank is being been purchased with the support of
donors and leadership at UAMS.
Since UAMS is home to one of the largest adult
blood cell transplant centers in the country, Fox’s
division will host the central bank and be the main
storage site under the UAMS umbrella. Once in
operation, the cord blood bank will be linked with
national and international networks of cord blood
banks that supply these cells for transplant all
over the world.
Fox’s mission has been
spreading the word,
drumming up support
and breaking down
misconceptions.
“For example, the nearest cord blood bank is in
St. Louis, and it’s credited with saving more than 550
lives annually,” Fox said.
Check-Off On It An anonymous donor has
guaranteed $250,000 in matching funds to help
establish the cord blood bank and network, a goal Fox
said is well on its way to being met through several
fundraising efforts.
No funding was included in the original legislation,
but an income tax check-off program was part of
the package. The program allows contributions from
taxpayers to the Newborn Umbilical Cord Blood
Initiative to be automatically deducted from their
refund checks for whatever amount they wish to give.
“Our hope is that by having this option available
to Arkansans, an initial funding
stream is created that will open
up the flood gates for this valuable
program,” said Tim Clark, an
Arkansas businessman whom Gov.
Beebe appointed chairman of the
Arkansas Commission for the
Newborn Umbilical Cord Blood
Initiative. The 11-member commission, to which
Fox serves as a consultant, was created in the initial
legislation to lead the effort to establish the cord blood
bank and network.
Fox said the program was successful in its first year
with more than 1,100 tax refund donations, but she
expects higher numbers this tax season.
The tax program, along with a public relations
effort featuring spokespeople Ginger Beebe, Arkansas’
first lady, and Clark, looks to secure more funding and
the licensing the bank and network needs to
be operational later this year.
check it out!
With further research and an efficient cord
blood banking system, more than 100 million
Americans and 2 billion people worldwide
could potentially be treated or cured. For
more information or to make a donation,
contact Brooke Ivy at (501) 686-7203 or
bivy@uams.edu.
6 House•Call uamshealth.com

W
hether
you are
seeking
general
health information or
treatment for a specific
condition, UAMS’ new
Web site is just a click away.
“UAMShealth.com was designed
from a patient’s perspective,” said Lannie Byrd,
UAMS Web Center director. “We tried to
“We tried to
capture every
aspect a patient
would need.”
capture every aspect a patient would
need when searching for health care
information or services.”
The site will include many features
designed to increase convenience,
including online prescription refills
and online bill pay. Printable maps provide detailed
information on navigating the UAMS campus, and an
New UAMShealth.com is filled with
patient-friendly features By Susan Van Dusen
online giving form makes it easy to donate to
UAMS’ institutes and colleges with a Visa,
Mastercard, American Express or Discover card.
Visitors can easily
locate information about
physicians specially
trained to treat specific
conditions and
can access contact
information for UAMS’
many outpatient clinics.
“The interactive
tools are some of the most
outstanding features of the
new site. Visitors can access the
information they need in any number
of ways,” Byrd said.
An extensive medical library includes
articles on conditions from allergies to cancer,
along with audio podcasts, videos, interactive
quizzes and risk assessment tools.
Calculators are available to help users
determine such things as their body mass index, their
baby’s due date, their child’s estimated adult
height and more.
When a search topic is entered, the site
automatically displays links to UAMS
news, medical services, health articles and
multimedia, giving visitors several options
from which to choose.
“We are so pleased to have launched
this new site in conjunction with the
opening of the new UAMS hospital,” Byrd said. “It will
be a valuable tool for our patients and visitors.”
uamshealth.com House•Call 7

A Matter
of Time
UAMS and rural hospitals join forces
to provide a life-saving stroke drug
By David Robinson
J
oseph Fritz was going about his morning
household chores in Clarksville when he noticed
his mother, Hilda, slumped in her chair.
His first thought, which turned out to be
correct, was stroke. “One side of her body was
totally unresponsive,” Joseph recalled of that
Nov. 12, 2008, day.
The emergency response that followed was historic
for Arkansas and a first for UAMS’ Center
for Distance Health. Less than two weeks earlier,
Johnson Regional Medical Center in Clarksville had
joined a new program led by UAMS that improves
rural residents’ likelihood of surviving and recovering
from stroke.
Like all patients with stroke symptoms, it was
critical that Hilda be treated within three hours for
the best chance of survival and a good outcome. As
part of the new Arkansas SAVES (Stroke Assistance
Through Virtual Emergency Support) program, the
local ambulance’s EMTs had received special stroke
training. The EMTs relayed their stroke assessment to
the emergency room while en route, and the doctor
was ready for Hilda when she arrived. A battery of tests
followed, including a CT scan of the brain.
Each step helped lead to the correct stroke
diagnosis, but the most important step involved a
board-certified vascular neurologist based at UAMS.
Proper Assessment About 80 percent of strokes are
ischemic, meaning clogged blood vessels are starving
the brain of oxygen. Under a neurologist’s guidance,
patients can receive
“Without the drug
therapy, my mom
wouldn’t have
had a chance
to recover.”
the clot-busting
drug called t-PA.
Patients who
receive the drug
for ischemic stroke
within three hours
have the best
chance of recovery.
Hemorrhagic stroke occurs when a blood vessel
ruptures and bleeds into surrounding brain tissue. t-PA
cannot be used for a hemorrhagic stroke, as it is likely
to worsen the condition and could even be fatal. »
8 House•Call uamshealth.com

Dr. Salah Keyrouz is medical
director of Arkansas SAVES.
uamshealth.com House•Call 9

After consultation with a neurologist, doctors in rural hospitals have the assurance of administering the potentially
life-saving t-PA drug.
“Differentiating between these two types of
stroke is important; only ischemic strokes could
benefit from t-PA” said Dr. Salah Keyrouz, a UAMS
neurologist and the Arkansas SAVES medical
director.
Many smaller hospitals like the one in Clarksville
have t-PA, but the drug has stayed on the shelf.
The risk of using it is simply too great without
consultation with a neurologist.
This situation inspired UAMS — through its
Center for Distance Health — and the forward
thinking of the Department of Human Services
Division of Medical Services to create the SAVES
program, which eventually will connect rural
hospitals across the state with life-saving expertise of
neurologists on call 24 hours a day.
The McGehee-Desha County Hospital in
Southeast Arkansas joined the SAVES program in
February, to the excitement and relief of John Heard,
that hospital’s chief executive officer.
“I can’t think of one time in the six years I’ve been
here that we’ve used t-PA,” Heard said. “Could it have
been given? Of course. But we didn’t have the SAVES
program, which is imperative.”
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Called Into Action When Hilda’s CT scan and
other tests indicated an ischemic stroke, the attending
physician called a special hotline to activate the
Arkansas SAVES Telestroke System. The call went to
a nurse at the UAMS Center for Distance Health Call
Center who then linked — via a video connection
— an on-call neurologist with the Johnson Regional
Medical Center’s ER physician.
In Hilda’s case, Keyrouz received the call at
UAMS. He had immediate access to the local
hospital’s lab results, a high-resolution CT brain
image and a real-time, high-definition video/audio
connection with the
“This is going to
save a lot of
people's lives.”
ER physician, Dr. James
Goodman, and Hilda.
Keyrouz confirmed the
diagnosis and t-PA was
used.
Hilda, 92, had lost her speech and ability to
swallow, as well as other muscle functions. She’s now
regained her ability to speak and swallow, but she’s
still recovering in a local rehabilitation clinic, and
Joseph is grateful she has the opportunity.
“Without the drug therapy, my mom wouldn’t
have had a chance to recover,” Joseph said. “I thought
that I had lost her.”
The Arkansas SAVES system relies on the state
Health Department’s hospital preparedness highspeed
video network transmission lines that provide
the live video communication. The telemedicine
equipment links neurologists — two at UAMS
and one at Sparks Regional Health System in Fort
Smith — with rural hospital emergency rooms. The
neurologists, who are on call 24 hours a day, also have
telemedicine equipment at their homes.
“This is cool stuff,” Heard said. “This is going to
save a lot of people’s lives.”
Still, Heard and other experts stress that
Arkansas will need to do even more to improve its
stroke ranking.
“Prevention should be our ultimate quest,”
Keyrouz said. “But short of that, Arkansas SAVES is
the best program we have for treating strokes
in Arkansas.”
He noted that high blood pressure, diabetes,
smoking, age, high cholesterol and lack of exercise are
all risk factors for stroke. It’s important that the public
be aware of the signs and symptoms of a stroke, such
as sudden weakness, numbness, unsteady gait and
speech problems.
Arkansas SAVES Facts
The Arkansas SAVES Program began Nov. 1,
2008, with a contract with Arkansas Department of
Human Services, Division of Medical Services and the
UAMS Center for Distance Health.
Partner hospitals so far include: Booneville
Community Hospital, Johnson Regional Medical
Center, Mena Regional Health System, McGehee-
Desha County Hospital and DeWitt Hospital.
Hospitals expected to join the program by July
include: Helena Regional Medical Center in Helena-
West Helena, Baxter Regional Medical Center in
Mountain Home, White River Medical Center in
Batesville and Baptist Health-Arkadelphia.
Three neurologists are on call 24 hours a day to
provide their life-saving expertise via a telemedicine
link with community hospital emergency rooms. They
are: Dr. Salah Keyrouz, the Arkansas SAVES medical
director; Dr. James Schmidley, professor of neurology
at UAMS; and Dr. Margaret Tremwel, a neurologist at
Sparks Regional Health System in Fort Smith.
uamshealth.com House•Call 11

UAMS builders
T
he UAMS satellite campus in Fayetteville
is finding widespread support and its first
students are expected to arrive this fall.
In 2008, more than $3 million was
pledged toward the UAMS expansion. Those funds are
helping pay for renovations to the former Washington
Regional Medical Center building to accommodate
the campus. The UAMS Area Health Education
Center (AHEC) Northwest also will move its existing
health education and medical care programs into the
facility this year. Fundraising is continuing with a $17
million goal to fully renovate and prepare the facility.
“We’re finding our donors understand how
important this effort is to the region and the entire
state,” said Dr. Peter O. Kohler, vice chancellor for
the northwest Arkansas region. “It will allow us to
increase our enrollment in a way not possible on our
Little Rock campus and produce more physicians,
nurses, pharmacists and allied health professionals in
the future.”
Giving was highlighted in November 2008 when
a trio of Arkansas philanthropists gave a total of $1.5
million toward the effort. Donations of $500,000 each
were announced from Don Tyson and the Tyson
Family Foundation, the Willard and Pat Walker
Charitable Foundation and Johnelle Hunt. That gift
was announced two days after a $300,000 gift to the
project from the Walton Family Foundation.
There also was a $100,000 gift in August
2008 from the Northwest Arkansas Community
Foundation, a group whose mission is encouraging
philanthropy across the region.
“It is exciting to see the momentum building
behind the UAMS satellite campus because of
the long-lasting impact it will have on the state,”
said Johnelle Hunt, widow of J.B. Hunt Transport
Services Inc. founder J.B. Hunt
and a longtime member of that
company’s board of directors, on
the day the gift was announced.
Opening Soon Renovations
will be under way this spring,
Kohler said. By September, the
AHEC is expected to move into
its new home. A month later, about five or six medical
students will arrive in what Kohler termed a trial run
for the campus.
Ultimately, the campus will have 250 to 300
students along with resident physicians when full
enrollment is reached. He said that will not happen
until 2012, when the renovation work is complete
with laboratory equipment and other resources to
accommodate the pharmacy, allied health and other
students who will fill out enrollment.
Kohler said medical and pharmacy students will
complete their first two years of school at the UAMS
campus in Little Rock. Then some could transfer to
the satellite campus to complete the last two years.
Northwest Arkansas was identified as the prime
location for the campus because it has enough
potential clinical partners — including hospitals,
clinics and pharmacies — where students and
resident physicians gain experience with the latest
medical technology or treating real patients in
supervised settings. The UAMS campus in Little
Rock and UAMS programs
around the state
that host clinical
education for
students and
resident physicians
are not able to
accommodate
enough new
students, Kohler
said.
check it out!
Find out more at
www.uams.edu/nw.
For the satellite campus,
UAMS plans residency
programs in internal
medicine, obstetrics/
gynecology, pediatrics,
psychiatry and surgery, in
addition to a family medicine
program that already exists
in the AHEC.
12 House•Call uamshealth.com

“Our donors
understand how
important this
effort is to the
region and the
entire state.”
Dr. Peter Kohler is leading UAMS'
effort in northwest Arkansas.
uamshealth.com House•Call 13

UAMS Healers
Transplant surgeon's
expertise is a lifesaver
for liver cancer patient
By David Robinson
D
14 House•Call uamshealth.com

C
all it luck or divine intervention, but
Danny Stobaugh found UAMS’
Dr. Youmin Wu in the nick of time.
The day after Thanksgiving 2007,
Stobaugh was so jaundiced that he was taken to a
Little Rock hospital. His blood tests told doctors he
had cancer, but exploratory surgery failed to find it.
As he approached his third week in the hospital, he
was visited by Dr. Kent Westbrook, a longtime friend
who also is a cancer surgeon at UAMS.
Westbrook suggested that Stobaugh go to UAMS
and see Wu, who established UAMS’ liver transplant
program in 2005. In early January 2008, Wu
diagnosed Stobaugh with a rare cancer of the liver,
hilar cholangiocarcinoma.
“The other doctors couldn’t find the cancer, but
with the blessing of the good Lord, Dr. Wu did,” said
Stobaugh, 59, who spent his investment banking
career in Little Rock and Russellville and is now
retired with his wife, Paula, in Gulf Shores, Ala. “The
cancer was in the bile duct; it was a very rare cancer.”
Even more fortunate for Stobaugh, Wu happened
to be one of the few surgeons in the world with
a track record for helping patients beat hilar
cholangiocarcinoma.
Wu’s documented success, published in Liver
Transplantation, helped convince the United
Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) to put Stobaugh
on a waiting list for a donor liver. UNOS had initially
rejected the request because so few patients survive
the cancer, even with a new liver.
Wu’s approach required marshaling a force
of UAMS specialists, including a hepatologist,
“The other doctors couldn’t
find the cancer, but with the
blessing of the good Lord,
Dr. Wu did.”
pathologist, radiologist, radiation oncologist and
hematologist/oncologist.
“This is the real strength of UAMS,” Wu said.
“There’s no place else in this region that can provide
a patient like Mr. Stobaugh such a sophisticated
multidisciplinary effort.”
After undergoing radiation and chemotherapy,
Stobaugh received a transplant on March 25, 2008.
“I’m here today thanks to the Lord and Dr. Wu,”
said Stobaugh, who expected to die from the cancer
before seeing Wu. “I don’t think people realize what a
treasure UAMS is; I sure didn’t.”
Building on Success
Since arriving at UAMS in 2005, Dr. Youmin
Wu has built a liver transplant program with near
perfect one-year survival rates. His team includes
Dr. Frederick Bentley, a liver transplant surgeon, and
Dr. Gary Barone, a kidney and pancreas transplant
surgeon who also assists with liver transplants.
In January, the Scientific Registry for Transplant
Recipients reported that UAMS’ one-year patient
survival rate was 98.25 percent, compared with
the national average of 87.85 percent. UAMS has
performed almost 100 liver transplants since its
program was established three years ago.
“We have an experienced team that works well
together,” Wu said. “Their expertise ensures the best
possible outcome for our patients.”
uamshealth.com House•Call 15

Did
Know?
You
Wilson Education Building
When visitors enter the UAMS campus, one of the first sites
they see is a new building bearing the name of UAMS Chancellor
I. Dodd Wilson. The naming was announced at a ceremony
in late 2008.
The two-floor I. Dodd Wilson Education Building includes
16 classrooms and two auditoriums to accommodate growing
enrollment in the five colleges and graduate school at UAMS. The
naming recognizes more than two decades of growth at UAMS
during Wilson’s tenure, first as College of Medicine dean and since
2000 as chancellor.
J. Thomas May
ALS Research Center
A Pine Bluff banker was recently
honored by the naming of laboratories
dedicated to finding new treatments for
a crippling neurodegenerative disease.
The J. Thomas May Center
for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
(ALS) Research has a focus on
translational medicine, meaning that it
seeks to move new treatments quickly
from the laboratory to the clinic.
The center is supported by more
than $1 million in gifts to UAMS in
honor of May, who is chairman and
chief executive officer of Simmons
First National Corp. and Simmons First
National Bank. He has been diagnosed
with ALS, a condition that typically
strikes otherwise healthy people
and robs them of all voluntary
muscle function.
16 House•Call uamshealth.com

Art on Display
Fans of renowned glass artist James Hayes can
view the largest permanent collection of his art at the
UAMS Psychiatric Research Institute.
Hayes, an Arkansas native, created the series to
be displayed throughout the psychiatric facility. The 44
wall hangings were designed to honor donors who have
made significant contributions to the Institute.
Dr. G. Richard Smith is chairman of the UAMS
Department of Psychiatry and director of the Psychiatric
Research Institute.
New
Approach to
Heart Surgery
Patricia Ernst of Jacksonville became a
UAMS first when she recently underwent
two procedures at once to alleviate
blockages in three of her coronary arteries.
Ernst normally would have received
three heart bypasses but instead received
a rare hybrid: two stents inserted by
UAMS cardiologist Dr. Behzad Molavi,
and one bypass by
Dr. Gareth Tobler, a
cardiothoracic surgeon.
A stent is a wire mesh
tube that holds arteries
open to improve blood flow.
Rarely do patients have a
cardiologist and cardiothoracic
surgeon working in concert
to offer both
procedures,
and this is
believed to be
the first time it
was performed in
Arkansas.
Dr. Jeanne Wei
Institute on Aging Director Named
Dr. Jeanne Wei has been named executive director of
the UAMS Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging
and chairman of the Donald W. Reynolds Department of
Geriatrics in the College of Medicine, where, since 2002,
she has served as professor and executive
vice chairman.
As a geriatrician, cardiologist, scientist, teacher
and academic administrator, Wei has more than 20
years of experience in developing academic programs
and clinical initiatives. She is board certified by the
American Board of Internal Medicine in internal medicine
and in the subspecialties of cardiovascular medicine and
geriatric medicine.
uamshealth.com House•Call 17

UAMS scholars
Kathy Rye was honored for
her contributions to respiratory
care education.
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Breathing Easier
UAMS faculty member creates a
national model for respiratory care education By Jon Parham
Kathy Rye was in her late teens when her
grandfather developed progressive lung
disease.
Living nearby, she had to watch as
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease affected the
breathing and quality of life for the man who once
taught her to ride a horse. Rye said it ultimately guided
her career into respiratory therapy.
“I saw the difference the various respiratory
therapists he saw were making in helping him cope
with the effects of the disease,” Rye said.
She was in college by the time he died and soon
changed her major from elementary education to
respiratory care.
Today Rye is director of clinical education and
an associate professor in the UAMS respiratory care
program. She was recently selected by her peers for
the Specialty Practitioner of the Year Award from the
Education Section
“The clinical
preceptor becomes
part role model,
part mentor.”
of the American
Association for
Respiratory Care.
Rye was
recognized in part
for developing a
clinical preceptor program that helps respiratory
therapists who host students in hospitals or clinics to
be effective teachers, while also giving the students
clinical experience.
“She was very intuitive about what was needed
in the clinical setting to make a successful experience
for students,” said Erna Boone, chairman of the
UAMS Department of Respiratory Care and Surgical
Technologies. “Kathy’s award was a huge endorsement
for the quality of program we have.”
The proof also is in the numbers. More than 90
percent of UAMS respiratory care students passed
the clinical portion of their national registry exam in
2007-2008, compared to the 56 percent national rate.
Rye said the clinical phase of the respiratory care
program is the cornerstone of a student’s education
experience. Thus it is critical that the preceptors are
effective teachers.
Students gain their basic knowledge in the
classroom. They also learn treatment and therapy
techniques using manikins, Rye said. But nothing
compares to observing and working with real patients
in a supervised setting.
During this experience, the clinical preceptor
becomes part role model, part mentor. “I still
remember my mentor’s enthusiasm for the
profession,” Rye said. “It is the characteristics of
preceptors and the clinical environment that they
create that makes the learning experience rewarding
and productive for all participants.”
Love of the profession and the “patient first” focus
are important traits in preceptors, she said.
Rye, who joined the UAMS faculty in 1993,
started developing the preceptor program while she
was a graduate student. Since its adoption, more
than 200 therapists have been trained to serve as
preceptors in Arkansas.
“Most of the preceptors I talk to find the
experience rewarding. They feel like through working
with the students, they are giving back to their
profession,” she said.
She now gets regular
calls and e-mails from
respiratory care programs
across the country,
seeking advice on setting
up or developing their
own preceptor education
programs.
check it out!
There are about
400 respiratory
care educational
programs in the
United States.
Find out more at
www.uams.edu/
chrp/respiratorycare.
uamshealth.com House•Call 19

A new MRI scanner
will give researchers a
glimpse into the brain’s
decision-making process
By Nate Hinkel
Imagine asking someone a question and then
receiving a detailed image of where the person’s
answer was processed in the brain.
It might sound like science fiction, but it’s
already happening at the UAMS Psychiatric Research
Institute, thanks to the addition of a powerful new
MRI scanner.
“This instrument will significantly advance
our research into addiction and other challenging
behaviors,” said Dr. Warren Bickel, director of
the Psychiatric Research Institute’s Center for
Addiction Research.
In the final weeks before the new $32 million,
110,000-SF Institute opened late last fall, a specialized
20 House•Call uamshealth.com

Jeff Pitcock stands next to
the 3 Tesla MRI Scanner.
The scanner
is able to
produce a
magnetic field
60,000 times
stronger than
the Earth's.
forklift meticulously lifted the 10,000-pound 3 Tesla
MRI scanner into a custom-designed hole in the
wall at the Helen L. Porter and James T. Dyke Brain
Imaging Research Center. The scanner, which cost
about $3 million, contains a superconducting magnet
that is able to produce a magnetic field 60,000 times
stronger than the Earth’s.
Ask and Receive The human brain is small compared
to the rest of the body’s internal organs, weighing only
roughly three pounds. But the control it maintains over
the rest of the body, including all forms of movement
and behavior, is immense.
That’s why it is so important to understand the
inner workings of the brain and to be able to study
it thoroughly.
The 3 Tesla system will be used for research by the
Psychiatric Research Institute as well as for clinical
diagnoses by the Department of Radiology. Research
will include the assessment of brain function associated
with the decision-making process of subjects in the
MRI scanner.
“We’ll present them with questions while they are
in the scanner and be able to observe increasing blood
flow associated with neural effort,” said Jeff Pitcock, a
neuroimaging data analyst with the Institute’s Center for
Addiction Research. “We’ll see how these people make
decisions and be able to collect images of where the
blood flow is increasing or decreasing.”
Mind Over Matter Pitcock, whose job it is to design
functional imaging projects and analyze their data, says
the scanner will provide new and important information
regarding the future of mental illness treatment.
“What it does is offer researchers a very safe and
non-invasive technique to identify areas of the brain
that may be responsible or correlated with illness or
disruptive behaviors,” Pitcock said. “That’s the first step
into being able to translate the research into a clinical
intervention of some sort.”
Being able to determine the exact cause and
location of a problem within the brain often requires
major surgery. The MRI will allow clinicians and
researchers to witness the human thought process in
action, without making a single incision.
“More specifically,
it will permit us to
see how the brain of
the addicted person
operates differently
from the rest of us,”
Bickel said.
check it out!
The 3 Tesla MRI
system is one of only
two in Arkansas, as
a similar unit is being
used by the UAMS
Department
of Radiology.
uamshealth.com House•Call 21

UAMS partners
W
hen bipolar disorder struck her
daughter about 15 years ago, Sheila
Mehaffy was both disappointed and
inspired by what followed.
She learned, like so many others in Arkansas, that
mental illness treatment options were severely limited.
And the stigma associated with the disease only
aggravated the situation — even her daughter’s private
insurance did not cover her condition.
January 2005, also credits the tireless work of
Dr. G. Richard Smith, chairman of the UAMS
Department of Psychiatry and the Institute’s director.
“Dr. Smith traveled all over Arkansas to visit with
potential supporters and the public at large to help
them understand the need for a Psychiatric Research
Institute,” Mehaffy said. “Dr. Smith and members of
his staff and the volunteers all worked very hard,
and as a result we began to see contributions
Un c o m m o n
Fo c u s
Sheila Mehaffy was part of a determined group of
supporters for the Psychiatric Research Institute
By David Robinson
Eventually her daughter found treatment at
UAMS, and today she is a healthy, active wife and
mother of three.
Mehaffy, meanwhile, became part of a group of
private supporters dedicated to helping UAMS build a
new Psychiatric Research Institute. Many in the group
were bound by similar experiences with mental illness
in their families and friends.
“Mental illness treatment and helping our state
overcome the stigma became a real passion of mine,”
she said.
Despite their commitment to raising funds for
the new Iinstitute, success came slowly. The group
encountered misunderstandings about mental illness
that stymied its efforts. Still, the UAMS supporters
and leaders from the UAMS Department of Psychiatry
persevered and incorporated an education component
in November 2003 called the Beautiful Minds
Program.
Mehaffy was one of the founders of the monthly
program, which continues today with luncheonlectures
on mental illness topics at the Country Club
of Little Rock and Pleasant Valley Country Club.
Mehaffy, who became a member of the UAMS
Psychiatric Research Institute Advisory Board in
grow. It was tremendously exciting to watch.”
About $10 million in private funds were raised,
and on Dec. 2, 2008, Mehaffy and hundreds of other
supporters celebrated the grand opening of the new
Psychiatric Research Institute building. The 40-bed,
$32 million facility, whose six stories encompass
“Mental illness
treatment and
helping our state
overcome the stigma
became a real
passion of mine.”
110,000 square
feet, is one of only
nine institutions
in the country
combining research
and education
with inpatient and
outpatient care.
Mehaffy, a
graduate of Randolph Macon Woman’s College in
Lynchburg, Va., loves gardening in her free time, and
she’s active in her church, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral
in Little Rock. But she also continues to make time
for UAMS, and although the Psychiatric Research
Institute is now complete, she’s excited about being
part of its future.
“The Psychiatric Research Institute has lots of
volunteer opportunities, and I’m looking forward to
helping in any way that I can,” she said.
22 House•Call uamshealth.com

Shelia Mehaffy championed the
cause of mental illness after it
touched her own family member.
uamshealth.com House•Call 23

4301 W. Markham St. #890
Little Rock, AR 72205
G etting to Know You
Gloria Wright
For the past four years, Gloria Wright has managed a small army of
volunteers, all in service to the UAMS Medical Center. She takes into
account each volunteer’s skills, talent and passion and finds a position just
right for them.
Job title: Director of the Department of
Volunteer Services and Auxiliary
Job duties: Lifting, standing, walking, bending
… the Volunteer Department gets involved with
lots of projects that require physical activity. I also
handle development of the volunteer program and
leadership and support of the Auxiliary. I recently
was assigned responsibility for the hospital’s
Tenenbaum Foundation Patient and Family
Resource Center.
Hometown: McGehee, Ark.
Where do you volunteer in the
community: I’m an active volunteer at Second
Presbyterian Church.
How many people are members of the
Auxiliary: 323
What opportunities are available for
volunteers at the hospital: We have an
increased need for more Wayfinders to help visitors
navigate the new building and the campus. We also
need hostesses in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit,
animal-assisted therapy partners, waiting room
volunteers and concierges in the new Patient and
Family Resource Center.
What do you like to do in your spare
timE: My husband, John, and I are ballroom dancers.
Our passion is Argentine Tango.
If you could travel anywhere in the
world, where would it be: Buenos Aires,
Argentina