UAFS restarts nursing degree program

by Talk Business & Politics staff (staff2@talkbusiness.net)

The University of Arkansas at Fort Smith (UAFS) seeks to address an estimated shortage of more than 200 nurses in the Fort Smith metro by restarting its nursing degree program, with Baptist Health-Fort Smith and Mercy Fort Smith participating in tuition reimbursement.

The UAFS on Monday (May 20) announced the return of an associate of applied science-nursing (AAS) degree in the Carolyn McKelvey Moore School of Nursing. The Arkansas State Board of Nursing approved the new degree plan on May 16, with previous approvals from the Arkansas Department of Higher Education and the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees, according to UAFS.

UAFS hopes to have 20 students in the first semester, and grow the program to 30 students per cohort. The AAS in nursing allows students to work toward a bachelor’s degree in nursing (BSN) and higher degrees.

UAFS restarts nursing degree program

U.S. Marshals Museum Foundation welcomes 3 new board members ahead of March meeting

by Talk Business & Politics staff (staff2@talkbusiness.net)

The U.S. Marshals Museum Foundation, the fundraising arm of the Fort Smith museum, will hold its next scheduled meeting on March 7. It will be the first meeting for three new board members — Neff Basore of Bella Vista, Ryan Gehrig of Fort Smith and David Harlow of Loda, Ill.

Basore is senior vice president of residential developer Cooper Communities Inc. in Rogers. He is also a captain in the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, where he commands the Reserve Division and a member of the Arkansas State Police Commission.

Gehrig is president of Mercy Arkansas Communities, leading all Mercy hospitals across the state. That includes its two largest hospitals in Fort Smith and Rogers. Gehrig first came to Mercy as the president of the Fort Smith hospital in April 2012.

U.S. Marshals Museum Foundation welcomes 3 new board members ahead of March meeting

AUDIO: New Blood Test Detects More Than 50 Types of Cancer

By Matthew Moore KUAF

A new blood test has received FDA breakthrough status approval that can detect more than 50 different kinds of cancer in a patient. Mercy Hospitals in Rogers and Fort Smith are among the earliest health systems to offer the test.

https://www.kuaf.com/show/ozarks-at-large/2022-07-25/new-blood-test-detects-more-than-50-types-of-cancer

Mercy Health Systems providing new blood test to detect cancer

KUAR | By Alexandria Brown

A new blood test being offered at Mercy Health Systems in Arkansas can be used to detect early signs of cancer. The Galleri test can indicate early signs of more than 50 types of cancers, including aggressive types like pancreatic, ovarian, and esophageal, which oftentimes have no warning signs

The Galleri, which is a multi-cancer early detection (MCED) blood test, was created by a California-based health care company called GRAIL. Dr. John Mohart, president of Mercy communities, said the test uses advanced sequencing to look for tumor DNA in the bloodstream.

“In general, we only screen for about four to five cancers in the U.S.—the most common ones,” Mohart said in an interview with KUAR News. “But the deep-seated cancers like pancreatic, ovarian, and esophageal, we don’t have any screening. And so, about 71% of cancer deaths are actually from cancers that we don't screen at all for. So with this test, it’s not a replacement for the normal screening that you would get with your physicians, but this is a supplement of deeper cancers that we don’t screen for at all.”

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/local-regional-news/2022-07-19/mercy-health-systems-providing-new-blood-test-to-detect-cancer

Mercy/Mercy Health Systems

Mercy Health Systems is offering a test that identifies early signs of cancer.

Three Arkansas Hospitals Garner A rating from Leapfrog

by Kim Souza (ksouza@talkbusiness.net)

National rating group Leapfrog has awarded Mercy Hospitals in Fort Smith and Rogers an A grade in patient safety for the spring 2021 report. CHI St. Vincent in Hot Springs also took the top grade.

The safety grades take into account the hospitals’ achievement protecting patients from errors, injuries, accidents and infections. The independent organization assigns letter grades from A to F to all U.S. general hospitals and it updates its ratings every six months.

https://talkbusiness.net/2021/04/three-arkansas-hospitals-garner-a-rating-from-leapfrog/