ANGELS Call Center for High-Risk Pregnancy Now Staffed Round the Clock at UAMS

By todd

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LITTLE ROCK – Doctors who have concerns for their pregnant patients and their babies now have “ANGELS” to turn to for advice 24 hours a day, seven days a week at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).


 


The Antenatal and Neonatal Guidelines, Education and Learning System (ANGELS) is an innovative consultation service for family practitioners and obstetricians throughout Arkansas who deal with high-risk pregnancies. The program receives support from the state Department of Human Services’ Medicaid program and the Arkansas Medical Society.


 


While the program has been in place for more than a year, the ANGELS Call Center recently began staffing 24-hours a day with experienced obstetrical registered nurses and advanced practices nurses. The nurses are trained in triage and have access to resident physicians, obstetricians and maternal-fetal medicine specialists. The toll free number is 866-273-3835


 


“We are very proud to be able to extend this service around the clock to the family practitioners and obstetricians in Arkansas, and of course to the many mothers-to-be in the state,” said Curtis L. Lowery,  M.D., professor of maternal-fetal medicine in the UAMS College of Medicine, director of the maternal-fetal medicine division and hospital director of obstetrics. “We hope this service will improve outcomes of complicated pregnancies and increase the survival rate of babies born with complications.”


 


Family practitioners and obstetricians may consult the maternal-fetal medicine specialists at UAMS at any time during a patient’s pregnancy. The maternal-fetal medicine team can provide ongoing assistance and arrange for patients to deliver at UAMS if necessary. Services provided through ANGELS include:


 



  • Telephone triage based on medically-approved guidelines
  • Coordinating the transportation of  patients to UAMS if necessary
  • Scheduling appointments for all high-risk pregnancy referrals, outpatient visits and genetics and telemedicine consultations
  • Patient discharge and follow-up
  • A network of education, resources and treatment options for patients and providers.

Along with the 24-hour service, ANGELS conducts weekly telemedicine conferences, conducted via interactive compressed video, to enable family practitioners and obstetricians to confer with maternal-fetal medicine specialists at UAMS in real time about individual cases. Local physicians, UAMS physicians, and patients are able to talk and see each other during the examinations.


 


UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with five colleges, a graduate school, a medical center, five centers of excellence and a statewide network of regional centers. UAMS has about 2,170 students and 650 residents and is the state’s largest public employer with almost 9,000 employees. UAMS and its affiliates have an economic impact in Arkansas of about $3.8 billion a year.


 


UAMS centers of excellence are the Arkansas Cancer Research Center, Harvey and Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Center on Aging, Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy and Jackson T. Stephens Spine and Neurosciences Institute.