UAMS Brings High-Risk Pregnancy Program to White County

By todd

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LITTLE ROCK — Women in White County no longer have to drive to Little Rock for high-risk pregnancy ultrasounds thanks to the expansion of the ANGELS program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).


 


On Aug. 14, a new ANGELS clinic will open at the White County Medical Center (WCMC) in Searcy.


 


“By expanding our high-risk pregnancy program to White County, we hope to give women there the ability to receive the expertise of UAMS maternal-fetal medicine specialists without leaving their hometown,” said Curtis Lowery, M.D., ANGELS director and director of the UAMS division of maternal-fetal medicine. UAMS is home to the only board-certified maternal-fetal medicine doctors in Arkansas.


 


Sonographers can conduct ultrasounds at WCMC while physicians at the UAMS campus in Little Rock consult in real-time with the patient thanks to telemedicine technology. A genetics counselor at the UAMS Area Health Education Center in Fayetteville also can view the ultrasound and provide input concerning the patient’s treatment. The WCMC sonographers are trained by UAMS high-risk pregnancy specialists.


 


“ANGELS will meet needs of women in White County,” said April Fulton, nurse manager of WCMC’s New Life Center. “We are pleased to be working as a team with UAMS and other departments in our hospital to offer this service.”


 


ANGELS, which stands for the Antenatal and Neonatal Guidelines, Education and Learning System, provides a 24-hour hotline, a referral system for patients and case management that includes maternal-fetal medicine consultations, detailed fetal ultrasounds and genetic counseling that can be performed at UAMS or at remote sites through telemedicine.


 


It is the only program in the nation that uses university physicians working directly with a state Medicaid program to reduce the number of babies born with severe medical problems. The program also receives support from the Arkansas Medical Society.


 


UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with five colleges, a graduate school, a medical center, six centers of excellence and a statewide network of regional centers. UAMS has about 2,320 students and 690 medical residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 9,300 employees, including nearly 1,000 physicians who provide medical care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS’ six Area Health Education Centers throughout the state. UAMS and its affiliates have an economic impact in Arkansas of $4.5 billion a year. For more information, visit www.uams.edu.