UAMS Names Tyler Administrator for Psychiatric Research Institute

By todd

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LITTLE ROCK – The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) recently announced that Laura H. Tyler, Ph.D., has been named administrator for its Psychiatric Research Institute (PRI), where she brings more than 17 years of administrative experience in the behavioral health field. 


 


Tyler, an Arkansas native, previously served as chief executive officer of Avita Community Partners, which provides services to those affected by mental illness, developmental disabilities or addictive diseases in 13 Georgia counties. As PRI administrator, she will supervise clinical and fiscal operations of the PRI in the UAMS Department of Psychiatry and UAMS Medical Center.


 


The PRI includes the UAMS Department of Psychiatry and its inpatient and outpatient operations that stretch across 13 locations in central Arkansas.  PRI’s facility, a five-floor, 100,000-square-foot building on the UAMS campus, is scheduled to open in early 2009. The institute will integrate patient care, education, research and community outreach services.


 


Tyler earned a doctorate in health services organization and research from Virginia Commonwealth University. She earned master’s degrees in rehabilitation counseling and sociology from the University of Arkansas. Additionally, Tyler is a Licensed Professional Counselor.


 


Prior to joining Avita Community Partners, she worked 15 years in various positions – including chief clinical officer – at the Ozark Guidance, a community mental health center in Springdale. She worked at UAMS in the mid 1990s at what was then known as the Centers for Outcomes Research and Effectiveness (CORE).


 


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 2,538 students and 733 medical residents. Its centers of excellence include the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute and the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging. It is one of the state’s largest public employers with about 9,600 employees, including nearly 1,000 physicians who provide medical care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS’ Area Health Education Centers throughout the state. UAMS and its affiliates have an economic impact in Arkansas of $5 billion a year. For more information, visit www.uams.edu.