Golf Tournament Nov. 9 to Raise Stroke Program Awareness
| LITTLE ROCK – The Swing Out Stroke Golf Tournament to raise awareness for AR SAVES, a statewide program for emergency stroke treatment, will kick off at 11 a.m. Nov. 9 at the Stuttgart Country Club in Stuttgart.
The registration deadline is Nov. 1. The cost is $120 per team or $30 per person. It includes lunch, a tournament T-shirt and a stroke awareness program. Tee-off time is 12:30 p.m. To register, or for more information, call Abby Staton at 870-509-1260 or email her at astaton@harding.edu.
AR SAVES (Arkansas Stroke Assistance through Virtual Emergency Support) is a partnership between the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Center for Distance Health, the state Department of Human Services, Sparks Regional Health System in Fort Smith and 38 other hospitals, including Baptist Health Medical Center in Stuttgart and DeWitt Hospital.
The program uses a high-speed video communications system to help provide immediate, life-saving treatments to stroke patients 24 hours a day. The real-time video communication enables a stroke neurologist to evaluate whether emergency room physicians should use a powerful blood thinner, tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA), within the critical 4.5-hour period following the first signs of stroke. Since the program began Nov. 1, 2008, more than 1,301 patients have received stroke consults through AR SAVES and 296 patients have received t-PA.
The competition will use a four-man scramble format. For first place, the winner will receive $400, second place — $300 and third place — $200. Local businesses in Stuttgart and DeWitt contributed cash for the prizes. There are no trail fees, and participants are encouraged to bring their own golf carts. A limited number of golf carts can be rented from the club. Range balls can be purchased from the club. Call Bob Ralston at 501-993-9841 for more club information.
UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Related Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a statewide network of regional centers; and seven institutes: 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, the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging and the Translational Research Institute. Named best Little Rock metropolitan area hospital by U.S. News & World Report, it is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has more than 2,800 students and 790 medical residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including about 1,000 physicians and other professionals who provide care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS’ Area Health Education Centers throughout the state. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com.