March 17, 2014 | March 17, 2014 | In a new collaboration called Baptist Health/UAMS Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) physicians are seeing patients and performing surgery at Baptist Health Medical Center-Little Rock.

Under the new arrangement, the entire board-certified Division of Vascular Surgery in the UAMS College of Medicine is providing 24-hour, seven-day-a-week service in vascular care and surgery at Baptist Health. This includes vascular surgery in the Emergency Department.

UAMS surgeons join board-certified Baptist Health vascular surgeon Robert Casali, M.D. The clinic is located on the seventh floor of Medical Tower I on the Baptist Health Medical Center-Little Rock campus.

“Over the years, Baptist Health has enjoyed other collaborative partnerships with UAMS,” said Russell D. Harrington, Jr., president and CEO of Baptist Health. “Other arrangements have included the Physiatry Residency Program at Baptist Health Rehabilitation Institute and a general surgery rotation in association with Surgical Clinic of Central Arkansas. This latest endeavor is yet another example of changing the way health care is delivered in order to provide excellent patient care.”

In addition to UAMS physicians practicing at Baptist Health Rehab Institute, UAMS residents do rotations there.

“The economics of the health care sector are changing very rapidly,” said UAMS Chancellor Dan Rahn, M.D. “Many health care providers are looking for creative ways to adapt to these changes while maintaining high standards of patient care. The area of vascular surgery provides both UAMS and Baptist Health an excellent opportunity for collaboration in attaining those goals.”

Along with Casali, others providing care are UAMS Chief of Vascular Surgery Mohammed Moursi, M.D., and UAMS vascular surgeons Ahsan Ali, M.D.; Matthew Smeds, M.D.; and Guillermo Escobar, M.D.

The UAMS Center for Healthcare Enhancement and Development was involved in all stages of working with Baptist Health to plan for this collaborative effort. In 2013, UAMS established the center to support and to work with hospitals and clinics throughout the state to enhance and develop the health care system and provide better health care for Arkansans. Tim Hill leads the center along with associate directors Justin Hunt, M.D., and Mark Jansen, M.D.

Vascular surgeons treat arterial blockages, aneurysms, vascular trauma and varicose veins among other diseases that affect the arteries, veins and lymphatic systems outside of the heart and head. Specialists perform surgery, catheter-based procedures and noninvasive testing and analysis.