UAMS Honors Jyric Sims with Alumni Award

By Yavonda Chase

Jyric Sims, M.P.H., (right) receives an outstanding alumnus award for the Master of Health Administration program from MHA Alumni Association President Mike Perkins (left) and Richard Ault, M.H.S.A., MHA program director.

Jyric Sims, M.H.A., (right) receives an outstanding alumnus award for the Master of Health Administration program from MHA Alumni Association President Mike Perkins (left) and Richard Ault, M.H.S.A., MHA program director.

Sims, the senior vice president and chief operating officer of Tulane Health System in New Orleans, graduated from the UAMS program in its Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health in 2007.

“Jyric is one of our program’s most distinguished young graduates who has represented our program with distinction,” said Richard Ault, M.H.S.A., director of the MHA program. “To be the chief operating officer of a major health system at this stage of his career is a remarkable achievement.”

Sims, who was born and raised in Baton Rouge and now lives in Metairie, said he was “humbled and honored” by the award, which was presented by Ault during an alumni luncheon Feb. 26.

“This is a true honor. I am so blessed and fortunate to have lived, trained and mentored at UAMS. Without the rigorous academic and practical learnings, along with friendships developed, I wouldn’t be where I am today. It’s at UAMS that I learned health care is a people and service business. I am so lucky to be operating in my passion and to have the ability to serve our nearly 2,000 employees, physicians and most importantly, patients,” he said.

Before joining Tulane Health System, Sims served as vice president and chief operating officer of HCA St. Lucie Medical Center in Port St. Lucie, Florida; associate chief operation officer and ethics and compliance officer at HCA Clear Lake Regional Medical Center in Webster, Texas; and director of regional and international operations of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where he was also an administrative fellow.

Sims also teaches in Tulane’s graduate program in health administration as an adjunct professor.

He is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and is on the board of directors of the Louisiana Chapter. He is on the National Diversity Advisory Board for Louisiana State University, where he received his Bachelor of Science degree. He is also slated to graduate from the New Orleans Regional Leadership Institute in April.

Sims has received numerous other honors, including the prestigious Modern Healthcare 2015 Up and Comers Award, 2015 Millennial of the Year by New Orleans Social Renaissance, 2015 LSU Alumni Spotlight Award and 2014 Top Business Professional of South Florida by Legacy Magazine.

UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and eight institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community Health Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,275 students, 890 medical residents and fellows, and five dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 12,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube or Instagram.

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