UAMS South Central, Jefferson Regional Medical Center Kick Off $6 Million Building Renovation in Pine Bluff
| August 8, 2018 | A kick-off ceremony today marked the official start of remodeling work for a new $6 million UAMS Family Medical Center in the Jefferson Professional Building II on the northwest corner of West 40th Avenue and Mulberry Street in Pine Bluff.
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Chancellor Cam Patterson, M.D., Jefferson Regional Medical Center officials and UAMS officials received construction hard hats to mark the start of the remodeling of 33,000 square feet of space on the first two floors of Jefferson Professional Center II. The renovated facility will provide space for the merger of UAMS’ three Pine Bluff clinics along with the physician residency program at the UAMS South Central Regional Campus.
“UAMS South Central and the Family Medical Center-Pine Bluff are showing here today that their commitment to patients, enhancing the patient experience and improving health outcomes will continue well into the future,” Patterson said. “From our Little Rock campus to Pine Bluff, from Jonesboro to Texarkana and northwest Arkansas, UAMS is working to improve patient care for all Arkansans statewide.”
UAMS will lease the space from Jefferson Regional, repaying the cost of the remodeling over the next 20 years and reimbursing the Jefferson Hospital Association, which operates the hospital.
“At UAMS South Central, we are excited by the efficiency and improved patient care that this completed project will bring by making possible the consolidation of three of our clinics, administrative offices and library in one building,” said Mark Deal, MBA, UAMS South Central Regional Campus director. “UAMS and Jefferson Regional have a very long history of collaboration, and this project is a beautiful example of the cooperative spirit between our two institutions.”
The UAMS South Central residency program for training new physicians graduated its first class in 1981 and has 30 in the program today. Since 1981, more than 365 resident physicians have completed family medicine training at UAMS South Central and Jefferson Regional.
In addition to Patterson and Deal, others at the groundbreaking included Sterling Moore, MBA, vice chancellor for UAMS Regional Campuses; Brian Thomas, Jefferson Regional Medical Center CEO; and Toni Middleton, M.D., UAMS South Central Residency Program director.
The construction is scheduled to be complete before the end of the year with the physician residents moving into the renovated space in mid-January. The architects are Witsell, Evans, Rasco of Little Rock. The general contractor is Clark Contractors of Little Rock.
The Family Medical Center-Pine Bluff provides primary care medical services to patients of all ages — including pediatric care, treatment of immediate medical needs and ongoing management of chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes, hypertension and arthritis. The clinic provides convenient diagnostic and support services on site and minor surgical procedures.
It serves 11 Arkansas counties: Arkansas, Cleveland, Drew, Garland, Grant, Hot Spring, Jefferson, Lincoln, Lonoke, Prairie and Saline.
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.###