June MVP — Shannon Lewis

By News Staff

As specialty nurse for our Fetal Diagnosis and Management Program, Ms. Lewis is constantly meeting and caring for families who find out their pregnancies are affected with serious birth defects and genetic diseases. The kindness she provides to these families, at the worst times in their lives, seems limitless. She spends countless hours making sure that these families get appropriate and timely consultations with other specialists at UAMS and ACH, arranges for fetal surgeries at out of state hospitals, and makes sure their emotional needs are supported.

Her experience at UAMS allows her to use connections she has made over the years to ensure these families get whatever they need in their time of stress. Our staff benefits from her persistence, politeness, and respectfulness too.

I could not do my job as a genetic counselor in these tough situations without having her on our team. As examples, Ms. Lewis ensured that one of our low-income families could get a free flight to Houston to undergo fetal surgery on their unborn baby. She stayed with a mom who received bad news from our team for hours until her family could get here from two hours away. She arranged for a family receiving a rare diagnosis to meet another family in Arkansas with the same diagnosis.

UAMS will recognize Shannon in several ways as this month’s MVP. Look for her photo on the Employee Appreciation Wall outside the Chancellor’s Suite in the Central Building. She will receive free parking for a month in any of the parking decks. A Faces of UAMS video will feature her, and we’re giving her some great UAMS swag. From one of the chancellor’s cabinet meetings, Shannon will take home a certificate and monetary award, and the university will honor her and other awardees at the year-end MVP luncheon.

Do you know someone who should be the next MVP? If you have someone you’d like to nominate, please visit go.uams.edu/mvp/ and fill out the form.

Please congratulate Shannon for being our MVP of the Month!