Ross and Mary Whipple Pledge $1.5 Million to UAMS for Cancer Care, Patient Services, Orthopaedics
| LITTLE ROCK — Ross and Mary Whipple pledged $1.5 million to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), supporting rural cancer care, patient services and orthopaedics.
The gifts include $1 million to establish the Ross and Mary Whipple Family Community Outreach and Engagement Fund for Excellence in the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, $250,000 to The Orthopaedic and Spine Hospital at UAMS and $250,000 to establish the Nancy “Jo” Smith Special Services Fund for Excellence.
“Ross and Mary Whipple have been tremendous leaders for the state of Arkansas, and UAMS is fortunate to be included in their circle of trust and guidance,” said Cam Patterson, M.D., MBA, UAMS chancellor and CEO of UAMS Health. “I was humbled to see that the Whipples made commitments to several areas at UAMS, which we feel is a voice of support for the direction of the institution.”
Ross M. Whipple is president and CEO of Horizon Capital Partners LLC and president of Horizon Timber Services Inc. He also serves as chairman for The Ross Foundation Board of Trustees. An Arkansas native, Whipple was born in Arkadelphia and raised in Malvern. He received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Henderson State University and a master’s degree in business administration from the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas. He was inducted into the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame, the University of Arkansas’s Business Hall of Fame and the Arkansas Outdoor Hall of Fame.
Mary Whipple is secretary of Horizon Capital Partners LLC and serves on the board of the Ross Foundation. Whipple was born in Hamburg, Arkansas. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Additionally, she serves on the board of the Baptist Health Medical Center – Arkadelphia.
“UAMS is an institution that heals patients, educates students and conducts great research, and we are confident that the people of Arkansas are going to see a great return from our investment,” said Ross Whipple.
“We also want our giving to be a catalyst for others to become involved in UAMS — through philanthropy, we want to encourage a sense of community at all levels of giving,” added Mary Whipple.
The Ross and Mary Whipple Family Community Outreach and Engagement Fund for Excellence, a nonendowed fund, will benefit the Cancer Institute’s Community Outreach and Engagement program for increasing early detection cancer screenings for breast, lung, colon and prostate cancer in our state’s rural and underserved communities.
“Our gift to the Cancer Institute is an excellent opportunity to help bring the program statewide, providing cancer treatment access to the more rural areas of the state,” said Ross Whipple. “In terms of clinical care, NCI Designation will have tremendous impact on the quality of life for people suffering with cancer.”
“I am from a small town in southeast Arkansas, so I understand that some of these areas of the state often get overlooked,” added Mary Whipple. “The increased access to care that Arkansas’ rural areas could receive because of NCI Designation will have a great impact on these communities, and we are more than happy to extend a hand to see this campaign through.”
The Whipples’ giving also establishes the Nancy “Jo” Smith Special Services Fund for Excellence, a nonendowed fund, in the UAMS Foundation Fund to support and expand patient services campuswide.
“Whenever we’ve had to receive treatment at UAMS, Jo Smith has always made sure that we were comfortable and that we had everything that we needed,” said Mary Whipple. “We know what Jo means to so many people, so we were happy to set an example and establish the fund to encourage others to contribute. Knowing how many people Jo has touched at UAMS, we are confident that there will be no shortage in giving.”
The couple’s gift to The Orthopaedic and Spine Hospital at UAMS was made in gratitude to C. Lowry Barnes, M.D., chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery in the UAMS College of Medicine, and Robert D. Martin, M.D., an orthopaedic foot and ankle surgeon and assistant professor in the department, recognizing their dedication and commitment to expanding innovative orthopaedic health care excellence to Arkansas.
“I was fortunate to be treated by Dr. Barnes and Dr. Martin, and I wanted to show my respect to them in appreciation of the quality of care I received,” said Ross Whipple. “We were also impressed by The Orthopaedic and Spine Hospital, which is a truly amazing facility with well-trained staff.”
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 3,485 students, 915 medical residents and fellows, and seven dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 11,000 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.###