UAMS, Washington Regional Approved for Residency Programs in Neurology, Emergency Medicine in Northwest Arkansas
| FAYETTEVILLE — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and Washington Regional Medical Center have received initial accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) to establish a neurology residency program and an emergency medicine residency program in Northwest Arkansas through their joint graduate medical education program.
These are the first non-primary care residencies accredited in Northwest Arkansas. The programs can begin recruiting residents in the fall. The initial two neurology residents and the initial six emergency medicine residents will begin in July 2026. When full, the four-year neurology program will have a total of eight residents, and the three-year emergency medicine program will have a total of 18 residents.
“Northwest Arkansas is experiencing rapid population growth, increasing the demand for specialized medical care,” said Ryan Cork, MHSA, vice chancellor of the UAMS Northwest Region. “Despite this growth, the region faces a shortage of neurologists and emergency medicine physicians, leading to longer wait times and limited access for patients. Expanding the number of specialists in the area is essential to meet current health care needs, improve patient outcomes and support the overall health infrastructure of our thriving community.”
The neurology program and the emergency medicine program are the first new residency programs accredited since the state’s PEER Joint Budget Committee approved $4.5 million for expansion of graduate medical education at Washington Regional. The funds, which were unanimously approved Feb. 26, will allow the UAMS/Washington Regional Graduate Medical Education Program to expand by an additional 26 medical residency and fellowship slots.
“The partnership between the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Washington Regional provides residents with the benefits of being part of a health sciences university and opportunities to practice in a community hospital while caring for a diverse patient population,” said Larry Shackleford, president and chief executive officer at Washington Regional. “Neurology residents will work alongside the multidisciplinary team at Washington Regional’s J.B. Hunt Transport Services Neuroscience Institute, which offers the region’s highest level of neurosciences care, while residents in the emergency medicine program will care for patients in one of the busiest emergency departments in the state as well as the region’s only Level II Trauma Center.”
Washington Regional will be the primary clinical site for both residency programs. Other required rotation sites for neurology residents are Arkansas Children’s Northwest, UAMS Psychiatric Research Institute Northwest, Encompass Health and MANA Sleep Medicine Clinic. The emergency medicine residents will also do pediatric rotations at Arkansas Children’s Northwest, an EMS rotation with Central EMS in Northwest Arkansas, and a pediatric intensive care unit rotation at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock.
The UAMS/Washington Regional Neurology Residency Program is led by Jay Hinkle, M.D., as program director, and Margaret Tremwel, M.D., Ph.D., as associate program director. Both are adjunct assistant professors in the UAMS Department of Neurology, staff neurologists for the UAMS Institute for Digital Health & Innovation Stroke Program, and board-certified in neurology and vascular neurology. Hinkle and Tremwel are co-medical directors of Washington Regional’s Stroke Program, and Washington Regional is the only hospital in Northwest Arkansas to hold certification as a Comprehensive Stroke Center by The Joint Commission and American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.
The UAMS/WRMC Emergency Medicine Residency Program is led by Joel “Cam” Mosley, M.D., (left) as program director, and Ryan Mantooth, M.D., (right) as associate program director.
The UAMS/Washington Regional Emergency Medicine Residency Program is led by Joel “Cam” Mosley, M.D., as program director, and Ryan Mantooth, M.D., as associate program director. Mosley is an associate professor in the UAMS Department of Emergency Medicine, while Mantooth is an adjunct assistant professor in the UAMS Department of Emergency Medicine. Both treat patients at Washington Regional.
The UAMS/Washington Regional Graduate Medical Education Program was created in 2021 after a 2019 study commissioned by the Northwest Arkansas Council identified a shortage of physicians in Northwest Arkansas. The study recommended expanding graduate medical education programs in the area to increase the number of doctors and expand access to health care. Since 2021, the UAMS/Washington Regional Graduate Medical Education Program has established 50 new residency positions, including 24 residency slots in internal medicine.
“Bringing more specialists to Northwest Arkansas is essential to meeting the needs of our growing region,” said Nelson Peacock, president and CEO of the Northwest Arkansas Council. “These new residency programs are the result of years of collaboration, guided first by our 2019 study and later by the Council’s Vision 2030 health care report. We’re grateful to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, state Sens. Jonathan Dismang and Missy Irvin, and state Reps. Lee Johnson and Nicole Clowney for securing the funding needed to expand the physician pipeline. The Council was proud to support this effort from the start and remains committed to building a stronger, more accessible health care system for the region.”
Washington Regional Medical System is the only community-owned, locally governed, non-profit health care system located in Northwest Arkansas. Washington Regional employs over 3,600 team members and serves the region with a 425-bed medical center, over 40 clinic locations and five Centers of Excellence – the Washington Regional J.B. Hunt Transport Services Neuroscience Institute; Washington Regional Walker Heart Institute; Washington Regional Women and Infants Center; Washington Regional Total Joint Center; and Washington Regional Pat Walker Center for Seniors. Washington Regional is the region’s only Level II Trauma Center providing the area’s highest level of trauma care, the first hospital in Northwest Arkansas and one of only three in the state to earn certification as a Comprehensive Stroke Center by The Joint Commission, and the only hospital in Northwest Arkansas to earn Advanced Certification for Spine Surgery from The Joint Commission. U.S. News & World Report ranked Washington Regional Medical Center as the #1 hospital in Arkansas in 2024-25 for the fourth consecutive year, recognizing Washington Regional as high performing in 14 areas of care – abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, back surgery (spinal fusion), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, colon cancer surgery, heart attack, heart failure, hip fracture, hip replacement, kidney failure, knee replacement, leukemia, lymphoma & myeloma, lung cancer surgery, pneumonia and stroke. Additionally, Washington Regional is the only hospital in the state to achieve a high performing designation for maternity care (uncomplicated pregnancy) for 2025 from U.S. News & World Report. Washington Regional is committed to improving the health of people in the communities it serves through compassionate, high-quality care, prevention, and wellness education as demonstrated by repeat A hospital safety grades from the nonprofit watchdog Leapfrog and a 4-star CMS quality care rating. Visit wregional.com for more information, or follow Washington Regional on Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), or LinkedIn.
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.###